Heli EM Survey on Rudny Altai Licences Completed
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSES OF ARTICLE 7 OF REGULATION 2014/596/EU WHICH IS PART OF DOMESTIC UK LAW PURSUANT TO THE MARKET ABUSE (AMENDMENT) (EU EXIT) REGULATIONS (SI 2019/310) ("UK MAR"). UPON THE PUBLICATION OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT, THIS INSIDE INFORMATION (AS DEFINED IN UK MAR) IS NOW CONSIDERED TO BE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.
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6 July 2022
East Star Resources Plc
("East Star" or the "Company")
Completion of EM Survey on Rudny Altai VMS Licences, Kazakhstan
East Star Resources Plc (LSE:EST), the Kazakhstan-focused gold, rare earths and copper explorer, is pleased to announce the completion of the helicopter electromagnetic ("HEM") survey conducted over the Company's licences in the prolific Rudny Altai volcanogenic massive sulphide ("VMS") belt in Eastern Kazakhstan.
Highlights:
· 3,640.2-line km flown from 23 May to 21 June 2022
· Includes 153.5-line km of 100m spaced infill survey over three target areas with particularly strong electromagnetic conductors
· Survey, including additional infill lines, completed within 30 days and significantly under budget
·East Star has enlisted the services of Australian based Mitre Geophysics - world leaders in electromagnetic interpretation - to assist with analysis and targeting
Alex Walker, East Star CEO, commented:
"We are delighted to have identified a number of strong electromagnetic anomalies, potentially indicating new VMS discoveries to be made under shallow cover. This is a great example of East Star applying modern geophysical technology, which has been used to discover significant VMS deposits elsewhere in the world, to this prolific but underexplored VMS region of Kazakhstan.
Detailed processing and interpretation of the data to refine targets for follow up investigation has already begun. Certain targets align with areas where historic operating mines exist and where geochemical sampling gave anomalous base metals results, and this will aid interpretation and identification of drill targets. We look forward to releasing detailed results of this work in due course.
The execution of the survey was excellent, with the survey completing faster, and at a significantly lower cost, than originally budgeted."
Rudny Altai Region
Licences 847-EL and 914-EL (the "Licences") are located in the Rudny Altai region of Eastern Kazakhstan. Administratively, the Licences are within the Shemonaikha district and are well connected to infrastructure. The regional centre of Ust-Kamenogorsk is located 45km, and its international airport is located 35km, southeast of the Licences. The railway connecting Ridder and Tomsk cities crosses the Licences from the south to the northwest with two railway stations located on the territory of the Licences. There is a network of dirt roads within the Licences that are suitable for driving all year round. A hard-surfaced road from Ust-Kamenogorsk to Shemonaikha crosses the western part of the Licences.
The area is characterised by moderately hilly terrain with elevations ranging between 270m and 630m above the mean sea level.
The Rudny Altai region is one of the largest VMS provinces in the world, part of Central Asian Orogenic belt. The region is an established mining district with a number of active and historical mines bordering the Company's licence area. Historical mapping dating back to the 1960s identified more than 20 mineral occurrences (including Cu, Pb, Zn, Au, W) and a significant amount of soil and stream sediment anomalies within the licence area.
Geologically, the area is composed of volcanic, volcanic-sedimentary, and sedimentary deposits of the Devonian. Extrusive-subvolcanic formations are generally represented by rocks of felsic, medium and mafic composition, with the predominance of felsic rock (albitophyres, potassium feldspar porphyry, rhyodacites, less often andesite and andesite-basalt porphyrites). Intrusive formations include mainly granites.
HEM Survey
A HEM survey was conducted over 614.3km2 to identify hidden or buried VMS ore bodies. HEM is the principal technology used in the Paterson province of Western Australia which was used to discover Rio Tinto's 'Winu' deposit and Greatland Gold/Newcrest's 'Havieron' deposit.VMS deposits produce significant electromagnetic responses and thus this technology is the best geophysical method available for detecting ore bodies of this type, under cover. Geophysical responses become direct exploration vectors for the identification of drilling targets.
Aurora and Xcalibur
Xcalibur Multiphysics ("Xcalibur") conducted the EM survey and is the world's leading company in Multiphysics. It owns 20 specialised aircraft and 85 geophysical systems and has executed more than 1,000 projects globally. Throughout its over 40 years of experience, Xcalibur has established more than 50 million linear kilometers of collected data.
Aurora Minerals Group, a leading service provider in Kazakhstan, led the logistics and execution of the EM programme. Aurora has conducted exploration programmes for Kazzinc, Rio Tinto, Fortescue Metals Group, Tau-Ken Samruk, and KAZ Minerals.
For further information visit the Company's website at www.eaststarplc.com , or contact:
East Star Resources Plc
Alex Walker, Chief Executive Officer
Tel: +44 (0)20 7390 0234 (via Vigo Consulting)
Peterhouse Capital Limited (Corporate Broker and Placing Agent)
Duncan Vasey / Lucy Williams
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7469 0930
Vigo Consulting (Investor Relations)
Ben Simons / Oliver Clark
Tel: +44 (0)20 7390 0234
About East Star Resources Plc
East Star Resources is focused on the discovery and development of gold, rare earth, and copper deposits in Kazakhstan. With an initial five licences covering 1,442 km2 in three mineral rich districts, 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 Persons Statement
Information and data presented within this announcement has been compiled by Mr Azamat Bizhanov, a Member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists ("MAIG"). Mr Bizhanov is the Exploration Manager for East Star Resources Plc and has sufficient experience, which is relevant to the style of mineralisation, deposit type and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person defined by the 2012 Edition of the Australasian Code for Reporting Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (the "JORC" Code). This includes 10 years of Mining, Resource Estimation and Exploration relevant to the style of mineralisation.
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