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The Baia Sprie project lies at the East end
of an 8 km long East-Northeast striking structure/shear
(Baia Sprie-Suoir Shear) within the regional-scale
East-West trending Dragos-Voda fault zone. The
Eastern end of the Baia Sprie-Suoir Shear hosts
the Pb-Zn-Cu + Au Suoir deposit with significant
gold production. The Western end of this shear
hosts the 5 km-long Pb-Zn-Cu ± Au Principal
Vein exploited by the Baia Sprie Mine. This
vein has been the focus of mining activity from
the 1940's to the present, producing some 10-15
million tons of ore and making the Baia Sprie
Mine one of the biggest base-metal deposits
in Europe.
The Principal Vein
terminates at a prominent hill, Dealul Minei,
where the structure hosting the Principal Vein
undergoes a trans-tensional left-step-over,
into which a dacite intrusive was emplaced into
Neogene andesite and volcanic basin sediments.
Along the north flank of Dealul Minei, exploration
work has outlined an 800 metre long prospective
corridor for gold mineralization termed the
Rothmundy Vein System (RVS). Along part of this
System, high-grade gold veins were mined during
the Austro-Hungarian period. Gold mineralization
of the Rothmundy Vein System cross-cuts base-metal
mineralization and has features commonly associated
with low-sulphidation, epithermal style deposits.
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The initial phase of exploration comprised of
historical data compilation, surface channel
samples, and 12 diamond-drill holes (BSD-1 through
BSD-12). Results from this work defined two
gold mineralized zones, the Screper Pit Zone
at the East end of the RVS, and the Poni Shaft
Zone on the West end of the RVS. At the Screper
Pit, a surface channel sample intersect of 12
metres true-width returned 5.17 g/t Au and was
tested at 70 metres below the surface with drill
hole BSD-2 which returned 23 metres at 3.39
g/t Au, inclusive of 5 metres at 8.54 g/t Au.
Eight diamond drill holes were competed in the
Screper Pit Zone, with results defining continuous
gold mineralization over a 120 metre strike
length and included BSD-10 with 13 metres at
3.09 g/t Au at a depth of 50 metres below the
surface. At the Poni Shaft Zone, a surface channel
sample intersect of 5 metres at 7.44 g/t Au
was tested with drill hole BSD-6 which intercepted
4 metres at 4.95 g/t Au 40 metres below the
surface. Two drill holes were completed at the
Poni Shaft Zone that defined gold mineralization
over an 80 metre strike length.
A National Instrument. 43-101 compliant inferred
resource of 416,950 tonnes at 3.54 g Au/t had
been outlined on the Baia Sprie Project
Fill-in definition drilling (33 core holes)
was completed in 2004 on the Baia Sprie Project,
with the purpose of upgrading the resource category,
providing additional geotechnical information
and additional metallurgical samples so that
a pit optimization and costing assessment could
be completed as a follow up to a preliminary
scoping study done in late 2003. Initial metallurgical
test work, scoping study and gold prices indicated
that the project should proceed and as such
the company submitted a mining License for Baia
Sprie and completed an initial EIA in anticipation
of all final technical results indicating a
production decision. At the Screper Pit, drilling
extended the gold mineralization to a 170 metres
strike length and to 80 metres below the surface
and included intersections from BSD-13 with
4 metres at 5.58 g/t Au and BSD-14 with 10 metres
at 2.13 g/t Au. At the Poni Shaft, gold mineralization
in the Poni Vein was confirmed with BSD-32 intersecting
6 metres at 8.15 g/t Au. Drilling along the
Poni Excavation target has defined continuous
gold mineralization over a 300 metre strike
length and includes intersections from BSD-22
with 6.35 metres at 2.60 g/t Au, inclusive of
1 metre at 11.12 g/t Au, and BSD-27 with 9.2
metres at 1.18 g/t Au inclusive of 1 metre at
3.19 g/t Au.
Final metallurgical analyses received from SGS
Lakefield Research Limited, Ontario in late
February 2005, indicated that conventional CN
leach gold recoveries of the deposit was erratic
at depth and along strike, likely as a result
of gold encapsulation within sphalerite mineralization.
The gold recoveries range from 47% to 92% for
an average of is 67% as compared to the previous
preliminary test work recoveries of 82%. Sulfide
encapsulation is generally amenable to a bio-leaching
option to increase the gold recovery. However,
given the size of the resource, the project
could not proceed on a stand alone basis with
a bio-leaching option and could best proceed
in conjunction with the development of one of
the other Baia Mare deposits such as the Baiuts
gold project.
On this basis, the production decision for this
project was put on hold and all work suspended
while the Company evaluates other projects in
the Baia Mare District that could be combined
at a later date with the start up of this project.
The following table lists diamond-drill hole
results to date. |
