Bre-X acquires 80% interest in Indonesian gold property

Calgary-based junior Bre-X Minerals (ASE) has acquired an 80% working interest in an advanced gold project in East Kalimantan, Indonesia.

The 57,571-hectare property contains three main occurrences, the most advanced of which is the Busang prospect, where recent sampling by Bre-X returned values ranging from 2.19 to 114.0 grams gold per tonne. The sampling, coupled with a reinterpretation of existing data (which includes 19 shallow holes drilled to an average vertical depth of 60 metres), suggests the property could contain about 20 million tonnes at two grams gold per tonne, minable by open pit.

To substantiate the reserves, Bre-X is planning geological mapping and sampling followed by a 1,000-metre diamond drill program in early August. In other news, Bre-X has reached an agreement in principle with a major company to acquire a porphyry copper-gold prospect in North Sulawesi, Indonesia. The prospect is thought to be similar to the Kingking porphyry deposit in Davao on the island of Mindanao in the southern Philippines. The Davao deposit has drill-indicated reserves of 95 million tonnes grading 0.55% copper and 0.75 grams gold.

With its exploration activities now focused on Indonesia, Bre-X has opened an office in Jakarta.