By Sunridge Gold,
Sunridge Gold Corp. (the “Company” or “Sunridge”) (sgc:TSX.V/SGCNF) is pleased to report the completion of the reverse-circulation drill program as well as encouraging initial assay results from channel samples from the Kodadu volcanogenic-massive sulphide (VMS) and gold shear zone targets located on the Company’s Asmara Project in Eritrea, East Africa.
A reverse-circulation drill program announced on January 23 at the Kodadu VMS prospect has now been completed and assays are expected next month. A total of 22 drill holes targeting the oxide gold cap of the Kodadu VMS mineral occurrence and a nearby related gold mineralized shear zone were drilled (see map). The goal of the program is to rapidly define a resource that could be mined as feed to a central gold plant near the large Emba Derho deposit.
Sunridge has recently received assay results from 14 channels cut across the surface of the Kodadu VMS gossan intermittently over a 1.2 kilometre strike length as well as over part of the gold mineralized shear zone (see map). The results are summarized as follows:
| Channel | Distance in meters | Gold assays grams per tonne |
|---|---|---|
| KD-CH-010 | 5.5 | 1.16 |
| KD-CH-011 | 11.0 | 1.46 |
| KD-CH-012 | No significant values | |
| KD-CH-013 | No significant values | |
| KD-CH-014 | 10.5 | 0.73 |
| KD-CH-015 | 10.0 | 0.25 |
| KD-CH-016 | 22.5 | 0.69 |
| KD-CH-017 | 18.9 | 0.76 |
| KD-CH-018 | 6.0 | 0.26 |
| KD-CH-019 | 7.00 | 0.88 |
| KD-CH-020 | 7.00 | 1.11 |
| KD-CH-021 | No significant values | |
| KD-CH-022 | No significant values | |
| KD-CH-023 | No significant values |
The Kodadu VMS target is located approximately 25 kilometers south of the large Emba Derho copper-zinc-gold-silver deposit. Several gossans have been identified by surface mapping that trend north-northeast for over 1.2 kilometre strike length and they have an average width of about 10 meters. Typically these gossans have depths from surface of 30 to 35 meters. In 2009 Sunridge completed a channel sampling program (channels 1 to 9) in which 87 samples were taken. This program returned 28 gold values of over 0.2g/t and the best values were 10.67g/t over 14.7m, 2.3g/t over 8m and 1.79 g/t over 13.3m (see map).
In addition to the VMS target described above, gold mineralization has been identified in a one kilometer shear zone running parallel and about 100 meters west of the Kodadu gossans. Geological mapping has shown the zone to be approximately 30 meters wide and historic gold values from trenches sampled by a previous operator are reported as 3.85g/t over 50m; 2.05g/t over 50m; and 11.87g/t over 8m.
ASMARA PROJECT FEASIBILITY STUDY
In addition to the exploration ground held by Sunridge, the Asmara Project consists of five defined mineral deposits; three copper, zinc, gold and silver VMS deposits, a near-surface gold deposit and a shear-zone hosted copper-gold deposit. A feasibility study on four of these deposits that envisions an integrated centralized mining operation was started in April 2012 and remains on schedule to be completed in the second quarter of 2013. A positive Asmara Project Prefeasibility Study was completed in May 2012 on these same four deposits which demonstrated robust economics, with a pre-tax net present value of $555 million with a 10% discount applied and an internal rate of return of 27%.
NOTES:
- All assays reported are from channel samples that were cut into bedrock by a hand-held diamond circular saw. The channels were about 5 centimeters in width and approximately 2 centimeters in depth.
- A Quality Assurance/Quality Control program was part of the sampling program on the Kodadu gold prospect. This program includes chain of custody protocols as well as systematic submittals of standards, duplicates and blank samples into the flow of samples produced by the sampling.
- Samples were prepared at African Horn Testing Services (Eritrea) and analyzed at Genalysis Laboratories (a NATA registered laboratory) in Perth, Western Australia.
- The results of the Kodadu channel sampling program have been reviewed by Michael J. Hopley the Qualified Person for Sunridge. Mr. Hopley is also the person responsible for preparation of the technical information contained in this news release and is President and Chief Executive Officer of Sunridge.
