Lydian International Ltd. (TSX:LYD), a gold-focused mineral exploration and development company, today announced further results from drilling and channel sampling at its Amulsar gold discovery in Armenia.
Amulsar is a high-sulfidation style gold project which currently hosts a CIM compliant Inferred Category Resource of 1.4 million ounces at 0.9g/t gold.
Reverse circulation drill hole RCA-301 has intersected 40 meters at 5.6g/t gold in resource extension drilling on a newly identified area of higher grade gold mineralization located to the southeast of Artavasdes. This hole was drilled to test a 1km long northeast-southwest trending fault structure identified in recent mapping. This higher grade intersection, which remains open at depth, may represent a new "feeder" zone (see press release 10th August 2010) located along the targeted fault structure. Exploration drill hole DDA-058 intersected 40 meters at 1.2g/t gold and further confirms the presence of gold mineralization to the east of the Tigranes area (see press releases 31st August and 14th September). Other significant intersections include infill drill hole DDA-056, 38 meters at 1.1g/t gold and exploration drill hole DDA-059 which intersected 29 meters at 1g/t gold outside the current resource shell in the Arshak area. RCA-302 was an exploratory drill hole located at-least 600m to the south of the resource shell and although it did not intersect a long interval of greater than 1g/t gold, low-grade gold (but up to 1.7g/t over a meter) was intersected along its length for the first 80 meters. This is significant in an exploration drill hole and suggests that the gold mineralizing system at Amulsar extends southwards over a total strike distance of at-least 3km from its currently known northern limit at Erato.
The northeastern extent of Tigranes is represented by a steep outcrop of siliceous rock that is difficult to access with conventional drill rigs. This area measures some 200 meters in strike length, is up to 150 meters wide and is contiguous with the current resource shell. Access issues and the consequent lack of drilling have precluded the area from previous resource estimates. Continuous rock-chip samples have returned encouraging gold grades from the area including 7 meters at 9.7g/t gold and 13 meters at 6.8g/t gold. Recent channel samples cut with a twin-blade rock-saw have also returned highly encouraging intercepts including 5.7 meters at 10.4g/t gold, 27 meters at 1.0g/t gold and 5.1 meters at 9.7g/t gold. Further channel sampling is planned so that this area may be included in the updated resource estimate planned for Q1 next year.
Significant new drilling intersections include:
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DDA-056 (Artavasdes) 38 meters at 1.1g/t gold,
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DDA-058 (Tigranes east) 40 meters at 1.2 g/t gold,
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DDA-059 (Arshak) 29 meters at 1.0 g/t gold,
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DDA-062 (Artavasdes) 23.3 meters at 0.9 g/t gold,
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RCA-295 (Tigranes North) 19 meters at 1.2 g/t gold,
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RCA-301 (Artavasdes) 40 meters at 5.6 g/t gold.
"Drill hole RCA-301 amplifies the message that there are more surprises in store at Amulsar" said Tim Coughlin, Lydian's President and CEO. "Although we can map out and follow gold-bearing fault structures at the project we still only have part of the story as higher grade zones are obviously located at certain intervals along the length of the faults. This element of surprise at Amulsar makes any indication of gold mineralization (such as that intersected in drill hole RCA-302), highly significant and worthy of follow up as higher grades can clearly be within immediate reach of lower grade material".
Christopher John Bargmann, FGS(C Geol), MAusIMM, Pr.Sci.Nat; is the Qualified Person overseeing Lydian's exploration programs. Mr. Bargmann has supervised the preparation of the technical information contained in this press release.
Source: Lydian International Ltd.