inside mining october 08 p8-13_emba derho

8/8/2019 Inside Mining October 08 p8-13_Emba Derho

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8 Ins ide Mining 1008

ardrop Engineering

has updated its in-

dependent resource

estimate for the Emba

Derho copper-zinc-gold

volcanogenic massive sul-

phide (VMS) deposit located on the

Asmara Project in Eritrea and owned by Sunridge Gold Corp. (TSX.V:

SGC). This new estimate is based on

results from an additional 27 drill

holes resulting in a 35% increase in

contained copper, a 20% increase in

contained gold and an 11% increase

in contained zinc content all within

the indicated resource category. The

updated total indicated resources

in the primary copper and zinc

zones are now estimated to be 58,97

Sunridge Gold announces 35% increase in coppercontent to 990 million pounds at Emba Derho

Deposit, Eritrea

Indicated Mineral Resources at Emba Derho – Wardrop, September 10, 2008

Zone Cut-offgrade

Milliontonnes

Copper%

Zinc%

Goldg/t

Silverg/t

Copper-rich Primary 0,5% Cu 38,425 1,02 0,99 0,18 9,31

Zinc-rich Primary 1,0% Zn 20,545 0,28 2,35 0,39 12,13

Total Contained Metal in Indicated Mineral Resources at Emba Derho – Wardrop, September

10, 2008

Zone Cut-offgrade

Milliontonnes

Millionpounds Cu

Millionpounds Zn

Thousandounces Au

Millionounces Ag

Copper-richPrimary

0,5% Cu 38,425 862 835 228 11,5

Zinc-richPrimary

1,0% Zn 20,545 127 1 064 258 8,0

58,970 990 1 900 485 19,5

Note: Contained metal estimates are rounded and remain subject to factors such as miningdilution and process recovery losses.

990 MILLION POUNDS AND COUNTING

Certainly no chicken feed

S u n r i d g e

G o l d



UPDATUPDA

Inferred Mineral Resources at Emba Derho - Wardrop 10 September 2008

Zone Cut-offgrade

Milliontonnes

Copper%

Zinc%

Goldg/t

Silverg/t

Copper-rich Primary 0,5% Cu 1,075 1,7 2,3 0,3 18

Zinc-rich Primary 1,0% Zn 0,156 0,3 2,6 0,3 16

Total Contained Metal in Inferred Mineral Resources at Emba Derho – Wardrop,10 September 2008

Zone Cut-offgrade

Milliontonnes

Millionpounds Cu

Millionpounds Zn

Thousandounces Au

Millionounces Ag

Copper-rich

Primary

0,5% Cu 1,075 40 55 9,8 0,6

Zinc-rich Primary 1,0% Zn 0,156 1 9 1,3 0,1

1,231 41 63 11,1 0,7

1. Note: Contained metal estimates are rounded and remain subject to factors such as miningdilution and process recovery losses.

2. The Emba Derho deposit is layered into distinct metal zones as is the case in most of thesetypes of VMS deposits; therefore, the upper oxide gold zone, the primary zinc-rich zone andcopper-rich zone are reported separately. The copper-rich primary sulphide zone is definedas those blocks that have a grade of 0,5% copper or greater; the zinc-rich primary sulphidezone is defined as those blocks that have an average grade of 1,0% zinc or greater. There isalso an “overlap” copper/zinc zone where blocks meet both criteria. In the previous resourceestimate by MSA Geoservices (December 2007), the overlap zone was included with the zinc-rich primary sulphide zone. In this updated resource estimate it was decided to include the

overlap zone in the copper-rich sulphide zone.3. This new resource estimate does not yet include an updated resource estimate of the size

and grade of the uppermost oxide gold zone at Emba Derho. This will be included in thePreliminary Economic Assessment report expected in October 2008.

million tonnes containing 990 mil-

lion pounds of copper, 1 900 million

pounds of zinc, 485 thousand ounc-

es of gold and 19,5 million ounces of

silver.

he previous resource estimate by

MSA Geoservices (December 2007)

was based on 178 drill holes. Since

that time, Sunridge has drilled 89

more holes for a total of 268 diamond

drill holes to date at Emba Derho, 205

of which are included in this new re-

source estimate. his updated resource

estimate is part of an ongoing Prelimi-nary Economic Assessment Study by

Wardrop for the Emba Derho deposit

that is scheduled to be completed by

Wardrop in October 2008.

Michael Hopley, president and CEO

of Sunridge Gold, said, “Emba Derho

continues to grow in size with the

copper, zinc and gold content getting

much larger. he project has rapidly

advanced towards a production deci-

sion from the initial discovery in Janu-

ary 2006 to the first engineering studydue to be completed next month.”

he Emba Derho copper-zinc-gold

deposit is located approximately 12 km

northwest of the Eritrean capital city

of Asmara and has excellent infrastruc-

ture including paved roads, power, wa-

ter, an international airport and a sea

port only 120 km away by paved road

or railway.

OPPOSITE Emba Derho gossans looking SW. The current indicated and inferred resource estimatesdo not include an additional 63 drill holes completed since this resource estimate was preparedINFERRED RESOURCES: In addition to the indicated resources, the estimated inferred resource

at Emba Derho contributes an additional 41 million pounds of copper, 63 million pounds of zinc,11 100 ounces of gold, and 700 000 ounces of silver

Emba Derho Resource EstimateMethodologyTe updated resource estimates were

completed by Wardrop Engineering,

an independent and internationally

operating geological consultancy firm

based in Swindon, UK, and were in ac-

cordance with NI 43-101 requirements.

he Emba Derho deposit has three

distinct zones of mineralisation, a


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UPDATUPDA

• 1,0% zinc cut-off grade for the zinc-

rich primary zone, and

• 0,5% copper cut-off grade for the

copper-rich zone.he Emba Derho deposit is a copper/

zinc/gold/silver volcanogenic mas-

sive-sulphide (VMS) deposit that has

been defined by Sunridge in 205 drill

holes over a strike length of 1 100 m,

a width of approximately 100 m to

600 m and down to a depth of about

400 m from surface. he resource

estimate was completed by Wardrop

using industry standard methods

in accordance with CIM and NI 43-

BELOW The Emba Derho deposit is layered into distinct metal zones as is the case inmost of these types of VMS deposits. Therefore the upper oxide gold zone, the primary

zinc-rich zone and copper-rich zone are reported separately. The copper-rich primarysulphide zone is defined as those blocks that have a grade of 0,5% copper or greater;

the zinc-rich primary sulphide zone is defined as those blocks that have an averagegrade of 1,0% zinc or greater

surface oxide gold zone from which

most base metals have been leached

and a small supergene zone, which

in turn is underlain by the primarysulphide zone. he primary sulphide

zone is divided into a zinc-rich min-

eralisation (zinc-rich primary sul-

phide) zone, which is underlain by a

copper-rich primary sulphide zone

(copper-rich primary sulphide). hese

zones are shown graphically in the

diagram at the end of this release. For

the purpose of this resource estimate

the minor supergene zone tonnage is

included within the primary sulphide

zone although it was modelled and

estimated separately. Because of the

mineral zonation the resources have

been reported according to the follow-

ing cut-off scenarios:

S u n r i d g e

G o l d

Emba Derho continues to

grow in size with the copper,

zinc and gold content getting

much larger



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2 Ins ide Mining 1008

the supergene and primary sulphide

zone using a regression formula ap-

plied to Cu, Pb, Zn and Fe block grades.

It is anticipated that the potential

mining of the mineralised zone would

be by open-pit methods.

More upsidehe current indicated and inferred re-

source estimates do not include an ad-

ditional 63 drill holes completed since

this resource estimate was prepared.

Many of these drill holes were de-

signed to better define and hopefullyexpand the near surface gold-rich ox-

ide zone at Emba Derho, but due to

delays in assay results, the estimated

resources based on the latest drilling

for this zone are not included in this

release but will be reported at a later

date.

In addition, some of these drill holes

tested the underlying primary sul-

phide zone and might result in fur-

ther increases in tonnages and grade.

he company has three other depositson its 100%-owned Asmara Project in

Eritrea which are the Debarwa copper/

zinc/gold VMS deposit, the Adi Nefas

zinc/gold VMS deposit and the Gupo

Gold deposit. he Adi Nefas and Gupo

Gold deposits are located less than

6 km from Emba Derho deposit.

Don’t forget the cap!Sunridge also drilled 13 diamond

holes that tested the gold oxide cap

at Emba Derho. he gold cap at Emba

Derho extends from surface to a ver-tical depth of approximately 35 m,

overlying the main copper-zinc-gold

deposit.

he purpose of this drill pro-

gramme was to expand, further de-

fine and upgrade the surface gold

zone from the inferred to indicated

category for inclusion in future re-

source estimates.

Surface Gold Oxide Cap Drill high-

lights:

BELOW Amanuel Arafine, country manager for Eritrea, inspecting EMB-2,one of the early boreholes that hinted at an exciting future for Emba Derho

101 requirements, utilising GemcomSurpac modelling software. he re-

source estimate dated 10 September

2008, was carried out by Paul Grib-

ble, C.Eng, FIMMM, an independent

Qualified Person as defined by NI

43-101. he estimate was based upon

data from 205 diamond drill holes

(total of 56,148 m) and a geological

model supplied to Wardrop by Sun-

ridge geological staff. he geological

model created by Sunridge staff used

40 m cross-section spacings. Ordi-nary kriging was used to estimate

grades into blocks with dimensions

of 15 m (easting), 15 m (northing)

and 5 m (RL). he search ellipsoid di-

mensions and directions chosen for

the grade interpolation process were

metal specific.

Specific gravities used in the mod-

el were based on 827 specific grav-

ity measurements made on drill core.

Block density values were assigned in

S u n r i d g e

G o l d


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UPDATUPDA

Gemcom Surpac 6.1 now available

Gemcom Software International last month released Gemcom Surpac™ 6.1, the latest versionof its award-winning software for orebody evaluation, open-pit and underground mine design,mine planning and production. Surpac 6.1 offers a range of new features designed to make usersmore productive than ever before, including:• an updated, geostatistics module with enhanced usability that is shared with Gemcom GEMS™

6.2 and Gemcom Minex™ 5.3, delivering better visualisation and improved functionality• enhanced graphics and a new, more “CAD-like” drafting mode that provides users with greater

design flexibility

• improved integration with other systems including Gemcom Whittle™ and Gemcom GEMS aswell as third-party products such as acQuire.

“The new Whittle interface inside Surpac provides considerable time savings, in particularimporting pit design and pit lists back into Whittle, which is an important function for checkingmine schedules and design assumptions,” said Michael Sebbag, manager of strategic planningfor Barrick Gold Corporation. “This process used to take several hours of manipulation in thepast and with the new interface it has streamlined the task to several minutes.”

“To keep pace with rising costs and the growing skills shortage it’s becoming critical for themining industry to seek out and adopt productivity enhancing solutions,” said Rob Ferguson,Gemcom’s product line manager, general mine planning. “Surpac 6.1 offers improved usability,facilitating shorter times to proficiency for new staff, as well as multilingual capabilities that inthe face of global consolidation allow companies to utilise a common software platform acrossinternational operations.“

Gemcom also announced new versions of four other products: Gemcom MineSched™ 6.0,Gemcom GEMS 6.2, Gemcom Whittle 4.2, and Gemcom Minex 5.3.

• ED-217-D : 13.50 m grading 4.64

g/t gold

• ED-220-D : 31.50 m grading 1.68

g/t gold

• ED-223-D : 6.00 m grading 4.49 g/t

gold

• ED-232-D : 22.00 m grading 2.53

g/t gold

Michael Hopley, “I believe that the as-says from these drill results show that

the oxide gold cap at Emba Derho is

starting to become a significant com-

ponent that will ultimately enhance

the economics of the entire deposit.

We will evaluate the possibility of

mining the oxide gold cap in conjunc-

tion with other surface gold deposits

that Sunridge also has on the Asmara

Project such as the Gupo which is only

about 7 km away by road.”

BELOW To keep pace with rising costs and the growing skills shortage it’s becomingcritical for the mining industry to seek out and adopt productivity enhancing solutions

inside mining october 08 p8-13_emba derho

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