NEWS RELEASE - FEB 8, 1999
Here is the latest news from ING's Sekatak property. A significant find, to say the least. It will be interesting to see what they come up with in terms of reserve figures and the economic figures concerning the mining of the metals.
(Pardon the formatting, copying and pasting doesn't work yet on the internet, but hopefully this problem will be solved someday!)
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Monday February 8, 8:46 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SOURCE: Indochina Goldfields Ltd.
Indochina Goldfields announces drill discovery of high-grade polymetallic silver/copper mineralization at Sekatak project
SINGAPORE, Feb 8 /CNW-PRN/ - Indochina Goldfields Ltd. is pleased to report the discovery of high-grade silver and copper mineralization from the initial exploration drilling program on the Sekatak project in Northeast Kalimantan, Indonesia. Significant silver and copper values have been intersected in proximity to zones of quartz feldspar porphyry which are poorly exposed at surface. The drill holes, located adjacent to areas where rock and channel sampling were previously completed, were drilled primarily from road accessible sites. Of particular note are intercepts from holes BBDH011 and BBDH013 listed below:
- 74.0 metres at 20.5 g/t silver, 0.71% copper, 0.15 g/t gold, 0.36%
lead and 0.18% zinc in hole BBDH 011.
- 9.1 metres at 640.4 g/t silver (18.7 oz/ton), 0.61% copper, 0.28 g/t
gold, 0.79% lead, and 0.75% zinc in hole BBDH013 including 1.8 metres
at 3,138 g/t silver (91.5 oz./ton), 1.89% copper, 1.16 g/t gold, 1.40%
lead, and 1.29% zinc.
The anomalous copper values in BBDH011 are hosted within brecciated sediments and quartz feldspar porphyry whereas in BBDH013 the strong silver and copper values are in silicified sediments. A summary of significant intercepts is shown in Table 1.
The exploration carried out to date has resulted in the discovery of a major mineralized system in the Sekatak area which is reflected by the widespread silver, zinc, lead and copper mineralization outlined in surface and drill hole sampling. The initial drilling was focussed on broad zones of low-grade, stratabound base metal mineralization hosted in clastic sedimentary horizons. This style of mineralization was traced over a strike length in excess of three kilometres. The highly anomalous silver, copper and gold values encountered in BBHD011 and BBDH013 occur along the southern flank of Gunung Kalimondong, a prominent topographic feature in the area, and in proximity to isolated outcrops of porphyry intrusive. A general zonation is therefore observed from lead to zinc to copper-silver-gold as one proceeds along the 3 to 4 kilometre-long mineral trend from the southwest to the northeast. This zonation is also suggestive of intrusion-related mineralization with the higher silver and copper values in proximity to the inferred intrusive source located to the northeast.
The best copper intersection to date is in BBDH011, which was drilled to test a breccia zone adjacent to a quartz-feldspar porphyry dike. The interval between 35 m and 109 m intersected 0.71% copper over the 74.0 metres, including 2.6% copper over 2.0 m (35-37 m), and 6.7% copper over 3.6 m (51.5- 55.1 m). This hole confirms the potential for economically significant copper mineralization in the system.
Significant silver values with associated copper were also obtained in BBDH013 drilled approximately 400 metres north of BBDH011 on the southern slope of Gunung Kalimondong. This drill hole intersected 3,138 g/t silver (91.5 oz/ton) and 1.89% copper over 1.80 m within a wider interval averaging, 516 g/t silver (18.2 oz/ton) and 0.52% copper over 11.5 metres.
The initial exploration work in the Sekatak area was concentrated on outcropping silver-lead-zinc carbonate replacement style mineralization. Subsequent exploration and results from the current drill program now indicate that this style of mineralization has been overprinted by a zoned, structurally-controlled silver, copper, gold system distal to a porphyritic intrusive body. Soil sampling results support this analysis with broad zones of anomalous arsenic values in soils adjacent to strong silver values in rock chip samples on the flanks of Gunung Kalimondong.
All samples were analyzed using atomic absorption for base metals and fire assay for gold and silver. The laboratory used for all analyses was the internationally accredited P.T. Indoassay, which is based in Balikpapan, Kalimantan and is an affiliate of Analabs in Australia. In January, 1999, Watts, Griffis and McOuat Limited of Toronto, Canada completed an independent study of the Sekatak area. They conducted check sampling confirming Indochina's drill results. Operational logistics for the Sekatak project are excellent. The project area is located only four kilometres from tidewater and is traversed by a network of logging roads. Indochina's exploration headquarters at the oil industry service center of Tarakan is a 45-minute commute by boat.
The thrust of the exploration program is presently being directed towards the definition of the size and outline of the intrusive body that is postulated as the driving mechanism for the mineralization defined to date. An airborne magnetometer-spectrometer survey has been contracted for the greater Sekatak-Kalimondong target area. Targets identified from the airborne survey will be incorporated into the current geologic model and subsequently covered by an induced polarization survey to define drilling targets. In addition, bulldozer trenching and close-spaced soil sampling is currently underway to determine possible structural and lithologic controls to mineralization in the immediate areas surrounding BBDH011 and 013.
Indochina Goldfields currently has 71.7 million shares outstanding and had a cash balance of approximately US$55 million on January 31, 1999. In addition to Indochina's ongoing exploration for gold and base metals in Indonesia, the company is also conducting exploration and drilling in Thailand. The company is producing low-cost copper at the S&K Mine at Monywa in Myanmar, owns the Bakyrchik gold mine in Kazakhstan and has a major shareholding in Emperor Mines Limited operator of the Emperor Mine in Fiji, which expects to produce approximately 135,000 ounces of gold in 1999. The company's shares trade on the Toronto and Australian stock exchanges under the symbol ING.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: This news release contains certain forward-looking statements. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein, including without limitation, statements regarding potential mineralization and reserves, exploration results and future plans and objectives of Indochina Goldfields Ltd. (''Indochina'') are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from Indochina's expectations are disclosed under the heading ''Risk Factors'' and elsewhere in Indochina's documents filed from time to time with the Toronto Stock Exchange and other regulatory authorities. Forward-looking statements are based on the estimates and opinions of management on the date the statements are made, and Indochina does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements should conditions or management's estimates or opinions change.
TABLE 1
Indochina Goldfields Limited - Northeast Kalimantan Projects
Summary of Diamond Drill Hole Intersections at Sekatak
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Hole Bearing Dip Length Best Intersections
Number (Az.) (m) From To Width Zn Pb Cu Ag Au
(%) (%) (%) (g/t) (g/t)
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BBDH001 0dg. -50dg. 105.30 70.00 74.00 4.00 0.92 0.12 0.02 4.0 0.01
BBDH002 0dg. -50dg. 250.20 9.50 11.50 2.00 1.13 0.76 0.02 8.5 0.06
25.60 40.80 15.20 0.64 0.41 0.05 5.5 0.06
110.00 112.00 2.00 0.03 1.52 0.01 17.0 0.01
142.00 143.00 1.00 0.77 1.01 0.88 36.0 0.06
BBDH003 0dg. -50dg. 132.10 21.00 30.50 9.50 1.74 0.72 0.01 5.5 0.04
74.00 80.10 6.10 0.05 0.03 0.99 19.5 0.03
BBDH004
180dg -80dg. 60.60 14.80 15.50 0.70 0.84 1.25 0.99 73.0 0.93
55.20 58.20 3.00 1.02 2.44 0.01 22.3 0.03
BBDH005 0dg. -60dg. 117.75 62.35 66.00 3.65 0.04 6.13 0.003 40.6 0.03
BBDH006 0dg. -50dg. 144.00 45.90 52.00 6.10 0.38 0.50 0.15 17.2 0.02
BBDH007 0dg. -50dg. 80.40 20.00 32.10 12.10 0.46 0.57 0.12 9.4 0.05
BBDH008 0dg. -50dg. 85.80 32.00 51.75 19.75 0.72 0.49 0.06 12.4 0.09
68.00 72.95 4.95 0.24 0.43 0.21 19.3 0.01
BBDH009
175dg -50dg. 102.30 50.00 55.50 5.50 0.65 1.05 0.56 35.1 0.17
BBDH010 0dg. -50dg. 112.00 9.60 16.60 7.00 1.04 0.21 0.02 5.4 0.01
53.90 59.60 5.70 0.18 1.58 0.007 15.0 0.02
101.00 109.10 8.10 0.70 0.44 0.006 6.7 0.04
BBDH011(1)
175dg. -50dg. 119.30 35.00 40.00 5.00 0.33 0.86 1.26 44.6 1.70
51.50 56.00 4.50 0.60 1.14 5.58 110.9 0.17
64.00 67.00 3.00 0.02 0.02 0.47 14.3 0.01
88.00 109.00 21.00 0.26 0.63 0.71 27.8 0.06
BBDH012
20dg. -60dg. 106.60 51.00 55.00 4.00 0.82 0.46 0.002 7.8 0.01
103.00 105.00 2.00 0.48 1.30 0.001 13.0 <0.01
BBDH013(2)
180dg. -60dg. 199.30 13.60 25.10 11.50 0.61 0.66 0.52 515.8 0.26
includes 16.00 19.10 3.10 0.99 1.22 0.12 17.5 0.12
and 21.53 25.10 3.57 0.88 0.87 1.354 1,603 0.61
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Note 1: section in BBDH011 from 35-109 m averages 0.18% Zn, 0.36% Pb,
0.71% Cu, 20.5 g Ag/t and 0.15 g Au/t.
Note 2: section in BBDH013 from 16-25.1 m averages 0.75% Zn, 0.79% Pb,
0.61% Cu, 640 g Ag/t and 0.29 g Au/t and includes section from
23.3-25.1 m which averages 1.29% Zn, 1.40% Pb, 1.89% Cu, 3,138 g
Ag/t and 1.16 g Au/t.
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SOURCE: Indochina Goldfields Ltd. |
