TSX: ELD NYSE: EGO
VANCOUVER, Aug. 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - Eldorado Gold
Corporation, ("Eldorado" or "the Company") is pleased to announce
plans at four new exploration projects.
- The large Bolcana porphyry copper-gold system in
Romania, recently acquired
through public auction, provides a new opportunity contiguous with
the Company's growing land package in the highly prospective
Apuseni mining district in Romania.
- The Borborema and Nazareno gold projects in Brazil will be explored under an option
agreement with Votorantim Metais. These new projects expand the
Brazilian exploration portfolio into two regions with proven
metallogenic potential, and establishes a partnership with a highly
respected local mining company with a long history of discovery and
mine development.
- The Karavansalija Mineralized Centre project in Serbia
is a large skarn and epithermal system with multiple mineralized
zones and untested targets, and provides an entry into this
emerging mining-friendly jurisdiction.
Peter Lewis, Vice President of
Exploration at Eldorado, stated:
"Our team is excited by the addition of these projects to our
exploration portfolio, as they all include defined targets that we
plan to drill aggressively for the remainder of 2016, in addition
to the outstanding long-term exploration potential on the
surrounding license areas."
Bolcana, Romania
In August 2016 the Romanian
National Agency for Mineral Resources awarded the Troita - Pitigus
exploration license covering the Bolcana project to Eldorado's 100% owned Romania subsidiary SC European Goldfields Deva
SRL. The Bolcana project is located in the Golden
Quadrilateral mining region of the Apuseni Mountains near the
historic mining centers of Deva and Brad, and approximately six
kilometres west of the Company's Certej development project.
The Troita - Pitigus license area is contiguous with the Company's
existing exploration and mining licenses, bringing Eldorado's land position in the district to 46
square kilometres.
The project area comprises a central copper-gold porphyry
system, flanked by vein-hosted and disseminated epithermal gold
deposits and occurrences. The porphyry deposit was explored
as a copper prospect by the Romanian state in the 1970s and 1980s.
From 2002 to 2004, European Goldfields conducted detailed
exploration in the upper 200 metres of the porphyry via drilling
and resampling of five levels of underground workings. Key
results of the previous exploration work that highlight the
potential of the porphyry target include:
- A surface footprint of phyllic and argillic alteration of
approximately 2 kilometre by 1 kilometre with localized potassic
alteration and stockwork vein networks.
- High copper and gold grades reported in the 2002 drilling
program, including an intercept of 208 metres starting from 10
metres downhole grading 0.99 grams per tonne gold and 0.32% copper
(see European Goldfields news release dated March 04, 2003).
- A geophysical signature consisting of an 850 metre by 500 metre
magnetic anomaly coincident with a high chargability zone.
Distal portions of the Bolcana porphyry and epithermal gold
deposits and occurrences on surrounding licenses have historically
been explored. Drilling by Eldorado in both 2013 and 2015 on the Certej
North exploration license abutting Bolcana to the north intersected
porphyry-style mineralization (181 metres at 0.40 grams per tonne
gold and 0.25% copper) interpreted as representing the northern
edge of the Bolcana porphyry, as well as zones of disseminated
epithermal mineralization (76 metres at 0.37 grams per tonne
gold).
The Troita - Pitigus exploration license is granted for a period
of five years and can be renewed for an additional three
years. Within the first year, Eldorado is obligated to complete a work
program comprising target delineation work and 24,000 metres of
drilling. This drilling will test the Bolcana porphyry
deposit over a north-south extent of over a kilometre, with
drillhole fences spaced at approximately 100 metres.
Drillsite permitting is underway, and drilling is expected later
this year.
Borborema and Nazareno, Brazil
On July 26, 2016, Eldorado signed definitive agreements with
Votorantim Metais granting Eldorado the option to acquire up to 70%
ownership in the Borborema and Nazareno license areas, located in
Pernambuco and Minas Gerais states respectively. Under the
terms of the agreements Eldorado
can earn 51% of either project by spending a minimum of
$2 million in the first year and
$1 million in every subsequent year
on exploration, and generating a NI 43-101 compliant resource of at
least 500,000 ounces of gold or by spending a total of $10 million over five years. Eldorado can increase its ownership to 70% by
producing a feasibility study within ten years of signing the
agreement.
Nazareno Project
The Nazareno project consists of 382 square kilometres adjacent
to the prolific Quadrilatero Ferrifero (QF), known for its past
producing high-grade gold deposits (e.g. Córrego do Sítio –
10.7 million ounces at 5.4 grams per tonne gold; Sao Bento – 1.2
million ounces at 10.6 grams per tonne gold; Caete – 2.5 million
ounces at 3.3 grams per tonne gold). The project covers over 90
kilometres strike length of a prospective mineralized shear zone,
and is underlain by the same Nova Lima Group rocks that host most
gold mineralization in the QF. The licenses under option
include the Gamba Zone where Votorantim previously identified and
drill-tested high grade gold mineralization, and numerous untested
gold in soil anomalies along strike from the Gamba zone. Only
20% of the project area has been covered to date by soil samples or
geological mapping.
Work planned for the first year of the Nazareno option agreement
includes 4,000 metres of drilling on known occurrences, and
systematic mapping and sampling programs focused on generating new
exploration targets.
Borborema Project
The Borborema project covers 3,400 square kilometres in
Pernambuco state in northeast Brazil. The project encompasses drill-ready
targets at the Vulture Zone and the Parnamirim Zone as well as
multiple other targets defined by high-grade rock samples and
untested soil and stream sediment anomalies.
The Vulture Zone is centered on a 300 metre long mapped exposure
of stockwork veining, breccia, and strong silicification controlled
by a steeply-dipping fault system. A strong gold-arsenic soil
anomaly and chargeability anomaly extend well beyond the exposed
mineralization, defining a target area over 1.4 kilometres in
strike length. Twenty outcrop grab samples collected by
Eldorado returned gold values of
0.91 to 48.5 grams per tonne with an average value of 7.2 grams per
tonne. The Parnamirim Zone covers at least four northwest-striking
orogenic quartz veins with mapped strike lengths ranging from 0.9
to 1.3 kilometres, and apparent widths on surface of up to 20
metres. Of thirty-eight chip samples collected by Eldorado, gold results range from below
detection to 483 grams per tonne gold and average 38.1 grams per
tonne gold. There is no previous drilling at the Vulture Zone
and only limited drilling at Parnamirim.
Eldorado's initial exploration
program at Borborema will include drilling of the Vulture and
Parnamirim zones and mapping, rock, soil, and stream sediment
sampling elsewhere on the large property position.
KMC Project, Serbia
Eldorado signed agreements in
October 2015 with Euromax Resources
Ltd. and Ridge Minerals DOO providing a one-year option to acquire
100% of the Karavansalija Mineralized Centre (KMC) project in
southeastern Serbia. Eldorado currently has three rigs active
at the project with approximately 10,000 metres completed to date.
Based on drilling results the Company has elected to exercise the
option for total payments of US$633,000.
The KMC project is host to a large magmatic-hydrothermal system
with multiple zones of gold, copper, and base metal mineralization.
Prograde and retrograde skarn is present within regionally
extensive limestones, generally in close proximity to Tertiary
dykes and plugs. Epithermal-style alteration and mineralization
overprints skarn and in many cases extends upward into an overlying
volcanic package.
Eldorado's comprehensive
re-interpretation and integration of geological, geochemical, and
geophysical datasets generated by previous explorers has identified
numerous new drill targets. Our drilling to date has targeted high
grade epithermal gold mineralization at the Copper Canyon zone, the
800 metre gap in drilling between the Copper Canyon and Gradina
zones, a prominent magnetic anomaly peripheral to previous drilling
at the Shanac zone, and a target to the south of Copper Canyon.
About Eldorado Gold
Eldorado is a leading low cost
gold producer with mining, development and exploration operations
in Turkey, China, Greece, Romania and Brazil. The Company's success to date is
based on a low cost strategy, a highly skilled and dedicated
workforce, safe and responsible operations, and long-term
partnerships with the communities where it operates.
Eldorado's common shares trade on
the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: ELD) and the New York Stock
Exchange (NYSE: EGO).
Qualified Person
Dr. Peter Lewis, P. Geo., Vice
President, Exploration at Eldorado, is the Qualified Person for the
technical disclosure in this press release. Certified standard
reference materials, field duplicate, and blank samples were
inserted prior to shipment from the preparation sites and were
regularly monitored to ensure the quality of the data. Samples from
the KMC project in Serbia and the Bolcana project in Romania were analyzed at ALS laboratories in
Romania and Ireland. QAQC samples were inserted into each
batch at a rate of two or three standards, two duplicates, and
variable numbers of blanks per batch. In Brazil, rock samples collected from the
Borborema and Nazareno projects were analyzed at ALS
laboratories.
Certain of the statements made herein may contain
forward-looking statements or information within the meaning of the
United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and
applicable Canadian securities laws. Often, but not always,
forward-looking statements and forward-looking information can be
identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "is
expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts",
"intends", "anticipates", or "believes" or the negatives thereof or
variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain
actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or
"will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements
or information herein include, but are not limited to the Company's
Announcement of New Exploration Projects in Romania, Serbia and Brazil.
Forward-looking statements and forward-looking information by
their nature are based on assumptions and involve known and unknown
risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual
results, performance or achievements of the Company to be
materially different from any future results, performance or
achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statements or information. We have made certain assumptions
about the forward-looking statements and information, including
assumptions about the political and economic environment that we
operate in, the future price of commodities and anticipated costs
and expenses. Even though our management believes that the
assumptions made and the expectations represented by such
statements or information are reasonable, there can be no assurance
that the forward-looking statement or information will prove to be
accurate. Furthermore, should one or more of the risks,
uncertainties or other factors materialize, or should underlying
assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially
from those described in forward-looking statements or
information. These risks, uncertainties and other factors
include, among others, the following: political and economic
environment, gold price volatility; discrepancies between actual
and estimated production, mineral reserves and resources and
metallurgical recoveries; mining operational and development risk;
litigation risks; regulatory environment and restrictions,
including environmental regulatory restrictions and liability;
risks of sovereign investment; currency fluctuations; speculative
nature of gold exploration; global economic climate; dilution;
share price volatility; competition; loss of key employees;
additional funding requirements; and defective title to mineral
claims or property, as well as those factors discussed in the
sections entitled "Forward-Looking Statements" and "Risk Factors"
in the Company's Annual Information Form & Form 40-F dated
March 30, 2016.
There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements or
information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future
events could differ materially from those anticipated in such
statements. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance
on the forward-looking statements or information contained
herein. Except as required by law, we do not expect to update
forward-looking statements and information continually as
conditions change and you are referred to the full discussion of
the Company's business contained in the Company's reports filed
with the securities regulatory authorities in Canada and the U.S.
SOURCE Eldorado Gold Corporation