Republic Gold Limited Stock Market Press Releases and Company Profile

Brisbane, Nov 14, 2008 AEST (ABN Newswire) - The Board of Republic Gold Limited (ASX:RAU) announces that the Company and Staldor Mining Pty Limited have completed an aircore drilling programme at the Kangaroo Creek Joint Venture Project (the "Project") mining and exploration leases south-west of Chillagoe in Far North Queensland.

Key Points

- Drilling confirmed the potential for tin-bearing wash.

- A total of 116 aircore holes drilled totalling 948 metres.

- Economic minerals encountered at the project were cassiterite, illmenite, monazite and garnet.

- All historic sampling data from the 1980s has now been located in the Company's GIS software and is in the process of assessment.

- A preliminary geological block model is being prepared in order to be able to evaluate the Project.

- The Company has spent its initial $150,000 commitment under the terms of the Joint Venture.

- An early cash flow is the aim of the Joint Venture

- The tin price has held up at approximately $22,500 per tonne in Australian dollar terms despite the drop in price in US dollar terms.

The drilling was in areas adjacent to previous mining, where sandridge paleo-drainage channels (buried river channels), contain the tin mineral cassiterite and other associated heavy minerals. Apart from the cassiterite, the other minerals include ilmenite and rutile (both titanium minerals), monazite (a mineral containing the rare earth metals thorium, cerium, yttrium and lanthanum) and garnet (a good abrasive and a common replacement for silica sand in sand blasting).

The Company is encouraged by the distribution of tin and heavy minerals from the surface to shallow depths of 10 metres. The drilling tested a wide area of wash which may form the basis of new Mineral Resource estimates, pointing to early development, production and cash flow.

Under the Kangaroo Creek Joint Venture agreement, this initial programme of drilling and testing of the deposits is the first detailed, blanket style programme over this tin field. The programme was designed to confirm depths and the distribution and grades of the tin and associated heavy minerals in the area. It has been carried out in areas adjacent to previously mined pits.

The drilling defined the extent and depths of shallow tin bearing sands and the underlying granite and greisenised basement rocks. Granites and greisens are typical hardrock sources of alluvial tin mineralisation. The area of drilling included areas of previous testing associated with earlier mining, allowing calibration of this more extensive, earlier testwork. The programme also sampled the underlying, concealed basement with some potentially interesting rock types and fluid alteration effects.

The extensive exploration work (310 exploratory pits) carried out in the 1980's by Alberta Mines and Eden Exploration has now been geographically located and entered into the Company's GIS software.

This information, along with the new sampling data, will form the basic data for the Company to prepare an initial geological block model.

The drillholes provided suitable samples of the tin wash from the surface to the base of the prospective sands averaging 8 metres in depth, with widespread visible tin and other heavy minerals being able to be panned.

A Burmac Cone has been set up as a reliable method to produce heavy mineral concentrates for further testing and preliminary determination of sample grades.

In carrying out this initial programme the Company has expended in excess of $150,000 which was the Company's initial commitment for the Project. The Company has now earned a minimum of 25% of the Project with this expenditure. The Company is required to expend a further $875,000 to achieve 51% ownership of the Project.

Samples from the recent program are in the process of analysis and testing for grade and aspects relating to treatment and the recovery of heavy minerals. These results are expected in the next month, allowing for assessment of the deposits and the potential for development of the Project.

The tin price has dropped from US$20,700 when the Company first announced the Joint Venture to US$15,000 now. Over the same time the Australian dollar has dropped from near-parity with the US dollar at US$0.95 to be trading at US$0.665 currently. Thus, in terms of the Australian dollar tin price, the price is now marginally higher at $AUD$22,500 per tonne.

Contact

John Kelly
Managing Director
Republic Gold Limited
TEL: +61-418-577-759

Tony Nagy
TEL: +61-413-645-126


ABN Newswire
ABN Newswire This Page Viewed:  (Last 7 Days: 5) (Last 30 Days: 22) (Since Published: 2608)