Apr 11 2016
Erdene Resource Development Corp. ("Erdene" or "Company") is pleased to announce its Q2 drill program is now underway at its wholly-owned Bayan Khundii gold project ("Bayan Khundii") in southwest Mongolia. The diamond drill program is comprised of approximately 3,500 metres (approximately 30 holes) and will test both strike and vertical extensions of the high-grade gold mineralization intersected in Q4-2015.
Map 1 - Bayan Khundii SW Prospect Area Plan Map
"Bayan Khundii has rapidly become the highest priority project for the Company based on its very high grades, excellent metallurgy, wide zones coming to surface, and size potential. This exploration program, which includes a 3,500 metre drill program, extensive geophysical and geochemical testing, and multiple studies in advance of a mining licence application and economic evaluations, will go a long way in characterizing the discovery," said Peter Akerley, President and CEO of Erdene.
Bayan Khundii Gold Project
Gold mineralization at Bayan Khundii has been identified in three separate prospect areas over a 1.7 km trend, with detailed exploration only taking place over a 475 by 300 metre zone in the southwest prospect area, where the Company's Q4-2015 drill program (totaling 695 metres) was completed. Visible gold was observed in 10 of the 15 drill holes and results included several high-grade intersections within a series of parallel structures exposed at surface. The average drill depth of the program was 46 metres, with results including up to 35 metres of 5.9 g/t gold in hole BKD-10 (including 12 metres of 16.2 g/t gold) from surface to the bottom of the hole. The details of that drill program can be found in Erdene's December 14, 2015 news release (click here for link).
Drill Program Objectives (see attached map and cross-sections for reference)
- Test the lateral and vertical extent of the high-grade Striker Zone
- Test for adjacent parallel mineralized zones within the main mineralized area
- Test the known gold mineralization at greater depths; the project has not been drill tested below 50 metre vertical depth
- Complete a series of step-out drill holes to test extensions of mineralization to the south, north, and east of the main mineralized area where geophysical data support the extension of alteration, and presumably mineralization, under younger cover rocks
In addition to the drill program, the Company intends to complete the following exploration work at Bayan Khundii in 2016:
- Detailed geologic mapping;
- Infill geochemical surveys over specific target areas and expanded surveys over the entire licence
- Additional and expanded Induced Polarization geophysical surveys;
- Additional trenching to test continuity and extent of mineralization at surface;
- Mineralogical studies to better understand the mineralogy and alteration at Bayan Khundii and the characteristics of, and controls on, mineralization;
- Various technical studies in support of future scoping/feasibility-level studies and a mining license application, including hydrology, archeology, paleontological, and environmental base line studies.
Q1-2016 Metallurgical Testing at Bayan Khundii
Initial independent metallurgical test work, completed by Erdene in February 2016, indicates the gold mineralization at Bayan Khundii is very amenable to conventional processing techniques involving a combination of gravity and cyanide leach of gravity tails, yielding 99% gold recovery for the high-grade composite sample (24.9 g/t gold) and 92% gold recovery for the low-grade composite sample (0.7 g/t gold). Blue Coast Research Ltd. of Parksville, British Columbia, carried out the metallurgical testing program, the details of which can be found in Erdene's February 16, 2016 news release (click here for link).
Qualified Person
Michael MacDonald, P.Geo. (Nova Scotia), Director of Exploration for Erdene, is the Qualified Person as that term is defined in National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this news release. All drill result samples have been assayed at SGS Laboratory in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. In addition to internal checks by SGS Laboratory, the Company incorporates a QA/QC sample protocol utilizing prepared standards and blanks. All metallurgical testing and analysis was carried out by Blue Coast Research Ltd. at their facility in Parksville, British Columbia.