(BSNS WIRE) Golden Eagle Announces Results of Behre Dolbear & Company, I
Golden Eagle Announces Results of Behre Dolbear & Company, Inc. Report
Business Editors
DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 22, 1999--Golden Eagle
International, Inc. (OTC Pink Sheets: MYNG) announced today that it
has received a report on its Cangalli gold deposit from the
internationally-recognized minerals industry consulting firm of Behre
Dolbear & Company, Inc. ("Behre Dolbear"). Behre Dolbear's report
entitled: "Report on Results of Gold Sampling Program: Cangalli Area,
Bolivia" is the result of a field sampling program and literature
search performed by Behre Dolbear geologists beginning with site work
in October 1998, and culminating with a site visit in February 1999.
Behre Dolbear's report, a geological analysis of the Cangalli
deposit and an in-depth historical survey of gold production in
Cangalli and the Tipuani Mining District, "confirms that alluvial gold
is present in the Cangalli conglomerate. Gold occurrence is erratic,
but extends over significant vertical and horizontal sections." Behre
Dolbear further stated: "The extent of the deposition of Cangalli
conglomerates is impressive."
The Company retained Behre Dolbear in October, 1998, to conduct
the fourth geological study commissioned on Golden Eagle's Cangalli
gold deposit since January 1996 (Trites, January 1996; Paravicini,
April 1997; Paravicini, May 1998; Behre Dolbear, May 1999). In
addition, Golden Eagle had received reports on site visits from Donald
M. Hausen, Ph.D., former chief mineralogist for Newmont Mining
(September 1997); Max Staheli, former controller of South American
operations for Barrick Gold Corporation (September 1997); and Ronald L
Atwood, Ph.D., former chief metallurgist for Newmont Mining (March
1997), all members of Golden Eagle's Technical Advisory Board. These
previous reports had all indicated that the Cangalli gold deposit was
a large, widely-mineralized deposit with a good potential for
supporting one or more open-pit and underground mining operations.
Golden Eagle's management sought a consulting firm with the stature
and expertise of Behre Dolbear to confirm this concept from these
prior reports.
*T
In its summary, Behre Dolbear's report states:
"Based on specific observations within Golden Eagle's Cangalli
landholding and the sample results, Behre Dolbear noted that:
-- "visible alluvial gold was recovered from 68 of 73 samples [93%]
of Cangalli conglomerate taken from six widely separated areas,
indicating that the Cangalli conglomerate is mineralized over an
extensive vertical and horizontal section, albeit in the erratic,
non-predictive manner typical of most alluvial deposits;
-- "gold recovered from the samples indicates grades ranging from
zero to 5.64 g Au/m3. The mineralization is very erratic,
sometimes changing from <0.01 g Au/m3 to >1.0g Au/m3 in a
vertical distance of 1-meter;
-- "using 0.8 g Au/m3 as a threshold grade of gold sufficient to
warrant further consideration, 17 of 73 samples of the Cangalli
conglomerate were in excess of this exploration target grade from
four areas: Chaco [0.91, 0.96, 1.09, 1.14, 1.31, 1.80, and 4.56 g
Au/m3], Isuhuaya [0.92, 1.01, 1.14, 1.40, 1.53, and 3.64 g
Au/m3], Flor de Mayo [1.10, 2.41 and 2.79 g Au/m3], and Cangalli
(within the town limits) [5.64 g Au/m3];
-- "the four surface areas, Chaco, Isuhuaya, Flor de Mayo and
Cangalli, are considered potential targets for further
exploration to determine the extent of the higher grade material;
-- "while no samples were taken from the Cangalli underground mine,
the operation was visited and based on the observations of the
Behre Dolbear personnel [two unsupervised mine runs which
averaged 4.28 g Au/m3 and 21.55 g Au/ton], further consideration
is recommended to confirm the existence of high grade material;
and
-- "the Paleozoic bedrock in the Camino Maderero area sampled is not
a potential source of primary gold mineralization.
"Behre Dolbear took a limited number of samples during the
investigation. The program was not designed as a representative
sample analysis for various reasons, including the areal extent
of the property (approximately 40 square kilometers [24 square
miles]), the thickness of the conglomerate (500 m [1,600 feet] to
2,500 m [8,000 feet] in thickness), and access to various sites
(steep hills and valleys, many with +75(0) slopes)."
Behre Dolbear also reported on the unique nature of Golden
Eagle's conglomerate gold deposits:
"Although normal stream processes deposited the gold within the
Cangalli conglomerate, the gold deposits are unique in the
following ways:
-- "based on Behre Dolbear's sample results and observation of
present and abandoned mining operations, gold appears to have
been deposited throughout the entire +500-meter [1,600 feet]
thickness, rather than at or near the bedrock/gravel contact as
in "typical" alluvial gold deposits;
-- "the conglomerate is indurated, not loose gravel;
-- "'paystreaks', which are typically thin, occur in a random
manner. They usually contain a higher percentage of large
boulders than the normal conglomerate, and locally may have high
gold values (>31 g/m3 (>1 oz Au/m3)). Some have been mined by
underground methods; and
-- "the gravels between paystreaks may also contain gold. Behre
Dolbear collected samples from these gravels, which predominately
contain less than 0.1 g Au/m3, although 17 samples contained at
least 0.8 g Au/m3. These higher grade samples may actually
reflect the presence of other unrecognized paystreaks which occur
in the unit."
Behre Dolbear confirmed Golden Eagle's previous disclosures that
exploration in the Cangalli concessions will be, and has been to date,
difficult and expensive since:
-- "the rugged topography makes correlation of geological horizons
and paleochannels difficult; and
-- "the widespread, but erratic nature of gold occurrences
containing reasonably large "nuggets" and the presence of large
boulders in the conglomerate makes collection of representative
samples difficult. Thus the calculation of a resource, which is
essential for determining economic viability, is problematic."
Regarding historical mining in the Cangalli conglomerate deposits
such as Golden Eagle's, Behre Dolbear performed a historical
literature search at Golden Eagle's request and reported the
following:
"Information taken from Aramayo company annual reports indicates
that from 1939 to 1949, 6,161 meters were driven underground at
the Tujujahuira adit (in Cangalli conglomerates), resulting in an
extraction of 49,151 m3 of gravels bearing 1,604,800 grams of
gold (=51,000 ounces) with an average grade of 32.6 g Au/m3 (1.05
oz Au/m3) (United Nations 1968). In 1944, one rich pocket yielded
112,352 grams of gold (=3,610 ounces) from 12.1 m3 (United
Nations 1968). It was reported by another source that the
Tujujahuira adit had a 60-degree decline connecting from the main
operation through the mountain to an additional drainage, two
ventilation shafts, and three galleries located on the 30, 50 and
60 meter levels. Nineteen gold-bearing pay zones were exploited,
with grades reaching 150 g Au/m3 (4.82 oz Au/m3) (Revilla 1988).
During this period Aramayo had between 300 and 600 laborers
working for the company (United Nations 1968). The Tujujahuira
adit is located nine kilometers (5.4 miles) up-river from the
Golden Eagle concessions."
(Behre Dolbear included the preceding historical information in
the Historical section of its report, but did not independently
confirm that information. Golden Eagle believes that this
historical information applies to the same conglomerate formation
in the Paleo-Tipuani system as is found on Golden Eagle's
property; however, Golden Eagle cannot assure that its gold
deposition or mine performance will be the same as or similar to
the historical information given.)
On the issue of fine gold, Behre Dolbear indicated that its
geologists did not consider the presence of "microfine" or "ultrafine"
gold within the scope of its work on the Cangalli deposit. Instead,
the Behre Dolbear study focused on visually-verifiable gold
conventionally recoverable using gravity concentration techniques.
Regarding the presence of fine gold in the deposit, Behre Dolbear
stated:
"While visiting the Chaco site, the size fraction of the gold was
discussed. Golden Eagle stated that the size fraction included a
reasonable volume of flour gold and dust; however due to the
processing methods, the gold was generally lost during the sluice
box operations. This statement is supported by the previous work
of Zambrana and Trites. Additionally, since the gold was
extremely flat, the smaller particles tended to float on the
surface. To confirm this, Dr. Sandri (Henry Sandri, Ph.D.,
project manager for Behre Dolbear) placed a small amount of
grease on his hand and let the post sluice box water flow spill
over his hand for about five minutes, after which his hand showed
very minute particles of gold trapped in the grease.
"It was proposed to Golden Eagle (by Dr. Sandri) that they could
further "test" gold losses in their tails by rerunning a number
of tonnes through the process again. Accordingly, four tonnes of
tailings fines from the existing tailings area were reprocessed
through the gravity plant, recognizing that any very fine gold
would probably again be lost from the circuit for the same
reasons that it was lost in the initial processing.
"The final concentrates from these reprocessed tailings were
collected by Dr. Sandri and brought to the U.S. for final
cleaning and weighing. They were processed in the U.S. and
resulted in over 500 particles of gold weighing 1.69 g. Au,
averaging 0.42 g. Au per ton of tails reprocessed. Most of the
gold was very small and it confirmed Golden Eagle's belief that
fine particles were being washed through this processing plant."
Terry C. Turner , Golden Eagle's president, stated: "Behre
Dolbear's findings are very encouraging, are consistent with previous
studies on the deposit, and underscore the size and unique nature of
the Company's gold deposit at Cangalli. Behre Dolbear's work also
serves to further focus the Company's efforts and commitment of its
limited resources for the future. We knew from previous reports that
the gold deposition in the Cangalli deposit was sporadic; seldom are
gold deposits evenly distributed. However, Behre Dolbear's report, and
others that we have received, emphasize that the "nugget effect" can
be eliminated through bulk sampling as far as further testing, and can
be averaged out in a bulk mining scenario. The most important point in
the Behre Dolbear report for Golden Eagle is the statement that the
Cangalli gold deposit is "unique" in that the gold is deposited
throughout the entire +500 meter (1,600 feet) thickness of the
deposit."
In addition, Ronald L. Atwood, Ph.D., former chief metallurgist
for Newmont Mining and a member of the Company's Technical Advisory
Board, after reviewing the Behre Dolbear report, stated: "I recently
spent three weeks on Golden Eagle's Cangalli gold deposit in April
1999. Behre Dolbear's work confirms my field observations. The
Cangalli deposit is enormous and appears to be highly anomalous in
gold values over its entire extension. What is even more important,
high gold grades can come at any point in the vertical or horizontal
sections. While Behre Dolbear's sampling recovered gold in 93% of its
samples in the Cangalli conglomerate, by using a Knelson Concentrator
I was able to recover extremely fine gold in 100% of the samples that
I took. Some of those assays were very low, but the important aspect
was that the fine gold present in the Cangalli deposit, which has
traditionally been lost, can be recovered."
Donald M. Hausen, Ph.D., former chief mineralogist for Newmont
Mining and a member of the Company's Technical Advisory Board, also
reviewed Behre Dolbear's report, and stated: "Their results of gold
sampling at Cangalli indicate that over 90% of samples contained
significant amounts of visible gold from six widely separated areas.
The erratic mineralization is typical due to "nugget" effects from
sample to sample, but confirms that coarse gold occurs widely
throughout the deposit. I was quite pleased that Behre Dolbear
recommended that a bulk mining sampling operation be initiated to
confirm the economic grades throughout large tonnages. They suggested
that this bulk sampling be located at Chaco "plataforma", followed by
other favorable locations. Large mineable samples would then provide
more representative grades of gold that would guide the development of
large open-pits in the near future."
Mr. Turner further noted: "Although the Behre Dolbear report
confirmed Golden Eagle's previously-held concept of the Cangalli gold
deposit, the report also emphasized the cost and complexity of further
exploration and possible mining operations on the Company's Cangalli
prospect. Our vision for the future is an optimistic one. Golden Eagle
will now focus its limited capital and other resources on its
strategic plan." This plan includes the following objectives:
a) Maintenance of current operations, contractual payments, and land
patent (claim) payments;
b) Acquisition of surrounding or adjacent landholdings within the
Paleo-Tipuani Trend;
c) Acquisition of the Coop ownership interest in the Cangalli
properties, thereby eliminating any royalty from the gold
deposit;
d) Implementation of recommendations from the geological and
metallurgical reports, including, but not limited to:
i. constructing a metallurgical recovery plant at Chaco Playa,
Chaco Platform and Chaco Face, to begin production and
further verification on a large scale;
ii. entering second-stage resource confirmation work with Golden
Eagle's geological consulting firm;
iii. entering into negotiations, including site visits and
initial field studies, with interested joint venture
partners in the industry.
*T
Turner added: "We will continue pursuing this optimistic vision
despite the many obstacles that always appear in the road as far as
bringing any mining prospect into production."
Golden Eagle International, Inc. is a Denver-based gold mining
and exploration company. The Company is currently focusing its efforts
on developing its mining rights in Cangalli, Bolivia. For more
information about the Company, call Sabrina Martinez at (303) 694-6101
or Guy Murrel at (303) 581-7760. Media inquires should be directed to
Richard Pinto at (212) 688-8599. Golden Eagle can also be found at its
new website: www.geii.com, where management recommends that all
shareholders and prospective shareholders review its Annual Reports on
Form 10-KSB, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-QSB and Periodic Reports on
Form 8-K.
The future conduct of Golden Eagle's business and its response to
issues raised by third parties are dependent upon a number of factors,
and there can be no assurance that Golden Eagle will be able to
conduct its operations as contemplated. Certain statements contained
in this report using the terms "may", "expects to," and other terms
denoting future possibilities, are forward-looking statements. The
accuracy of these statements cannot be guaranteed as they are subject
to a variety of risks which are beyond Golden Eagle's ability to
predict or control and which may cause actual results to differ
materially from the projections or estimates contained herein. These
risks include, but are not limited to, the risks described in the
above press release; those risks set out in Golden Eagle's disclosure
documents and its annual, quarterly and periodic reports; and the
other risks associated with start-up mineral exploration operations
with insufficient liquidity, negative working capital, and no
historical profitability. Golden Eagle disclaims any obligation to
update any forward-looking statement made herein.
--30--djm/dx*
CONTACT: Golden Eagle International, Inc.
Sabrina Martinez, 303/694-6101
or
Appia Group
Richard Pinto, 212/688-8599
KEYWORD: COLORADO
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: MINING/METALS
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