JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Aim-listed Georgian Mining (GEO) has declared a maiden in-pit resource of 1.14-million tons at 1.10 g/t of gold at Gold Zone 2 in the Kvemo Bolnisi East (KB) project in the Tethyan belt, in Georgia.
The Gold Zone 2 is one of three zones currently being developed at KB, which may form one large epithermal copper/gold system. The initial Gold Zone 2 resource exceeds the interim target and increases confidence in GEO's three-phase strategy to develop a total resource in excess of 50-million tons that exploration activities are targeting at KB.
The optimised in-pit resource is based on the initial 64-hole drill programme within a global inferred and indicated resource of 2.29-million tons at 0.85 g/t gold.
"Our maiden gold resource at Gold Zone 2 exceeds our initial target of 750 000 t to one-million tons at 1 g/t gold and importantly meets our criteria for processing the ore by low-cost heap leaching. We are now completing the metallurgical test work needed to finalise the scoping study, which will form the basis for negotiating the production and processing agreement with our joint venture partner," says GEO MD Greg Kuenzel.
He adds that GEO is on course to deliver the Phase 2 target of three-million to five-million tons of combined copper/gold sulphide and gold oxide mineralisation across all three zones at KB.