Minco drilling confirms Changkeng gold

Vancouver – Drilling by Minco Mining & Metals (MMM-V) at its Changkeng gold joint venture in southeastern China has confirmed precious metal mineralization.

Minco is devoting much of its exploration effort on evaluating Changkeng, a shallow, Carlin-style gold deposit. There are two parallel, or stacked, gold zones identified in the deposit: the deeper and larger No.1 zone overlain by the smaller No.2 zone.

Since entering the JV, where it may earn up to 51%, in May of this year, the China explorer has drilled the deposit with good results, including:

• Hole JZK0401 The vertical hole into the No.1 zone intersected 41.4 metres (from 106 metres) grading 6.13 grams gold per tonne and 20.5 grams silver per tonne, including 6.6 metres of 17.75 grams gold and 31.8 grams silver;
• Hole JZK0601 A 13.9 metres interval (from 80.6 metres) in zone No.1 averaged 5.5 grams gold and 9.2 grams silver;
• Hole JZK0101 Drilling of the No.2 zone returned 6.4 metres (from 30 metres) assayed at 10.5 grams gold and 65.2 grams silver.

A previous, preliminary resource estimate conducted by the Chinese partners has been reconciled to fall within CIM guidelines. Categorized as an inferred resource, the No.1 zone contains 3.7 million tonnes grading 7.94 grams gold with an additional 129,332 tonnes in zone No.2 averaging 7.44 grams gold.

Subsequent to this resource estimate, local miners have reputedly removed 3 tonnes of gold, about 96,000 oz., from working the near surface mineralization. The local government has since stopped the illegal mining.

The deposit is in a flat, synformal structure with a northeast-trending axis, mineralization extending from surface to about 250 metres depth. The mineralized zones have a tested 800 metre strike length and are open in both directions and down dip.

The gold zones at Changkeng are associated low angle faulting along an unconformable contact between Lower Carboniferous limestones and Triassic mudstones and siltstones. The mineralized fault zones range from several to tens of metres in thickness.

Minco is continuing its present phase of drilling, confirming the continuity of the zones, and plans further exploration including trenching, continued drilling (delineation and in-fill) as well as underground development.

Interestingly, some of the drilling has encountered silver-lead-zinc mineralization at depth on the property, below the gold zones.

Minco reports, as of the latest figures, 30.6 million share outstanding. The issue rallied on the release of the drill assays, closing up 15% or 20, to $1.53 per share on volume of over 253,000.