Anatolia, Rio Tinto size up Cukurdere

Two years after forming a partnership, Anatolia Minerals (YMC.U-V) and Rio Tinto (RTP-N) have outlined a multi-million-ounce gold deposit at their Cukurdere project in eastern Turkey.

Cukurdere is one of three properties in which the London-based major can earn a 65% interest by spending US$10.5 million on exploration and paying US$1.5 million to Anatolia by 2005.

Combined, the near-surface resources in the Main and Marble Cover zones are pegged at 34 million tonnes averaging 3.3 grams per tonne. The former is twice as volumous as, but noticeably lower in grade than, the latter.

Watts, Griffis & McOuat calculated the resource, which is classified as inferred. The consultants applied a 0.5-gram-per-tonne cutoff grade and incorporated results from 22 core and reverse-circulation drill holes.

The property overlies the Divrigi-Tunceli porphyry belt, which is characterized by granodiorite-quartz monzonites emplaced in limestone beds. Locally, mineralization is associated with a stockworked granodiorite that contains several silicified, gold-bearing breccia bodies, blocks of mineralized marble and hornfels skarn.

The partners initially channel-sampled along two subparallel lines that traversed the central portion of the system. The lines averaged 1.38 grams plus 0.1% copper over 197.5 metres and 1.44 grams plus 0.8% copper over 637 metres.

Follow-up drilling quickly led to the discovery of the Main zone and subsequently to the Marble zone, several hundred metres to the northeast. The latter zone actually comprises two deposits overlain by the same marble cover; hence the common designator.

Resources in the Main zone stand at 23 million tonnes grading 2.3 grams gold. The estimate excludes mineralization considered too deep for an open pit, as well as copper and silver credits.

The Marble zone underlies an area measuring 800 metres long by 500 metres wide and was basically a blind discovery, having little surface expression. The larger of its two deposits carries 7.7 million tonnes grading 4.1 grams per tonne, and the smaller, 4 million tonnes grading 7.7 grams.

Deep-seated mineralization, silver and copper were excluded from the resource estimate. Although copper tends to be less common here, it has run up to 7.6% over as much as 30 metres of drill-core.

So far, metallurgical studies show gold to be finely disseminated in all three deposits and strongly associated with sulphides, especially at the Main zone. Gravity separation techniques have been ruled out as a possible extraction technique.

Watts, Griffis & McOuat suggests that pressure oxidation, conventional pyrometallurgy or bio-oxidation should be assessed for their suitability to refractory mineralization. The oxidized material appears to respond well to cyanidation, and nitric acid leaching tests have improved overall recovery rates for the refractory core tested so far.

Anatolia has 25.3 million shares outstanding, or 30.4 million on a fully diluted basis. The shares have swung between 17 and $1.17 over the past 52 weeks but are currently trading at about 82.

Anatolia has US$2 million in its treasury, most of which is uncommitted to particular projects.

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