Feb 23 2011
Crocodile Gold Corp. (TSX:CRK)(OTCQX:CROCF)(FRANKFURT:XGC) has announced initial drill results from five drill holes completed between the Prospect and Crosscourse historic open pits in the Union Reefs project area.
The drill holes targeted high grade extensions of mineralization of the historical open pits previously mined until mine closure in 2003 which are located adjacent to the Union Reefs Mill.
Highlights of the drill results include:
- 6.9 g/t Au over 10 metres including 30.6 g/t Au over 2 metres in hole URR004
- 11.2 g/t Au over 4 metres including 21.8 g/t Au over 2 metres in hole URR001
Mike Hoffman, President and CEO of Crocodile Gold commented, "These initial drill results from the Union Reefs project area adjacent to our mill demonstrate the potential of a new higher grade ore source that potentially could be developed in 2011 and contribute potential lower cost ounces to Crocodile Gold's overall production profile. This area continues to be one of our highest exploration priorities and we expect to release further results in the coming months."
Crocodile Gold has ranked the Union Reefs project area as one of the Company's highest priority areas for the growth of mineral reserves and resources and near term production within the Company's portfolio (please refer to Crocodile Gold press release dated February 15, 2011 for additional information). The historic mining figures supplied on Crosscourse indicate it was mined at around 3,000 ounces per vertical metre, highlighting the potential for further underground high grade targets.
This first drill program at the Prospect open pit was primarily designed for environmental assessment but some holes did target higher grade mineralization that are noted as steeply dipping zones associated with quartz stockwork veining. Two holes were designed for geological and environmental reasons not to target mineralization. A thorough review was conducted on the regional and grade control drilling in and around the Prospect open pit and it was noted that there is only very limited drilling below the mined pit, even though the mineralization was not closed off at depth.
Crocodile Gold believes potential exists for extensions of mineralization in the area between Crosscourse and Prospect open pit. The mineralization at Crosscourse is contained within two lenses – the E Lens (on the Union Mineralized Zone) and Ping QueLens (on the Lady Alice Mineralized Zone). Historic drilling indicates the orebody continues down plunge below the existing Crosscourse open pit.
Future drilling will target known extensions of the high grade trends between the Prospect and Crosscourse pits and also other historic open pits. Drilling will also be conducted under the Prospect pit to target mineralization below historic backfilled stopes that were noted in the area during mining. These stopes were intersected by some historic RC drilling, giving lower grade zones as the backfill was apparently weakly mineralized. By drilling deeper under the existing pit it is planned that all drilling will be below these workings.
In releasing this information, Mark Edwards, General Manager, Geology and Exploration for Crocodile Gold, commented, "The initial drill results from Prospect and Crosscourse indicate that there is significant potential to identify higher grade zones of mineralization within both the Lady Alice and Union Mineralized Zones. These higher grade mineralized structures will be the main focus of exploration in the Union Reefs Project area. Prospect is a highly ranked target due to the indicated resource already reported there and the significant high grade intercepts identified from the historic drilling below the current mined pit."
Qualified Person
Mark Edwards, General Manager Geology and Exploration for Crocodile Gold Australia Operations is a "qualified person" as such term is defined in National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and confirmed the technical information and data included in this press release.