White Cliff Minerals Limited (ASX:WCN) ("White Cliff" or "the Company") is pleased to announce that the 2017 field season drill program has commenced at its 90%-owned Aucu Gold deposit in north-west Kyrgyz Republic.

Phase one drilling focusing on the deposit's high grade Quartz Zone consists of 15 holes (1200 metres) of RC drilling. The drilling is targeting the Quartz Zone structure along strike from previous drilling which defined an inferred resource of 244,000 tonnes at 9.5 g/t containing 75,000 ounces. Once the strike extent of the Quartz Zone has been defined the Company will drill a series of deeper holes to test the mineralisation at depth.

The drill rig has completed ERC17-001, a 60-metre deep hole located 50 metres along strike from last year's drilling (see figure 1 in the link below) and has moved to the second hole ERC17-002, a 90-metre hole designed to test the mineralised zone underneath ERC17-001.

Mineralisation was identified in drill hole ERC17-001 where malachite (a copper oxide) was identified from 12 metres to 26 metres. Native copper was identified at 34 metres and was associated with goethite, an iron oxide typically associated with gold mineralisation. The samples will be dispatched to the laboratory this week when ERC17-002 is completed.

Mineralisation was also identified in outcrop 12 metres northeast of ERC17-001 where channel sampling in 2016 identified a zone three metres wide with channel sample assay results of 2 metres at 5.4 g/t and 1 metre at 0.7 g/t gold within sandstone. The zone consists of a small quartz vein surrounded by an alteration halo dominated by the iron oxides limonite and goethite which were originally sulphides. The zone also contains traces of the copper oxides azurite and malachite.

On the next drill section 50 metres further southeast, the Quartz Zone was identified in outcrop where channel sampling identified 4 metres at 3.5 g/t including one metre at 9.5 g/t gold.

Ongoing Exploration

In conjunction with the current drilling program the Company has undertaken an extensive geochemical sampling program covering outcropping mineralised zones identified in bull dozer tracks, prospecting traverses and trenching.

The results of these programs and the current drilling program will be reported as they become available.

The Company has also mobilised a second RC rig to the project site which will commence drilling shortly. The second drill rig will focus on the Eastern Gold Zone (6 holes) and the Lower Gold Zone (8 holes) where drilling in 2015 identified 6 metres at 38 g/t gold in LGZ15-29a. This target is hosted in a quartz vein with the same orientation as the Quartz Zone. The vein has been mapped along strike for 250 metres. Several bulldozer tracks and drill pads are currently being completed to facilitate this drilling program.

Aucu Gold Deposit-Inferred Resource Summary

In April the Company reported an updated inferred resource reported in accordance with the JORC Code (2012) for the Aucu gold deposit (refer to ASX announcement 21 April 2017). The estimate above a cut-off grade of 1 g/t gold is:

1.8 million tonnes grading 5.2 g/t gold, for 302,000 ounces of contained gold.

The new resource represents a 93% increase in contained gold ounces and a 23% increase in average grade over the previous gold resource using the same cut-off grade reported in April 2015.

Importantly the new resource contains a new very high grade zone (Quartz Zone) of 244,000 tonnes at 9.5 g/t gold containing 75,000 ounces of gold, which starts at surface. Surface extensions of the high grade Quartz Zone have been identified and will be drilled in the coming field season.

This latest resource estimate also identified a new inferred copper resource reported in accordance with the JORC Code (2012), using a cut-off grade of 0.25% copper, of 608,000 tonnes at 0.64% copper, containing 3,870 tonnes of copper.

The new gold and copper resources start at surface, have only been drilled to 100 metres vertical depth and remain open along strike and at depth.

The reported gold resources represent less than 5% of mineralised faults identified by rock-chip sampling to date. Approximately 95% of the mineralised faults identified by rock chip sampling are still to be drilled. The gold bearing mineralised structures extend beyond the current resource estimate area over a length greater than 3,000 metres and occur as multiple lodes (see Figure 8 in the link below).

To view tables and figures, please visit:
http://abnnewswire.net/lnk/2H87L27Y


About White Cliff Minerals Ltd

White Cliff Minerals is a Gold, Copper, Cobalt, Nickel resources and mining company listed in Australia (ASX:WCN). The Company is focused on developing low cost high value mineral deposits that have near term cash flow potential.

Major projects include the Aucu gold deposit that contains 484,000 ounces of gold (3mt at 5.1 g/t) starting at surface and Chanach copper deposit that contains 64,000 tonnes of copper (17.2Mt at 0.37% copper). Both projects have substantial blue sky potential with drilling covering only 5% of the known structures. In Australia the company is developing the Coronation Dam cobalt–nickel deposit where a maiden resource will be announced in the late 2018.

   

Contact

Todd Hibberd
Managing Director
T: +61-8-9321-2233
E: info@wcminerals.com.au
W: www.wcminerals.com.au

Luke Forrestal
Media + Capital Partners
M: +61-411-479-144
E: luke.forrestal@mcpartners.com.au



Link: Drilling Resumes. Aucu Gold Deposit


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