Sep 12 2014
Gentor Resources Inc. ("Gentor"or the "Company") has achieved a major goal in gaining legal license coverage of the entire mineralised package hosting the Karaburun metasediment hosted VMS (volcanogenic massive sulphide) system in forest terrain about 17 kilometres northwest of the town of Boyabat in the Sinop District of the Black Sea region, northern central Turkey (Figure 1).
In the coming months, Gentor intends to ground-truth and drill test priority gossan/VMS targets, once the required forestry permits are finalised.
In the recent Government tender process for mineral licences in the Sinop District in northern Turkey, Gentor successfully bid for an area covering the remaining portion of the Karaburun VMS (volcanogenic massive sulphide) project, the southern part of which is already held by the Company under an existing Turkish joint venture agreement. In a December 18, 2013 press release, Gentor announced that it has outlined a 2.5 kilometre long gossanous, Besshi-style VMS mineralised system within Mesozoic Ophiolite-related mafic volcaniclastics and metapelites, similar in both age and character to the Hanönü copper deposit, some 11 kilometres to the northwest.
Acquisition of New License
The new licence, acquired by Gentor as a result of a Government tender process, covers an area of over 18 km2 and hosts 80% of the extensive gossan outcrop defining this significant mineralised system (Figures 2 and 3). Work on the southern joint venture agreement area, and more recently in the northern license area, confirms widespread copper and zinc anomalism in initial hand-held XRF measurement of stream sediment and soil geochemical samples (Figure 4), over outcropping and shallow depth continuations of gossan.
Exploration Review
Rock and soil geochemical results collected by Gentor at Karaburun have defined widespread Cu-Zn-Ag-Au and Co anomalism coincident with numerous stacked stratigraphic mineralised gossan horizons - numbered Main and 1 to 8. Mapping along 200 metre spaced N-S oriented soil geochemical profiles has confirmed and refined the anomalism in relation to the positions of insitu ironstone gossans and their down-slope boulder trains (Figure 2 and 3). This data highlights the stratigraphically lower eastern end Main Lode as Cu-rich (+500 ppm Cu) and the central portion (No. 6/7 lodes) as Zn-rich (+250 ppm Zn), whereas the upper western lodes exhibit a more polymetallic Cu-Au-Ag rich signature.
Stream sediment sampling with portable XRF analysis conducted within the Sevlik Creek drainage encompassing the VMS system, highlights the anomalous copper and zinc geochemistry for several kilometres below the gossans and within the exposed system, against a low background elsewhere in footwall and hanging wall zones (Figure 3 and 4). Several anomalous drainages outside the main gossan zones suggest there remains potential for more mineralisation in the new license area and further mapping and geochemistry is planned to outline this potential.
Gossans
It is considered that the easterly trending ironstone gossans are essentially stratabound, generally conformable with the gently folded Bekirli Formation stratigraphy and occur in a mixed but dominantly chloritic mafic volcaniclastic hanging wall package, with interbedded pelitic schists that appear more prominent in the footwall sequence to the north.
Stratigraphically the No. 6 & 7 gossans and the Main Zone equate along strike, separated only by erosion of the gossan and potentially at least one NE trending fault (Figure 3). Gossans No. 4-5 lie at a slightly higher position above a pelitic unit and below a hanging wall volcaniclastic unit; whereas the upper gossans No. 1-3 are higher again within mixed pelites and volcaniclastics, but below the main hanging wall volcaniclastic unit. Given that the sequence continues to dip southwards within the joint venture tenement and a broad synformal structure is mapped south of Karaburun village, it is likely the mineralised position may repeat further south in the tenement where limited mapping has yet been undertaken.
The Main Zone exhibits heavily leached ironstone gossan above exposed massive sulphides and siliceous pyritic and chloritic volcaniclastics over 300 metres at creek level in waterfall terrain, with minor old workings containing copper silicates. Local tight isoclinal and chevron fold structures in the mineralised sericite-pyritic schists and phyllites together with quartz-rich lenses within the 50-75 metre thick Main Lode, suggest that deformation was focussed in these weaker units compared to the more competent interbedded volcaniclastics and enclosed massive sulphides. Gossan breccia and minor quartz vein stringer zones in chloritised volcaniclastics along strike to the east of the Main Zone indicate the presence of a localised footwall feeder to this system.
The impressive size of the exposed VMS system, its polymetallic signature and multiple stratabound lenticular nature, is characteristic of Besshi-style deposits worldwide, for example, Windy Craggy, British Columbia, Canada. Given the fact that similar copper deposits at the Kure mine and Hanonu also occur in this Central Pontide region of northern Turkey, Gentor believes that Karaburun has significant resource potential. An initial 2,100 metre diamond drilling program in planned after forestry permit approvals and access road construction. Additional information with respect to the Karaburun project is included on the Gentor website (www.gentorresources.com).
Extension of the Buy-out Clause on Joint Venture License
Gentor has successfully extended its Karaburun joint venture buy-out clause, which is now valid until December 31, 2015. The Company has established good working relations with its Turkish partner to promote local community acceptance and support for detailed exploration of the prospective sequence regionally as well as at Karaburun.
Summary
Gentor has now acquired title and buyout rights to the bulk of the prospective stratigraphy hosting the Karaburun VMS mineralised deposit. Preliminary exploration by Gentor of this impressive gossan/VMS system has shown that it is of distal Besshi-style character in Mesozoic mafic volcanic and metasedimentary schists, similar to other nearby copper deposits in this Central Pontide region of northern Turkey.
Given the strong geological similarities of the Karaburun VMS gossan system to the recently drilled out Hanonu copper deposit, and Karaburun's extensive, thick, geochemically anomalous gossans and exposed VMS, Gentor is keen to conduct early drilling on Karaburun.
Qualified Person
The exploration information disclosed in this press release has been reviewed, verified (including sampling, analytical and test data) and compiled by senior geologists under the direction of Dr. Peter Ruxton, who is a Professional Member of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (I.M.M.M.), a director of Gentor and a "qualified person" (as such term is defined in Canadian National Instrument 43-101 as promulgated by the Canadian Securities Administrators).
All soil and rock samples were placed in sealed bags by Company geologists and sent to the ALS-Chemex Laboratory (which is independent of the Company) in Izmir, Turkey where the samples were prepared and analysed for gold by fire assay using a 30g charge and for 41 elements by ICP. The rock samples were crushed down to minus 2 mm and split with half of the sample pulverized down to 90% passing 75 microns. The soil and stream sediment samples were sieved to minus 2 mm before analysis. As part of the Company's QA/QC procedures, internationally recognized standards, duplicates and blanks are being used.
The Company made extensive use of a hand-held XRF instrument in the field during reconnaissance and follow-up rock, soil and stream sediment surveys. At each locality, mean of 3 readings were recorded. Some of the selected samples were re-analysed by the same instrument in more controlled office environment together with measurements on internationally recognised standard rock samples.
About Gentor
Gentor is a mineral exploration company with copper exploration properties in Turkey. The Company's strategy is to create shareholder value by developing highly prospective mineral properties around the globe, with current focus in Turkey.
Source: http://www.gentorresources.com/