News Release and Shareholder Update - Helio reports drill results from Kenge Target, SMP Gold Project and plans for 2009
Wed Apr 22, 1:45 PM
ca.news.finance.yahoo.com
Drill results include:
up to 6.5m @ 9.9g/t Au and 19.2m @ 3.1 g/t Au
TSX-V Trading Symbol: HRC Tel.: 604 - 638 8005
E-mail: info@helioresource.com Website: www.helioresource.com
VANCOUVER, April 22 /CNW/ - Helio Resource Corp. ("Helio" or the "Company") (TSX-V: HRC.V) is pleased to provide an update on its corporate and exploration activities, and its exploration plans for 2009.
2008 Drilling Results - Kenge Target
------------------------------------
A total of 34 diamond drill holes are reported, representing all remaining
drill results from the 2008 diamond drill programme. Holes were drilled into
the Kenge Main Zone, primarily as infill drill holes. Drilling extended gold
mineralisation to a depth of over 260m, and mineralisation remains open to
depth.
Highlights from this batch of drill holes include:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hole No. From (m) Width (m) Grade - g/t Au Comment
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
SZD158 9.2 6.5 9.9
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Incl. 12.5 0.6 73.4
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
SZD144 15.1 19.2 3.1
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
SZD114 162.3 11.7 1.3
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
SZD115 190.4 9.5 1.4
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
SZD116 216.9 12.6 1.3
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
SZD117 137.3 15.1 2.2
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
SZD119 163.9 11 2.0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
SZD120 169.5 13.5 1.5
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
SZD121 187.3 4.7 3.6
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
SZD140 227.3 9.8 2.4
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
SZD145 11.53 25.9 1.2 Open
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
SZD148 16.7 14.3 1.7
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
SZD153 73.8 24.5 0.9
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
SZD157 3.0 12.5 2.2 Open
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
* non-sequential hole numbers were already released
A complete list of all significant drill results and hole locations from
all drilling completed at the SMP Gold Project by the Company to date has been
posted on the Company's website at
helioresource.com and
helioresource.com.
Shareholder Update
------------------
& Plans for 2009
----------------
CORPORATE
---------
Having completed the recently announced financing (see news dated April 8, 2009), the Company now has $6.8M cash in the treasury.
Management believes that the Company's ability to secure these funds in a difficult market environment for junior exploration companies is a reflection of the quality of the SMP Gold Project. The Company intends to spend the majority of these funds advancing the SMP Gold Project in Tanzania.
As a result of the funding the company now has 65,438,792 shares issued and outstanding. In addition to Dundee Resources Limited (17% shareholder), the Company also welcomes Macquarie Bank Limited as a new significant shareholder (10.7% shareholder).
TANZANIA
--------
SMP Gold Project Lupa Goldfields
Since starting exploration at the SMP Gold Project in early 2006, the Company has assembled a land package totalling 238km(2), which covers a 35km strike length of the main known gold-bearing structure in the Lupa Goldfields, the Saza Shear Zone.
To date, the Company has diamond drill tested three widely-spaced targets, Porcupine, Kenge and Konokono, along 13km of the structure. In addition the Company has tested eight other targets with reconnaissance RC (reverse circulation) drilling - see helioresource.com for map showing the location of the targets drilled to date.
In total, the Company has completed 37,103m of diamond drilling (comprising 8,387m in 41 drill holes at Porcupine, 27,796m in 180 drill holes at Kenge, and 920m in 5 drill holes at Konokono), and 11,556m of reconnaissance and infill RC drilling. The bulk of the ongoing resource drilling will utilise RC drill rigs which are now more readily available.
In addition, the Company has identified numerous other targets, through a combination of geological mapping, geochemical soil sampling, and geophysics, which warrant drill testing. Many of these high priority targets have not yet been drill-tested, primarily due to more difficult access. Drilling of these new targets is planned during 2009.
Porcupine Target Overview
-------------------------
- Geological, geochemical, and geophysical information indicates that
the Porcupine Target has an east-west strike length of at least
1,000m.
- Geophysical evidence from the Gap, Reefski, and Panya targets (see
Target Location Map attached), which extend a further 7km east of
Porcupine, indicates that the target has the potential to be several
kilometres long.
- Gold mineralisation is associated with sheeted quartz veins hosted
within a shear zone cutting granitic host rocks.
- The target has been drill tested from surface to a down dip depth of
230m, and mineralisation remains open to depth.
- To date 41 diamond drill holes have been completed, and have tested a
strike length of 700m.
- Mineralisation remains open to the east and to the west.
- The mineralised zones vary in thickness, reaching up to 60m in width.
The best intercepts recorded to date include 52.2m @ 3.3g/t Au,
49.6m @ 3.3g/t Au, and 42.3m @ 4.0g/t Au.
Porcupine Target - Plans for 2009
---------------------------------
- An initial 1,000m diamond drilling programme is planned to commence
in May 2009. This initial programme will focus on infill drilling in
and around the areas of existing diamond drilling.
- 5,000m of RC drilling is planned to commence in May or June, 2009.
The RC drill programme is designed to extend mineralisation along
strike to the east and west of the Porcupine Target and to test
targets located between Porcupine and Gap.
- A metallurgical sample from diamond drill core will be submitted for
testwork as soon as possible.
Kenge Target Overview
---------------------
- The Kenge Target comprises 5 zones of outcropping mineralisation,
which together have an aggregate strike length of over 2,000m (see
helioresource.com for Plan Map
of the Kenge Target).
- Gold mineralisation is hosted within a southwest-dipping shear zone
located along the contact between granitic and dioritic wall rocks.
- The gold, associated with quartz veins, sericite and pyrite, occurs
principally as free gold, which accounts for the high recovery rates
- up to 96% - recorded from the metallurgical testwork (see news
releases dated August 8, 2008, and full metallurgical report at
helioresource.com.
- The mineralised zones, namely Kenge NW, Kenge Main, Kenge SE,
Snakebite, and Mbenge, have been drilled tested from surface down to
a depth of ~260m below surface.
- Drilling has recently shown that the NW and Main zones are one
continuous zone of mineralisation.
- Gold mineralisation is open to depth in all zones.
- The mineralised zones vary in thickness from 1m up to almost 50m
wide, they all outcrop and are all potentially open-pittable.
- To date, 180 diamond drill holes have been completed on the five
zones.
- The best mineralised intercepts for each of the zones are:
- 18m at 2.7g/t Au - NW Zone
- 22m at 6.9g/t Au - Main Zone
- 21.5m at 3.6g/t Au - SE Zone
- 8m at 20.8g/t Au - Snakebite
- 48m at 2.1g/t Au - Mbenge
- Metallurgical results from the Kenge Target are very positive - up to
96% recovery of gold from conventional gravity and cyanidation
processes.
Kenge Target - Plans for 2009
-----------------------------
- Approximately 3,000m of RC drilling is required to determine the
strike extent of the Mbenge zone mineralisation, which remains open
to the east. Reconnaissance RC drilling from 2006 intersected gold
mineralisation 500m east of the most recent diamond drilling,
suggesting that the strike length of the Kenge Target could increase
to at least 2,500m.
- Further metallurgical testwork will be undertaken to determine if the
process can be optimised, whilst maintaining the high gold
recoveries.
SMP Project - Other Activities for 2009
---------------------------------------
- Soil samples from the Saza West licence have been collected and
submitted to the lab for analysis. Results will guide future work on
this licence, which was the Company's most recent addition to the SMP
Project landholdings (see news release dated October 16, 2008).
- Initial reconnaissance RC drill testing of other high-priority
targets (5,000m) will be conducted upon completion of the Porcupine
RC drill programme.
- Complete an initial resource estimate by the end of 2009.
Chris MacKenzie, M.Sc., C.Geol., Helio's COO and a Qualified Person as designated by NI 43-101, supervises the exploration at the SMP project, including the sampling and quality assurance / quality control programmes, and has reviewed the contents of this news release. Most drill holes were oriented at -48(degrees) and were drilled perpendicular towards the main structural trend. Intercepts are reported as drilled widths, and estimated true widths vary from 70-90% of drilled width. Core was halved with a rock saw and sample lengths between 0.3m and 2.0m within the mineralised zone were submitted to the lab (with the duplicate half being retained). QA/QC includes the use of blanks and standards (ave. 1 every 15 samples) and duplicates (ave. 1 every 24 samples). Samples were assayed at the SGS Laboratory in Mwanza, Tanzania by 50g gold fire assay. As well as the Company's internal QA/QC programme, SGS also applied their own internal QA/QC programme, consisting of insertion of standards and duplicates. Unless otherwise stated weighted average intercepts are calculated between the uppermost and lowermost samples within the main mineralised zone using a 0.5g/t cut-off and may include some internal waste.
Helio's main focus is the development of the SMP Gold Project in Tanzania. As part of its strategic approach to project development, Helio has optioned 9 of its 11 Namibian licences to Desert Minerals (UK) Ltd. and continues to pursue joint venture partners for its other projects in Namibia.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
"Richard D. Williams" "Chris MacKenzie"
Richard D. Williams, P.Geo Christopher J. MacKenzie, C.Geol.
CEO COO
The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept
responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Contacts
Richard Williams
(604) 638-8005 or by e-mail to richard@helioresource.com |
