Statement re Gabon Discovery
SouthernEra Discovers Extensive Gold Anomaly in Gabon
Shares Issued and Outstanding: 61,674,459
TSX: SUF
AIM: SRE
TORONTO, Oct. 27 /CNW/ - SouthernEra Resources Limited announced today
that the Company has discovered a substantial gold anomaly in Gabon, West
Africa. This discovery is a consequence of the Company's ongoing regional
platinum group metals (PGM) and diamond exploration program being conducted
throughout an exclusive 14,000 square kilometer precious metals and diamond
exploration permit area.
While oil dominates Gabon's commodity industry, the country has
historically produced other commodities, including gold. With the
encouragement of the Gabonese government and the potential offered by the low
level of previous exploration, SouthernEra began regional sampling for PGMs
and diamonds over an initial area of 54 000 square kilometers in 1999.
Concentrates from the Koumba region recovered numerous (up to 52 counts
per 40 litre sample) alluvial gold particles in the 0.3 to 0.7mm 'diamond'
sampling fraction. As part of this regional exploration program, the Company
focused on the encouraging gold occurrences resulting in 'L'Or Zone Koumba'
('Koumba') being taken under an exclusive 'permis de recherche' for gold, the
permit being valid for 3 years from March 7, 2001, renewable twice for
additional three-year periods. While further exploration and drilling is
required, early indications suggest the potential for significant parallel
gold bearing deposits within the 625 square kilometer Koumba permit region.
Historically, the Koumba region has supported both alluvial and primary
gold mining that stretches from the current widespread artisinal activity,
back to commercial primary and alluvial extraction attempts between 1935 and
1954, when over 1.5 tons of gold was extracted. The Koumba mineralised area
sits within a 6-kilometer geological corridor that hosts a combination of
Lower Proterozoic aged units. At surface, saprolitic material predominates
with the weathering often extending to depths beyond 10 meters. Below the
oxidized zone lies a suite of rock types, mostly steep dipping. The rock types
can be classified into the following: sedimentary, basic volcano-sedimentary,
differentiated acid volcanics, schists and quartzites. At this early stage of
interpretation, the gold mineralisation appears to be associated with
vertically dipping single or stockwork vein systems, the series of parallel
veins following the NNW structural trend. Interpretation of the regional
geological setting has been supported by an aero magnetic survey flown at 100
meter-line spacing.
Within the Koumba area, one structure called the Mainou Vein was mined in
the early 1940's over a length of 80 metres, with subsequent exploration
confirming the existence of additional parallel structures. SouthernEra's
initial due diligence sampling confirmed the existence of these structures,
with soil values of up to 7.9 grams per tonne being recovered. Follow-up
trenches were dug over the areas where soil anomalies exceeded 2 grams per
tonne with the channel samples offering further encouragement. One trench,
TRV2 -Trench- 2B returned consistently positive results. The 2-meter trench
extended 175.5 metres, with 36 of the channel samples returning over 0.5 grams
per tonne gold, of which 15 samples returned grades of between 1 and 5.64
grams per tonne, the higher grades largely being associated with the
underlying bedrock.
Encouraged by the due diligence sampling, SouthernEra subsequently
recovered over 5,000 samples from a 6 by 12 kilometer geochemical grid
covering the initial anomalous reconnaissance areas. This grid returned soil
grades of up to 3 grams per tonne. Coarse gold was also widely encountered,
including up to 51 counts in a single 0.95 kilogram sample. These results
further confirmed various anomalous NNW parallel trends, up to 2 kilometers in
length. Recently, an 8-centimeter long cigar-shaped nugget weighing over 100
grams was recovered from within the area.
Based on these initial results, SouthernEra intends drilling key target
areas in the months ahead, allowing for a more detailed assessment of the
geological structure and further validation of the encouraging gold values
previously encountered. Once results of the drill program are available, the
Company will be better placed to decide on an appropriate strategy to maximise
the project's potential.
SouthernEra Resources Limited is an independent producer of platinum
group metals (PGMs) and diamonds. The Company also has an extensive PGM and
diamond exploration program. The common shares of SouthernEra are traded on
the Toronto Stock Exchange (SUF) and the London Stock Exchange's AIM (SRE).
For further information: SouthernEra Resources Limited - Toronto:
Dr. Sally Eyre, Vice President Corporate Affairs, Telephone: (416) 359-9282;
London: Mr. John Barker, Vice President Business Development, Telephone:
44-790-349-5811, E-mail: inbox(at)southernera.com, www.southernera.com
(SUF. SRE)
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