Avala Resources Provides Update on the Bigar Hill Resource Definition Drilling Program, Serbia
December 05 2011 - 7:30AM
Marketwired Canada
Avala Resources Ltd. (TSX VENTURE:AVZ) (the "Company" or "Avala") is pleased to
present an update on progress and drill results from the Korkan-Bigar trend,
part of the sediment-hosted gold belt within the Cretaceous magmatic arc
bordering the Timok Magmatic Complex ("TMC") in Eastern Serbia.
1. HIGHLIGHTS
-- The Bigar Hill resource definition program is focused on establishing
continuity of mineralization, using a nominal 80 meter by 80 meter grid
spacing within the mineralized 'footprints' that have been outlined by
Avala during the earlier, wide-spaced, 160 meter by 160 meter diamond
drilling programs, which started in August, 2010.
-- Resource definition reverse circulation (RC) drilling at Bigar Hill has
returned the following strong to moderate gold intercepts (0.4g/t cut-
off grade):
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hole ID From (m) To (m) Interval (m) Au (g/t) Gram-meters
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
BHRC022 126 138 12 1.69 20
206 229 23 2.09 48
BHRC024(i) 232 248 16 2.29 37
BHRC025 141 162 21 1.50 32
BHRC031 159 181 22 1.13 25
187 197 10 1.16 12
209 220 11 3.50 39
BHRC036 185 210 25 1.55 39
235 275 40 1.33 53
BHRC037 188 222 34 1.43 49
BHRC038(i) 193 226 33 0.94 31
294 323 29 1.31 38
BHRC039 175 190 15 2.50 38
BHRC041 183 208 25 1.74 44
BHRC047 80 98 18 3.17 57
141 153 12 2.34 28
205 221 16 2.29 37
BHRC051(i) 204 221 17 8.10 138
BHRC053 198 222 24 1.04 25
230 244 14 1.47 21
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Intersections calculated using 5 meter minimum thickness, 5 meter
maximum included waste.
Note: The listing does not include 'twin' RC drill hole intersections of
previously drilled diamond drill holes.
(i) Drill holes terminate in mineralization i.e. mineralization remains
open at depth.
-- Diamond drilling on the Korkan target area returned the following wide,
moderate gold intercepts (0.4g/t cut-off grade), from the north-eastern
edge of the wide-spaced drilling grid; mineralization remains
demonstrably open in this direction:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hole ID From (m) To (m) Interval (m) Au (g/t) Gram-meters
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
KODD060 24 75 51 0.88 45
KODD061 189.2 196 6.8 0.87 6
207 219 12 0.41 5
276 311 35 0.62 22
KODD063 72 85 13 1.14 15
93 102 9 0.59 5
159 181 22 0.71 16
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: 5 meter minimum thickness, 5 meter maximum included waste.
Note: KODD061 had no core recovery from 135.1 to 184.1 meters.
-- To date, Avala has outlined gold mineralization at Korkan over an area
of approximately 1,200 meters by 600 meters surrounding the original
discovery hole (open to the east and north-east) and an area of 1,000
meters by 1,000 meters on the Bigar Hill target area (open in all
directions). Kraku Pestar has been traced over 600 meters by 300 meters
and is open to the north and south.
-- Exploration drilling continues to test additional target areas, located
in close proximity to the Korkan and Bigar Hill mineralized
'footprints'.
-- Avala intends to continue the wide-spaced drilling program, in
conjunction with resource definition program, in order to test the
prospective 'target stratigraphy' within the Korkan-Bigar trend, to
effectively outline the size of the newly defined sediment-hosted gold
system.
-- The combined Korkan-Bigar trend is over 10 kilometers long and 2.5
kilometers wide and represents only part of the northern portion of the
sediment-hosted gold belt.
-- Avala currently has seven diamond drill rigs and one RC drill rig
operating on the sediment-hosted gold belt. One diamond drill rig has
been allocated to an area in the southern portion of the sediment-hosted
gold belt, on the Umka-Strnjak trend, where scout drill holes are being
drilled on nominal 320 meter by 320 meter centers within the target
stratigraphy. The remainder of the drill rigs are operating on the
Korkan-Bigar trend. A second RC drill rig is scheduled to contribute to
the infill drilling programme in January 2012.
2. GEOLOGY AND MINERALIZATION STYLE
-- Sediment-hosted gold, located along the western margin of the Timok
Magmatic Complex, represents a previously unrecognized style of gold
mineralization within the Timok region.
-- Within the Korkan-Bigar trend, stratabound, fault-controlled breccia
together with minor karst-infill breccia represent the styles of
sediment-hosted gold mineralization recognized to date.
-- Gold mineralization appears to be associated with fine-grained pyrite
(sulfidation reaction) and a number of alteration styles including
kaolinitization, decarbonatization of calcareous sedimentary rock
adjacent to the gold mineralization and occasionally, silicification.
-- Gold mineralization is hosted within a favourable sedimentary package -
the 'target stratigraphy' - which is underlain by Jurassic and Lower
Cretaceous limestones and consists predominantly of calcareous
sandstones and conglomerates which include an interbedded fine grained
sandstone and clay-rich siltstone unit.
-- The upper portion of the target stratigraphy consists of 'red'
sandstones and volcanic-lithic clastic sediments, which are in turn,
overlain by calcareous marls, andesitic volcanic and volcaniclastic
rocks, representing the youngest portion of the target stratigraphy.
-- Figure 1 shows the location of the Korkan-Bigar trend and the Kraku
Pestar target area within the greater sediment-hosted gold belt, defined
in this image by mapped 'target stratigraphy' and anomalous gold soil
geochemistry, together with their respective total metal contour plots,
as defined by drilling, superimposed. The significant potential of the
belt can be clearly seen when the surface area of the mineralized
'footprints' of the currently drilled target areas within the Korkan-
Bigar trend are compared to the overall extent of the presently defined
gold soil anomalies.
3. DRILLING AT KORKAN-BIGAR
-- Resource Definition Drilling (Bigar Hill): Avala commenced RC drilling
on a nominal 80 meter by 80 meter grid spacing at Bigar Hill on the 18th
August, 2011. Drilling will continue at Bigar Hill for the remainder of
2011. A second RC drill rig is expected to be operational in January,
2012 and will commence on the Korkan and Kraku Pestar target areas.
Additionally, selected locations within the target areas will be drilled
to a nominal 40 meter by 40 meter grid spacing to provide geostatistical
support and diamond 'twin' drilling of the RC drill holes will be
carried out across the target areas at a nominal rate of 15% of total RC
drilling.
-- Refer to Table 1 for a summary of all intersections at various cut-off
grades for the results of reverse circulation drill holes BHRC022 and
BHRC024 to BHRC054 and diamond drill holes BHDD040 to BHDD045. Figure 2
shows a gram-meter (intervals greater than 0.4g/t Au x thickness), total
metal contour plot of all Bigar Hill drilling to date superimposed on
topography. Figure 3 shows a representative cross-section through Bigar
Hill including recently completed infill RC drill holes.
-- The routine reverse circulation-diamond 'twin' drilling program
continues to confirm that the majority of mineralized intercepts and
hence the deposit style, is dominated by layer-parallel, lithology-
controlled gold mineralization.
-- There is also evidence of steeper mineralized structures in addition to
the dominant, stratigraphically controlled (stratabound), gold
mineralization. These intersections represent a 'bonus' and are likely
to be intersected in greater numbers as the infill drilling program
progresses.
-- The reverse circulation-diamond 'twin' drill holes suggest that there
can be close spaced variation in gold grade, as is typical for gold
deposits.
-- Korkan: Additional drilling has been completed within the Korkan target
area and results have been returned for the following six drill holes:
KODD059 to KODD065 (excluding KODD062). The northeast portion of the
Korkan target area remains demonstrably open and additional wide-spaced
(nominal 160 meter by 160 meter) diamond drilling is ongoing in this
area. It is important to note that this part of the Korkan target area
is overlain by andesitic volcanics and marls, which represent the upper
(youngest) portion of the target stratigraphy and are generally
unmineralized and do not generate a gold anomaly in soil sampling. Thus
this portion of the Korkan target area is 'blind'. See Table 2 and
Figure 4.
-- Multiple gold mineralized intercepts per hole are a common feature of
the gold mineralization outlined to date in the Bigar Hill and Korkan
target areas.
4. DISCUSSION
-- A major sediment-hosted gold belt bordering the western boundary of the
Timok Magmatic Complex, identified by soil and trench samples, extends
over 20 kilometers along strike and is up to 8 kilometers wide. Soil
sampling has been completed to the north and south of the currently
defined 20 kilometer strike in order to attempt to determine the overall
extent of the sediment-hosted gold belt which, based on the extent of
mapped 'target stratigraphy', has the potential to be approximately 70
kilometers in length.
-- The geology, geochemistry and available drill intersections suggest a
strong similarity to the style of gold mineralization typified by the
North Carlin Trend, Nevada, USA.
-- The recognition that the majority of the significant trench and diamond
drill intercepts returned to date occur within the same flat lying or
shallow dipping sedimentary package has significant implications for the
gold potential of the Korkan-Bigar trend and the entire sediment-hosted
gold belt.
-- Exploration drill testing within the Korkan-Bigar trend will continue
with wide spaced (nominal 160 meter by 160 meter), exploration diamond
drill holes, in conjunction with the ongoing resource definition
drilling program, to allow Avala to outline the potential size and
economic potential of the sediment-hosted gold system.
-- Avala controls 100% of the newly identified sediment-hosted gold belt
which totals approximately 250 square kilometers and intends to
systematically drill test all currently defined priority target areas.
-- Please see the following link to view all Korkan-Bigar and Kraku Pestar
drill holes located spatially in three dimensions:
http://www.corebox.net/properties/potoj-cuka-gold-belt
5. SAMPLING AND ANALYSIS
The majority of soil samples have been assayed at the ALS Chemex laboratory,
Perth, Australia. More recent programs have been assayed at the SGS managed
laboratory at Chelopech in Bulgaria using a combination of ICP-OES and ICP-MS;
whereas, gold has been assayed by low level detection fire assay method with an
AAS finish. The Company has established a laboratory facility at Bor, Eastern
Serbia which is independently managed by SGS. Trench samples were prepared at
the laboratory facility at Bor and the samples have been assayed at the SGS
managed laboratory at Chelopech in Bulgaria or the laboratory facility at Bor.
Diamond drill core has been prepared at the laboratory facility at Bor and
assayed at either the SGS managed laboratory at Chelopech in Bulgaria or the
assay laboratory at Bor. A one metre sampling interval has been used where
possible for the Sediment-Hosted Gold project diamond drilling program. Half
core is routinely submitted to the laboratory for analysis. Reverse circulation
drill samples have been prepared at the laboratory facility at Bor and assayed
at the laboratory at Bor. A one metre sampling interval has been used for the
Sediment-Hosted Gold project reverse circulation drilling program. Following
Avala standard quality assurance procedures, a full suite of field and
laboratory duplicates and replicates along with internationally accredited
standards and blanks, have been submitted with each batch of samples.
Trench sampling was carried out as channels in the wall just above the trench
floor on 2m intervals. Except where extensive soil cover is encountered,
trenches were sampled in their entirety. The samples were routinely weighed
prior to final bagging to maintain an even sample size and to avoid sampling
bias in harder rock types. An average channel sample weight was maintained at
3kg/m, which produces a consistent sample weight approximating half HQ core
samples. Field duplicate samples were taken every 20 samples and known standards
were inserted into the sample stream after every 20th sample. A geological and
structural log was completed as for diamond drilling. All data collected in the
field was routinely entered into geology and structural geology spread sheets
using Field Marshal software for subsequent entry to an acQuire database and
validation.
Dr Julian F. H. Barnes, a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101, a
Director and the Company's Special Consultant, has supervised the preparation of
the technical data in this press release.
Previously released data refers to data included in the "Potoj Cuka Gold
Project, Serbia National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report" by Paul Mazzoni
dated March 10, 2010 (the "Technical Report"), filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
Further information in respect of results, investigations, interpretations,
quality assurance and quality control measures, along with geology, mineralogy,
sampling, and analytical procedures is included in the Technical Report.
About Avala Resources Ltd.: Avala is a recently-formed company focused on the
exploration and development of the Potoj Cuka sediment-hosted gold project and
the Timok gold-copper project in Serbia. The common shares of Avala trade on the
TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol AVZ.
Avala is well-capitalized, with approximately $35 million in its treasury at
October 31, 2011, which it plans to use for the exploration and development of
its mineral projects in Serbia. Avala's issued and outstanding share capital
totals 214,492,223 common shares, of which approximately 51.4% is held by Dundee
Precious Metals Inc. (TSX:DPM).
Cautionary Statement
The potential quantity and grade described in this press release are conceptual
in nature. There has been insufficient exploration to define a mineral resource
and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the Korkan-Bigar
target area being delineated as a mineral resource.
This press release contains forward-looking information. Although the Company
believes in light of the experience of its officers and directors, current
conditions and expected future developments and other factors that have been
considered appropriate that the expectations reflected in this forward-looking
information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on them because
the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Forward
looking information in this news release includes statements regarding the
nature of the mineralization of the project, the results of the exploration
activities and interpretation of such results, the gold potential of the
project, the potential size of the sediment-hosted gold system, the suggested
similarity to the style of gold mineralization of the North Carlin Trend project
and the similarities suggested and with timing and location of future work
programs. Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks,
uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause actual results or
events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking
information. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are
made as of the date hereof and the Company undertakes no obligations to update
publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by
applicable securities laws.
Figures and tables are available at the following address:
http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/avala_1205.pdf