Tracked down that Press Release here it is:
Mizek feasibility study proceeding; new Kazakstan exploration licences
acquired
Steppe Gold Resources Ltd SPE
Shares issued 11,683,289 Apr 2 close $0.30
Thu 3 Apr 97 News Release
Mr John Menzies reports
Steppe Gold plans to become the first significant foreign gold producer in
Kazakstan. Encouraging results from initial metallurgical testwork have
focused Steppe Gold on completing a heap leach feasibility study as quickly
as possible. Following completion of the feasibility study construction
would commence during 1997 with production in the first half of 1998.
Steppe Gold is completing a bankable feasibility study on the Mizek gold
deposit within the northern portion of the 440,000 hectare Mizek
exploration licence in central Kazakstan.
Steppe Gold has largely completed:
Hydrological studies which have defined water resources sufficient for a
heap leach operation;
An environmental impact study to a standard suitable for international bank
financing;
Geotechnical studies of the proposed open pit and heap leach pad sites;
Ore reserve modelling and estimation; and
Construction of a 100-man camp to western standards at the Mizek site.
Heap leach metallurgical testwork supervised by Kappes Cassidy & Associates
has been completed on representative samples with excellent initial
results.
Kappes Cassidy & Associates, an experienced heap leach engineering firm,
has been engaged to conduct the feasibility study and additional samples
have been selected under its supervision for additional and confirmatory
heap leach metallurgical testwork.
Preliminary results from a scoping study have indicated a project capital
cost as low as US$12m for a 1.1 million tonnes per year heap leach
operation. Cash operating costs are expected to be under US$200 per ounce
with an annual production of approximately 60,000 ounces. Construction is
planned to commence in 1997 with completion early in 1998.
Substantial potential exists within the licence for the development of
additional oxide reserves. A geochemical exploration program conducted
during the latter half of 1996 resulted in the definition of a large number
of gold and base metal anomalies, including a high order anomaly (to a peak
of 3 g/t gold) to the immediate south of the Mizek gold deposit, a large
anomaly surrounding the Mizek deposit which extends well beyond areas
tested during the 1996 exploration effort and numerous gold and base metal
anomalies along the 100km of prospective strike within the licence. These
areas will be evaluated with systematic exploration planned for 1997.
Steppe Gold aims to become a substantial gold producer and plans to develop
all its projects in compliance with the most cost effective industry
standards and to the highest environmental standards.
Mr Menzies also reports
Steppe Gold has over the last few weeks made a number of announcements in
regard to new property acquisitions in Kazakstan. Steppe Gold is now the
largest property holder in the country at a time of increasing interest in
gold and base metals exploration in the region fuelled by a number of
successful project developments and commitments to large scale smelter
expansions. Steppe Gold has acquired eight properties totalling 84,650 sq
km (8,465,000 hectares) in the major gold and base metal producing belts in
the country.
The terms on all the licences are identical, in which Steppe Gold:
Has a 69% equity with excellent local partners holding 31% equity;
Is manager of the projects;
Must provide all exploration and development finance which is repaid with
interest from 88% of project cashflow surplus;
Has received notification that all licences were issued during February
1997, and;
Has executed agreements with local partners.
A brief summary of the properties is given below.
Selety (Area: 2,367,700 hectares)
The property has complex geology with major shear zones cutting volcanics
and sediments intruded by felsic and intermediate intrusions. Selety is in
the Charsk gold belt, one of the major gold producing belts in the country.
Larger gold deposits in the belt include Vasilkovskoye and Bakyrchik, both
with more than 10 million ounces in reserves.
In the northern portion of the property there is identical geology to the
Aksu, Zholymbet, Bestobe, Maikain deposits which total six million ounces
of gold, all of which are within (as exclusions) or close to the Selety
property.
In the southern part of the property there is similar geology and structure
to that which hosts KazMinco's Samarskoye porphyry copper-gold deposit,
with reported resources of 3.8 billion pounds of copper and two million
ounces of gold.
Within the licence there are numerous gold occurrences in a terrain which
is amenable to inexpensive geochemical exploration.
Selety surrounds much smaller holdings being explored by Teck Exploration
and Cameco adjoins the properties to the north.
East Vasilkovskoye (Area: 18,600 hectares)
The property covers the eastern portion of a granitoid intrusion which
contains the 13 million ounce Vasilkovskoye gold deposit. The remainder of
the intrusion has been reserved for the company which eventually retains
the right to develop this deposit.
The Steppe Gold property hosts a similar structural setting and geology to
the Vasilkovskoye deposit.
Previous exploration has located similar mineralization to Vasilkovskoye in
the northern portion of the licence close to a shear zone which is strongly
altered and mineralized over a strike of 15km.
Outcrop in the licence is poor with bedrock being obscured by a thin veneer
of soil. Modern low level geochemical techniques have not been used in the
exploration of the licence.
Tenghiz (Area: 1,540,000 hectares)
The property has a complex geology with fault bounded anticlines cored by
basement intrusive complexes which hosts most of the known mineralization
in the licence area.
The property is considered to have excellent potential for gold and
gold-copper porphyry systems.
Tenghiz previously has not been explored using modern geochemical
techniques.
Odak, Temirtau, Kashtal (Area: 1,061,000 hectares)
Odak hosts a 30km structural corridor which, to the north of the licence,
is host to the large Bozshakol copper gold deposit containing 1.6 million
ounces gold and four billion pounds of copper. Exploration will be targeted
on this trend using low level geochemical techniques.
Temirtau surrounds one of the larger steelworks in the CIS and abuts the
Samarskoye gold-copper deposit. A structural trend which passes through the
licence is believed to be the focus of mineralization in the region.
Kashtal hosts a number of quartz vein and auriferous stockwork deposits
within granitoid intrusions.
Southern Urals (Area: 2,508,400 hectares)
The property covers a large portion of the Urals belt, which is the most
significant metal producing region of Russia.
The belt hosts widespread gold-copper porphyries, VMS base metal deposits,
large gold quartz stockworks and nickel and chrome deposits.
Known mineralization, within exclusions in the Southern Urals property,
exceeds 3.5 million ounces of gold and three million tonnes of copper.
Along strike to the south Cogema is exploring the Yubineny property, which
has reported resources of 1.5 million ounces of gold.
Chu-Ili (Area: 963,300 hectares)
The property is in the southern portion of the Akbakai gold belt, which
hosts the 2.5 million ounce Akbakai gold deposits. The licence has a
similar geological and structural setting to the region around Akbakai.
Three gold mines in the belt are currently in production.
The Steppe Gold property is close to Almaty and infrastructure.
The licence has been poorly explored; however, gold mineralization in
veins, stockworks and shear zones is known within the licence.
Naimanzhal
Steppe Gold has been undertaking a due diligence on this property during
the last two months. Steppe Gold has not elected to proceed with its option
to acquire a 50% interest in the licence and has advised the vendor
accordingly.
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