Dalny Licence Drilling Results, Kazakhstan

East Star Resources PLC

26 April 2023

 

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26 April 2023

East Star Resources Plc

("East Star" or the "Company")

Dalny Licence Drilling Results, Kazakhstan

Gold bearing mineralised system with shallow intersections of potentially economic grades and widths

East Star Resources Plc (LSE:EST), which is defining mineral resources in Kazakhstan for the energy revolution, is pleased to provide results from diamond drilling on the Dalny licence of the Chu-Ili Orogenic Gold Belt in Kazakhstan. Results show shallow intersections of potentially economic grades and widths from the Alatagyl northern zone with planning of follow-up exploration work ongoing.

Highlights:

·    19 drill holes totalling 1,860 m were drilled on the Alatagyl target on the Dalny licence

·    Programme was designed to test mineralisation where East Star sampled rock chips up to 27.4 g/t Au (announced 30 June 2022) and historical drilling and trench results indicated gold mineralisation

·    Best intercepts (at a cut-off grade of 0.3 g/t Au) include:

o  DL_18 - 4 m @ 2.74 g/t from 24 m and 12 m @ 2.03 g/t from 31 m

o  DL_19 - 1 m @ 1.32 g/t from 34 m and 2 m @ 0.93 g/t from 51 m

o  DL_14 - 3 m @ 0.51 g/t from 55 m

o  DL_15 - 3 m @ 2.09 g/t from 21 m

·    Confirmed presence of gold on the Dalny licence - further analysis is underway to determine next steps to progress exploration

Alex Walker, East Star CEO, commented:

"We are pleased with the results from the Alatagyl northern area which indicate a gold bearing mineralised system with shallow intersections of potentially economic grades and widths.

We are undertaking a review of the drill results against the historical data to expand our knowledge of the mineralisation system and determine the scope of the follow-up exploration programme.''

Drilling Summary

Prior to drilling, three sites were identified in the north-eastern part of the Dalny licence: the Alatagyl western zone; the Alatagyl northern zone; and Alatagyl far northern zone.

At Alatagyl far north, based on the results of past sampling and mapping by the East Star geological team, two drill holes were designed to test surface expression of quartz with alteration. DL_18 and DL_19 were drilled 22 m apart to depths of 112 m and 121 m respectively with results including DL_18, 4 m @ 2.74 g/t from 24 m and 12 m @ 2.03 g/t from 31 m; and DL_19, 1 m @ 1.32 g/t from 34 m and 2 m @ 0.93g/t from 51 m. The geology includes thin quartz veinlets and associated alteration with intense sulfide mineralisation, hosted in sandstones.

                            Figure 1 Cross-section of DH's DL_018 and DL_019

Figure 2 Wet core from DL_18 incorporating 3 m @ 3.35 g/t from 26 m

Figure 3 Wet core from DLl_18 incorporating 3 m @ 4.27 g/t from 39 m

In the drilling at the Alatagyl west site, the East Star team had mapped veins, collapses of north-western trending quartz and many trenches and small historical workings. This area incorporated the largest surface footprint and best historical sampling results from both East Star and historical reports. 12 holes were drilled with only trace gold mineralisation found.

Logging and Processing of Core Samples

The core was logged on site by East Star geologists. After logging and photography, core was transported to Karaganda where it was cut; samples were taken, weighed, and recorded.

Figure 4 Photo documentation of the core in the field

Laboratory and Analytical Work

The analyses were conducted at Tsentre Geoanalit in Karaganda, Central Kazakhstan. This laboratory is accredited by the State Standard of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The accreditation certificate was registered in the State Register of the State Certification System of the Republic of Kazakhstan on 14 June 2005 (No. КZ 7100000.06.10.00373). The laboratory is not accredited by the international ISO17025 standard. A number of flame atomic absorption spectrometers of various generations are in operation (PerkinElmer AAnalyst200, PerkinElmer Aanalyst400 and PerkinElmer PinAAcle 900F) linked to Winlab32 AA Flame - Manual Analysis Control software. The Dalny samples were dissolved in aqua regia and subjected to initial spectrograph analysis followed by analysis of gold using AAS (using one of several PerkinElmer PinAAcle 900F units). Samples were prepared at the Tsentrgeolsmyemka facility near Karaganda. Sample preparation comprised weighing of the sample, drying, crushing to -1 mm, splitting of 300 g of sample by cone and quarter, and milling using one of several rod mills. A sieve was available to check the crushing quality. Samples were milled and half of the milled sample was placed in a hand labelled paper envelope and dispatched to the analytical facility and the other half was kept on-site. The rejected material is kept for five years. Cores are kept in a shed at a different site in Karaganda.

A QA/QC programme was used to evaluate the quality of the 2,051 total assay results. In total 193 QA/QC samples (or ~9%) were inserted into the sample stream including - 65 CRMs, 64 field duplicates and 64 blanks. The QA/QC samples returned satisfactory results demonstrating that the data are acceptable for early-stage exploration. It should be noted that the high-grade assays are likely to be under reporting gold concentrations as the aqua regia solution is unlikely to completely dissolve the gold in the samples. This is supported by the generally slightly lower than expected gold concentrations seen in the CRM analyses.

For further information visit the Company's website at www.eaststarplc.com, or contact: 

East Star Resources Plc

Alex Walker, Chief Executive Officer

Tel: [phone] (via Vigo Consulting)

Peterhouse Capital Limited (Corporate Broker)

Duncan Vasey / Lucy Williams

Tel: [phone]

Vigo Consulting (Investor Relations)

Ben Simons / Peter Jacob

Tel: [phone]

About East Star Resources Plc

East Star Resources is focused on the discovery and development of strategic minerals required for the energy revolution. With an initial nine licenses covering 1,321.5 km² in three mineral rich districts of Kazakhstan, East Star is undertaking an intensive exploration programme, applying modern geophysics to discover minerals in levels that were not previously explored. The Company also intends to further expand its licence portfolio in Kazakhstan. East Star's management are based permanently on the ground, supported by local expertise, and joint ventures with the state mining company.

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The person who arranged for the release of this announcement was Alex Walker, CEO of the Company.

Competent Person's Statement

Scientific or technical information in this disclosure related to exploration was reviewed by Dr Tremain Woods, a full-time employee of MSA Minerals Consulting Ltd. Dr Woods is a member in good standing with the Geological Society of South Africa. He has sufficient experience that is relevant to the commodity, style of mineralization and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity being undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person under the JORC code (2012 Edition). Dr Woods consents to the inclusion in the report of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.

 

END