Midlands Minerals shores up resource at Sian gold project

A new resource estimate for the Sian project, a fully permitted and past open-pit gold producer in Ghana, brings good news for Midlands Minerals (MEX-V).

The new National Instrument 43-101 compliant resource estimate is based on historical data plus about 11,000 metres of drilling that Midlands Minerals undertook from April 2007 to October 2007, in addition to a topography survey completed in March 2008.

The results show that Sian’s indicated resource has grown by 92% — from 100,000 oz gold to 192,400 oz gold for a total of 2.56 million tonnes grading 2.33 grams gold per tonne, according to a technical report filed in the first week of May.

The inferred resource has more than doubled rising 103% to 203,350 oz gold for a total of 2.69 million tonnes grading 2.35 grams gold per tonne.

Sian is the Canadian junior’s most advanced gold project and lies on the Ashanti gold belt, just 30 km northeast of Newmont Mining‘s(NCM-T, NEM-N) 8.7 million oz Akyem gold deposit.

Sian’s gold mineralization type is a silica-carbonate alteration with disseminated pyrite similar to that found at Newmont’s Akyem gold deposit.

Geostat interpreted a total of 116 mineralized intercepts for its resource model. The database contained 211 holes with 18,767 assay intervals.

Sian has a number of mineralized zones, but the main resources zones are Esaase and Esaase East.

The resources in the technical report were generally within 100 metres of the surface, except for the main zone that has been intersected at a depth of 200 metres.

The indicated resource was classified within the main ore zone of the Esaase mine pit from the surface. All remaining material in the envelope was inferred as well as all the other satellite zones.

Midlands is planning a 20,000 meter drilling campaign this year, excluding the 2,500 meter program it completed in April this year.

The April drill program tested the south extensions of the Esaase Main and Esaase East resources and included the drilling in the area of RC 53, which intersected 2.25 grams gold per tonne over a width of 15 metres and which was associated with a 1-km strike length gold soil anomaly.

The company’s major efforts have concentrated on a small portion (less than 10%) of the 100 parts per billion (ppb) geochemical soil survey envelope on the 160 sq km Sian/Praso gold project.

Last year’s drill program discovered five new, previously unexplored, gold zones as well as drill intersections cutting 10.81 grams gold per tonne over 7 metres, 24.3 grams gold per tonne over 3 metres, 2.08 grams gold per tonne over 11 metres, and 2.25 grams gold per tonne over 15 metres.

The drilling also showed open-ended continuity of grades and widths.

Midlands has a 30-year mining lease for its Sian deposit, and the project comes with infrastructure, a complete carbon in leach gold processing plant, electrical power, roads, buildings and water.

Midlands is trading at 24 per share and has a 52-week trading range of 21.3-43. The Toronto-based company has 53 million shares outstanding.