Republic Gold Limited (ASX:RAU) Burraga Copper Project Presents Significant Development Potential

Brisbane, May 3, 2010 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Republic Gold Limited (ASX:RAU) ("Republic" or the "Company") are pleased to advise that the Company has made significant progress at the Burraga Copper Project ("Burraga" or the "Project") located in the Lachlan Fold Belt in Central New South Wales.

Republic's Managing Director; John Kelly, said: "Burraga has been a sleeper in the Company's project portfolio, but we now believe it may be the key to a substantial base metals resource for the Company". With recently unearthed historic drilling data and the modelling of the historic, high grade Lloyd's Mine, the Company has advanced exploration activity significantly. The area hosting the Burraga Project has historically delivered large gold and base metals resources, and we are pleased to report that the Company has designed a drilling programme to further explore the Project in light of the increased scale and development potential."

"Two new anomalies have also been outlined and high grade copper analysis results have been received from a preliminary auger drilling programme on the tailings stockpile from the Lloyd's Mine operation. Additionally, Newmont's recent pegging activities follow the delineation of a large gold resource to the north of Burraga at McPhilamy's", Mr Kelly said.

The Project has been intermittently drilled over the past 40 years, with the most recent programme carried out by the Company in 2007. Based on geological modelling of this drilling, existing sub-surface drilling, extensive geochemistry and recent sampling work by the Company, Republic in consultation with a range of specialists has identified a number of conceptual exploration targets at Burraga for ongoing sampling work.

Highlights include:

- A tailings conceptual exploration target size in the range of 250,000 to 350,000 tonnes at a copper grade of 1.0 to 1.5%. Recent sampling of these tailings has produced good grades that are confirming historical estimates. A detailed sampling programme is underway on these tailings.

- A hard rock conceptual exploration target size of 5 to 8 million tonnes at a copper grade of 1.0 to 1.2% in the vicinity of the historic Lloyd's Mine, to a depth of 100 metres below surface.

- A conceptual exploration target, over the broader field with a size of potential of 75 to 125 million tonnes at a copper grade of 0.7 to 0.9%.

Historical and Geographical Context of Burraga

The region is attracting considerable interest amongst gold mining and exploration companies. Running through the centre of EL6463 and trending to the north-west away from this EL is the Godolphin Fault.

Approximately 40 kilometres along this fault is the McPhilamy's Deposit that is reported by Joint Venture partners Newmont Australia Limited and Alkane Resources Limited (ASX:ALK) to contain a Mineral Resource of 2.4Mozs.

These two companies have recently applied for the majority of the vacant ground surrounding the Burraga/Lucky Draw EL.

EL6463 contains the historic Lloyd's copper mine that is adjacent to the village of Burraga. The mine was first opened in 1878 and was mined by various owners until it closed in 1961. Historic mining activity at Burraga produced approximately 18,000 tonnes of copper metal, with silver and gold credits. The Lloyd's Mine was the biggest copper mine in NSW at the turn of the 20th Century. The Lloyd's underground mine yielded over half a million tonnes of copper ore at a high average recovered grade of 3.4% Cu per tonne. Periods of higher grade mining of over 10% copper occurred.

Widespread copper mineralisation has been outlined away from the main historic mining operation by more modern exploration activities. This includes surface and underground drilling done by General Resources Limited, Dominion Mining NL (ASX:DOM) in the 1960s and 1970s and the recent 10-hole diamond drilling programme completed by Republic in 2007. Records of a number of drill results from the earlier work have been recently recovered and incorporated into the Company's preliminary model. At this stage the Company feels that further drilling is required to be able to quote a Mineral Resource at Burraga.

EL 6463 also contains the site of the former Lucky Draw Gold Mine operated by RGC Limited from 1989 to 1992. RGC Limited reported that the Lucky Draw open pit mine produced 162,081 ounces of gold from the treatment of 1,441,576 tonnes of ore at 4.17 g/t Au. There is a remanent gold resource at Lucky Draw of 57,000 ounces. Two kilometres to the north of Lucky Draw and also within EL6463 is the 47,500-ounce Hackney's Creek gold resource, which has been extensively drilled and sampled. The Company is currently in the process of completing its own estimation of a JORC resource at Hackney's Creek.

Planned Drilling Programme

A planned drilling programme of approximately 2,550 metres will generally infill the Lloyd's Mine area to a depth below surface of approximately 100 metres. The programme will confirm existing drilling results and provide a density adequate to define the geometry of the remnant halo of mineralisation generally above the mined very high grade copper vein. Once this programme is successfully completed, then a Mineral Resource will be estimated for this area leading to a pre-feasibility study with a view to open pit extraction.

Within the above drilling, an initial 300 metres for structural and geochemical purposes is proposed for the Mine Road anomaly. Success in confirming the mineralised trend sub-surface will provide the platform for a more comprehensive drilling programme aimed at defining a reportable mineral resource.

The Burraga South gold anomaly has now been well defined and a silicified sericite fuchsite alteration appears to be coincident with the gold arsenic anomalism. A modest two holes are designed to test this trend.

This drilling will set the groundwork for a broader drilling assault along with further surface geochemistry, mapping and specialist advice.

New Anomalies
Two new and significant anomalies have been outlined at Burraga in recent times. Amongst the most significant is the Mine Road anomaly. This lies approximately 600 metres to the northnortheast of the historic Lloyd's Mine shoot. This 1,000 ppm copper anomaly extends over an area of approximately 50 by 200 metres and has a near identical north-north-east orientation to the high grade shoot at the Lloyd's Mine. A positive interpretation of this anomaly is that it represents a blind copper shoot that lies above the Lloyd's shoot displaying a faulted extension to the east of the Central Volcanic unit within Lovett's formation. Figure 3 (see link at the bottom of the release) indicates the location of this anomaly and the planned drilling under the anomaly. At Burraga South, some 1.3 kilometres to the south of the Lloyd's mine lies a new gold-arsenic anomaly striking over 1,100 metres. The peak values in this anomaly were 137 ppb gold and 2,460 ppm arsenic. This anomaly is to the west from the main anomalous copper geochemical trend.

Tailings Sands

There is a substantial volume of tailings sands from the Lloyd's Mine operation adjacent to the old workings.

Estimates of the volume of these tailings from earlier explorers are in the vicinity of 300,000 tonnes.

The Company has carried out a recent and preliminary auger sampling programme on the tailings, with a number of high grade results, including 1.2%, 1.3%, 2.1%, 2.4% and 3.4% copper. These grades coincide with earlier estimates from the 1960s and 1970s and from the historic records of the mine comparing mine head grade to recovered copper grades. Further auger sampling of this dump is ongoing to provide more definitive grade estimates and an indication of the depth of the dump to basement. Once this work is completed, a Mineral Resource will be calculated for the dump. These samples will also be used in a new metallurgical testwork programme to evaluate the best means of recovering the copper remaining in the tailings. Earlier flotation tests have shown that both reasonable grade rougher sulphide and oxide concentrates can be achieved at up to 83% copper recovery, after a regrind. In the new proposed testwork program, not only will flotation be investigated, but also the potential to economically leach the copper from the tailings. Once completed, these process routes could lead to possible early production of copper by retreating the tailings resource. Figure 4 (see link at the bottom of the release) shows the scale of the tailings dump.

Two consultants have visited the Project in recent months and have provided valuable insights into the geology and potential of Burraga. Continued groundwork has been performed by Max Rangott and Associates, with geochemical surveys at Burraga South and at Moss Grove, the EL immediately adjacent and to the west of the Burraga EL.

Structural Geology Study

The Company's consulting Structural Geologist, Dr Steve King, has visited Burraga and is progressing with a comprehensive structural geology interpretation for the Project setting, and eventually a structural interpretation to aid drill planning. Based upon this work by Dr King, the Company will obtain an increasing understanding of the complexity of the structural geometry at Burraga and how this relates to the 600-metre long shoot mined in the historic Lloyd's Mine.

Petrology Report

A second petrology report has been compiled on samples from Burraga South following the initial report done in 2009. This additional petrology work continues to indicate an epithermal conduit as the source of the base metals mineralisation at Burraga.

For the complete Republic Gold Limited annoucement including tables and figures, please click the following link:

http://www.abnnewswire.net/media/en/docs/62760-ASX-RAU-335778.pdf

Contact

John Kelly Managing Director Republic Gold Limited Tel: +61-7-4092-2594 Mob: +61-418-577-759