New JORC Estimate lifts Total Gold Resource Inv...
African Consolidated Resources plc / Ticker: AFCR / Index: AIM / Sector: Mining
13 September 2012
African Consolidated Resources plc ('ACR' or the 'Company')
New JORC Estimate lifts Total Gold Resource Inventory to 4.3 million ounces
ACR, the AIM listed southern African focussed resource development company, is pleased to announce a major upgrade to 3.2 million ounces, of which over 50% is in the Measured and Indicated category, from 513,000 ounces (mostly Inferred category) at its 100% owned highly prospective Pickstone-Peerless gold project in Zimbabwe. Significantly, this consists of 1.5 million open-pittable ounces at 2.0g/t Au (with over 1 million ounces in the Measured and Indicated Category) plus 1.7 million underground ounces at 4.0g/t Au (with 460,000 ounces Measured and Indicated). A Bankable Feasibility Study ('BFS') is expected to commence this month, targeting over 100,000 ounces of gold per year.
Including ACR's Gadzema Project, 18 miles to the north of Pickstone-Peerless, the total Resource of the Company's Midland gold projects in Zimbabwe has increased to 4.3 million ounces (1.9 million ounces Measured and Indicated).
The new Pickstone-Peerless Resource estimate combines an extensive database of surface Reverse Circulation drilling ('RC') and diamond drilling, by ACR and earlier operators, of some 550 holes totalling approximately 60,000 metres, merged with historical underground drilling by Rio Tinto comprising over 900 drillholes (approximately 14,000 metres) and almost 10,000 channel samples. ACR is in possession of Rio Tinto's extremely detailed original mine plans. For the last six months a team of four cartographers has been digitising this primary data into a 3D model of both the mines down to the base of old mine development (90 metres in Peerless and 750 metres in Pickstone).
ACR is extremely encouraged by the size and grade potential of Pickstone-Peerless, and is determined to move the project forward through a BFS, which will be commissioned this month.
ACR's total gold resource inventory is detailed below;
| ACR JORC Gold Resources September 2012 | |||||
| Million Tonnes | Grade | Ounces | Cutoff g/t | Vertical Depth of Resources (metres) | |
| Peerless | |||||
| Open Pittable Measured (ox + sulphide) | 1.34 | 1.5 | 64,038 | 0.6 | 0-120 |
| Open Pittable Indicated (ox + sulphide) | 2.99 | 1.4 | 137,640 | 0.6 | 0-120 |
| Open Pittable Inferred (ox + sulphide) | 0.88 | 1.4 | 38,297 | 0.6 | 0-120 |
| Underground Measured (sulphide) | 0.03 | 4.4 | 4,684 | 1.5 | 120-350 |
| Underground Indicated (sulphide) | 0.47 | 4.4 | 65,552 | 1.5 | 120-350 |
| Underground Inferred (sulphide) | 4.54 | 3.9 | 564,665 | 1.5 | 120-350 |
| Subtotal Peerless | 10.25 | 2.7 | 874,876 | 0-350 | |
| Pickstone-Concession | |||||
| Open Pittable measured (ox + sulphide) | 0.32 | 3.6 | 36,361 | 0.5 | 120 |
| Open Pittable Indicated (ox + sulphide) | 12.79 | 2.1 | 852,612 | 0.5 | 120 |
| Open Pittable Inferred(ox + sulphide) | 4.35 | 2.5 | 351,084 | 0.5 | 120 |
| Underground Indicated (sulphide) | 2.84 | 4.3 | 389,522 | 1.5 | 120 to >750 |
| Underground Inferred (sulphide) | 4.91 | 4.1 | 639,793 | 1.5 | 120 to <750 |
| Subtotal Pickstone Openpit & Underground | 25.21 | 2.8 | 2,269,372 | Surface to >750 | |
| Dumps*, Pickstone-Peerless - measured | 1.17 | 1.7 | 63,000 | 1.0 | 0-20 |
| Total Pickstone-Peerless Resource | 36.63 | 2.7 | 3,207,248 | 0->750 | |
| Gadzema Resource** | |||||
| Indicated | 9.04 | 1.0 | 287,700 | 0.5-0.6 | 0-150 |
| Inferred | 20.14 | 1.2 | 803,000 | 0.6 | 0-150 |
| Subtotal Gadzema | 29.18 | 1.2 | 1,090,700 | ||
| **Includes Giant Mine, dump and Blue Rock Resource | |||||
| TOTAL ALL | 65.81 | 2.0 | 4,297,948 | 0.5-1.5 | 0-750 |
*An effective 25% of 28,300 ounces of this resource has been sold pursuant to an indigenisation transaction in consideration of $4 million payable out of gold sales
Johannesburg-based consultants Explormine were specifically chosen to estimate the JORC compliant resource as they have extensive experience in this particular type of gold vein deposit, notably the high-grade vein deposits of the Barberton goldfield where Explormine has consulted on major projects since 2006. In addition, Explormine principal Bill Northrop was part of the Rio Tinto geological team based in the Midlands district of Zimbabwe when the Pickstone-Peerless mines were in operation in the 1960s and 1970s, and as a result, has a detailed knowledge of these Archean vein deposits.
Exploration Director Mike Kellow said, "I would like to thank our exploration team for many months of exacting analysis assessing millions of dollars of work, and congratulate all on an excellent result. Open pittable gold grades averaging 2.0.g/t and underground grades of over 4 g/t look very robust and the modelling has highlighted some priority drill targets to add high grade ounces at depth. This takes the project into a new league, and we now will be undertaking a BFS study for a major mine targeting over 100,000 ounces of gold per year. Such a production level will be more than double the output of the current largest gold mine in Zimbabwe and will make a major contribution to employment, infrastructure and community development in the district."
This announcement has been reviewed by Mike Kellow BSc, a member of the Australian Institute of Geologists and Technical Director of ACR. Mr Kellow meets the definition of a "qualified person" as defined in the AIM Note for Mining, Oil and Gas Companies.
**ENDS**
For further information visit www.acrplc.com or please contact:
| Roy Tucker | African Consolidated Resources plc | +44 (0) 1622 816918 +44 (0) 7920 189012 |
| Andrew Cranswick | African Consolidated Resources plc | +44 (0) 7920 189010 |
| Andrew Godber | Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited | +44 (0) 20 7886 2966 |
| Callum Stewart | Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited | +44 (0) 20 7886 2960 |
| Adam James | Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited | +44 (0) 20 7886 2951 |
| Hannah Woodley | Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited | +44 (0) 20 7886 2904 |
| Susie Geliher | St Brides Media & Finance Limited | +44 (0) 20 7236 1177 |
GLOSSARY OF TECHNICAL TERMS
| Term | Explanation | Acronym |
| archean | One of the four principal eons of Earth history. The oldest rock formations exposed on the surface of the Earth are Archean (2500-2800 million years) or slightly older and surviving rocks from this eon are mostly metamorphic or igneous. | |
| Au | chemical symbol for gold | |
| core | Cylindrical sample of rock as cut by a diamond drill | |
| diamond drilling | Drilling method using a diamond-impregnated cutting bit to obtain a core sample of rock | |
| greenstone belt | belts of metamorphosed sedimentary and igneous rocks of Archean age | |
| JORC | Joint Ore Reserves Committee of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy | |
| lodes | Higher grade portion of mineralised zones, usually with specific orientation | |
| mineralised zones | hydrothermally altered structural features containing potentially valuable minerals | |
| orebody | economically viable portion of a mineralised zone | |
| Resource | mineral resource as defined by the JORC Code 2004 | |
| reverse circulation drilling | rotary percussion drilling whereby the sample is returned from the cutting head inside the rod string to surface thereby avoiding contamination from the walls of the hole | RC |
| sulphide | sulphur bearing metallic mineral | |
| tenement | an area encompassing a number of blocks of claims | |
| UNITS | ||
| cm.g/t | centimetre grams per tonne - metal content expressed as grade times thickness | |
| g | gramme | |
| g/t | grammes per metric tonne - metal concentration | |
| ha | hectare | |
| kg | kilogramme, a thousand grammes | |
| km | kilometre | |
| koz | thousand ounces | |
| kt | thousand metric tonnes | |
| kv | thousand volt | |
| kva | thousand volt amperes | |
| m | metre | |
| mm | millimetre | |
| µm | micron, or millionth of a metre | |
| mt | million metric tonnes | |
| moz | million ounces | |
| oz | fine troy ounce equaling 31.1048 grammes - normal unit used in selling gold | |
| ppb | parts per billion | |
| ppm | parts per million, equivalent to g/t | |
| t | metric tonne | |
| t/m3 | density measured as metric tonnes per cubic metre | |
| ° | degrees |
The owner of this announcement warrants that:
(i) the releases contained herein are protected by copyright and other applicable laws; and
(ii) they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the
information contained therein.
Source: African Consolidated Resources Plc via Thomson Reuters ONE
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