Drilling Update

RNS Number : 5808F

Sunrise Resources Plc

28 April 2014

 



28 April 2014

CUE DIAMOND PROJECT - DRILLING UPDATE

Further to the announcement of 27 March 2014, Sunrise Resources plc, the AIM traded diversified mineral exploration and development company ("the Company"), is pleased to advise the initial findings from its recently completed drilling programme at the Cue Diamond Project located in Western Australia.

Key Points:

·           Drilling completed on budget at all targets

·           Key objective achieved - to drill sample the Soapy Bore Kimberlite

·           One tonne of fresh (unweathered) kimberlite collected for diamond content and grade

evaluation

·     Narrow kimberlite (1m) intersected at the FW target - other anomalies located in this new target area remain to be tested

·           Further evaluation of weathered drill samples from other target areas in progress

The initial findings are provisional in nature and are based on visual logging and preliminary geochemical information obtained from non-destructive geochemical analysis of the drill samples  using a Niton^TM hand-held XRF analyser. With the exception of the drill holes at Soapy Bore, most drill holes tested targets in the weathered zone (up to 60m deep) where weathered kimberlite is not easily distinguished from the host rocks without detailed and more conventional laboratory based geochemistry and mineralogy. This work is now starting. The one-tonne Soapy Bore kimberlite sample will be despatched to Canada for diamond extraction and description and results will be used to evaluate the diamond grade of the sample as appropriate.

Commenting today, Executive Chairman Patrick Cheetham said: "The drill programme went very smoothly and all drilling targets were tested on budget. The Soapy Bore kimberlite has yielded diamonds in a small sample for De Beers but this larger drill sample will give a much better idea of its value. Against a backdrop of a strengthening diamond market, I also am delighted to be reporting the intersection of kimberlite in at least one newly tested area. We will report any further significant information when more detailed sample evaluation is completed."

Further information:

Sunrise Resources plc Patrick Cheetham, Executive Chairman	Tel:	[phone]
Northland Capital Partners Limited Gavin Burnell/Edward Hutton Alice Lane/Mark Simpson (Broking)	Tel:	[phone]
Yellow Jersey PR Limited Dominic Barretto/Kelsey Traynor	Tel:	[phone]

DETAILED INFORMATION

The drill programme now finished comprised 43 aircore (AC) and reverse-circulation (RC) drill holes (hole numbers 14CUAC/RC12-54) at 5 separate target areas.

Prior to this current drill programme, and based on exploration carried out by De Beers before their decision to terminate all exploration for diamonds in Australia, two kimberlites were known to occur in-situ in the Cue licence area - Cue 1 and Soapy Bore but only the Cue 1 kimberlite has seen meaningful drill testing to-date by the Company.

The granite bedrock throughout the Cue Project has been subject to tropical weathering and as a result is strongly weathered to depths of up to 60m. When fresh and unweathered the kimberlite is easily distinguished from the granite by the naked eye but the weathered the kimberlite is very difficult to distinguish from the weathered granite, even by experienced geologists.

Most drill holes were shallow and drilled exclusively in the weathered zone. In the field, visual logging has been enhanced by a preliminary geochemical analysis using a Niton^TM hand-held XRF minerals analyser in order to identify chemical anomalies characteristic of kimberlite (e.g. niobium, chromium, nickel, rare-earths). The Company does not rely on Niton data alone to make a positive identification of weathered kimberlite and so in this release drill samples with one or more anomalous elements are referred to as "high interest" samples. Further conventional geochemical analysis and mineralogical work is required to see if any of these samples are weathered kimberlite.  However, where visual identification is unequivocal and supported by Niton data a firm identification of kimberlite is made.

Soapy Bore

The Soapy Bore kimberlite was reported by De Beers to be diamondiferous with 13 diamonds recovered from a 65kg sample but diamond size details were not reported.

The kimberlite takes the form of a sub-vertical dyke having a width of 2-3m with a number of narrower parallel dykes suggested by previous De Beers drill hole data.

In the current programme three holes were drilled to test the main dyke and collect samples. Two holes were drilled at an angle of 60 degrees across the dyke to confirm the width of the dyke and one hole was drilled near vertical at an acute angle to, and largely down-dip of the dyke to achieve a large intersection of the recognizable kimberlite in fresh rock below the weathered zone (which extends to about 50m at this point). In this hole - 14CURC39 - fresh kimberlite was intersected from 60m to 98m down-hole depth before exiting the dyke with granite intersected from 98m to the end of the hole at 103m.

A 1-tonne sample of fresh kimberlite was recovered from this hole and will be sent to the diamond laboratory of the Saskatchewan Research Council for processing to recover kimberlite indicator minerals and diamonds for grade evaluation.

Seven drill holes tested an area of anomalous surface geochemistry away from the main kimberlite dyke that could be linked to additional kimberlite occurrences at Soapy Bore. A number of high interest drill samples are undergoing further evaluation from this area.

Target 5

Target 5 is a large area of diamondiferous kimberlite float where drilling aimed to locate the sub-surface in-situ source.

26 holes were drilled in three traverses within the weathered zone across the densest part of the surface float. A number of high interest drill samples have been identified and are undergoing further evaluation.

Based on the quantity and density of kimberlite float at Target 5 the Directors are confident that a significant kimberlite source exists in this area but without the results of this further evaluation cannot confirm if kimberlite was intersected at this target in this latest drill programme.

Further fieldwork has extended the area of kimberlite float beyond the drilled area.

Target 1a

This target is located in the central part of the licence and within an area where De Beers located numerous stream sediment and soil samples containing kimberlitic indicator minerals. Within the catchment of these anomalous samples an airborne geophysical survey located a circular electromagnetic anomaly which was targeted as a possible weathered kimberlite.

A single drill hole 14CURC54 tested this geophysical anomaly and encountered a 34m thick clay zone comprised of high interest samples that are now undergoing further evaluation.

Area 6

Area 6 is located 1.6km southeast of Area 1a and covers a northwest trending aeromagnetic anomaly that was ground located during the Company's December 2013 magnetic survey.

A traverse of 5 drill holes through the weathered zone returned several zones of high interest samples.

FW Target

The FW target is an area of multiple ground electromagnetic geophysical anomalies where an isolated piece of kimberlite float was found by the Company in a previous prospecting campaign.

Only a very small part of this area was included in the last Aboriginal Heritage Survey and as a result only one of the multiple anomalies could be tested from this area.

A single hole, 14CURC53, was completed as a partial and non-optimum test of this anomaly. The depth of weathering was 47m down-hole and kimberlite was intersected from 92-93m down-hole (end of hole 100m).

This new area has potential to host multiple kimberlite dykes.

The FW discovery is the first new kimberlite discovery that can so far be confirmed by the Company on the Cue Project and reflects a growing understanding of the setting of kimberlites within the area and the methods best used for their discovery. The Directors are confident that further kimberlites remain to be discovered in this target area.

Ends

The information in this release has been compiled and reviewed by Mr. Patrick Cheetham (MIMMM, MAusIMM) who is a qualified person for the purposes of the AIM Note for Mining and Oil & Gas Companies.  Mr Cheetham is a Member of the Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining and also a member of the Australasian Institute of Mining & Metallurgy.

About Sunrise Resources plc

Sunrise Resources plc is a diversified mineral exploration and development company. The Company has diamond exploration interests in Western Australia and Finland and holds a white barite project in South-West Ireland.

The Company holds applications for two gold exploration projects in Western Australia and has an active project programme to generate new exploration projects in Australia and Nevada, USA.

It has recently staked claims over the Strike Copper Project and the County Line Diatomite Project in Nevada, USA.

Shares in the Company trade on AIM. EPIC: "SRES" www.sunriseresourcesplc.com

 

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