more good news as VMS target continues to grow in resource. This is the second of several open pits that have already had the easily accessible oxide ore removed. LMA believes that there is a very large VMS system UNDER the existing open pits.
La Mancha Resources Inc.: Second Hassai Mine VMS Target Boosts Project's 43-101 Inferred Resource to Over Two Million Ounces of Gold
PARIS, FRANCE--(Marketwire - Nov. 4, 2009) - La Mancha Resources Inc. (TSX:LMA) - All amounts are expressed in CA dollars, unless otherwise indicated.
HIGHLIGHTS (Hadal Awatib):
- 1,089,500 ounces of gold in inferred resources (435,800 attributable to La Mancha)
- 132,640 ounces of gold in indicated resources (53,050 attributable to La Mancha)
- 279,000 tonnes of copper in inferred resources (111,600 tonnes attributable to La Mancha) and 36,800 tonnes of copper in indicated resources (14,720 tonnes attributable to La Mancha)
- A large part of the resource appears accessible by open pit mining method
- 54,000 ounces of additional gold resources in the oxide zone
HIGHLIGHTS (VMS - cumulative)
- More than 2 million ounces of gold (over 800,000 attributable to La Mancha)
- More than 575,000 tonnes of copper (over 230,000 attributable to La Mancha)
- Resource remains open at depth and/or along strike
- La Mancha reaffirms its goal of growing its consolidated M&I resources to 4 million ounces of gold within the next few years
La Mancha Resources Inc. (TSX:LMA, hereinafter "La Mancha" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the 43-101 compliant resource estimate for the second VMS target (Hadal Awatib pit) on its Hassai property in Northeast Sudan. The resource for the first VMS target at Hassai was reported on September 10, 2009. The cumulative inferred resource for the VMS project at Hassai now exceeds 2 million ounces of gold and 575,000 tonnes of copper. The gold equivalent of the cumulative copper resource represents 3,369,500 ounces of gold (1,347,800 ounces attributable to La Mancha) using a long-term gold price of US $750/oz and a long term copper price of US $2/lb.
A summary of the cumulative VMS resource estimate is presented below. More details on the resource are presented in Table 1 at the end of this press release.
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43-101 resource Ore Au Total Au Au attribu- Cu% Total Cu attribu-
as of November (t) (g/t) (in oz) table to Cu (t) table to
3, 2009 LMA (in oz) LMA (in t)
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Hassaï pit
(target #1)
Supergene
inferred
resource 1,530,000 2.29 112,000 44,800 2.75 42,000 16,800
Primary
zone
inferred
resource 18,620,000 1.49 894,000 357,600 1.37 255,000 102,000
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Subtotal
inferred
resource 20,150,000 1.55 1,006,000 402,400 1.48 297,000 118,800
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Hadal Awatib
(target #2)
Indicated
resource 2,898,000 0.93 86,700 34,680 1.27 36,800 14,720
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Inferred
resource 28,330,000 1.18 1,072,000 428,800 0.99 279,000 111,600
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Total
(target 1
& 2)
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Indicated
resource
(i) 2,898,000 0.93 86,700 34,680 1.27 36,800 14,720
Inferred
resource
(i) 48,480,000 1.33 2,078,000 831,200 1.23 576,000 230,400
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(i) Indicated resource is not included into the inferred resource
Reported resource figures were calculated using a cutoff grade of 0.8% Cu Eq, a long time copper price of $4,409/t ($2/lb), and a long term gold price of US$750/oz. This resource estimate is based on the result of the 109 holes drilled (18,602 meters) from the bottom and the surface of the Hassai and Hadal Awatib pit at the Hassai property in Northeast Sudan.
Dominique Delorme, President and CEO of La Mancha commented: "When the decision was made to start the VMS program, we set ourselves the objective of first demonstrating the size of the deposit and its high gold and copper content. With an inferred VMS resource of more than 2 million ounces of gold and 575,000 tonnes of copper now on the property, we feel that we have met this objective. The second step for us is to demonstrate the economic value of this resource, and to do so we are committed to delivering a scoping study by the end of the 1st quarter of 2010. La Mancha's technical team is currently working in association with several industry experts to determine the best technical approach for converting this resource into tangible value for La Mancha's shareholders."
The Hassai mine, located 450 km northwest of the Bisha property in Erithrea, has been producing gold since 1992. Twelve pits have been mined over that period, for a total production of more than 2.1 million ounces of gold to date. In February 2008, a decision was made to test VMS potential of the ground beneath the existing pits. Two of the six pits showing the highest VMS potential were selected for the first phase of drilling: Hassai and Hadal Awatib. The inferred resource identified beneath the Hassai pit was discussed in a previous press release dated September 10, 2009.
THE HADAL AWATIB RESOURCE (Target #2)
As shown in Figure 1 at the end of this press release, the Hadal Awatib pit comprises three sections: the AB and CD pits and the "link" between them. Management estimates that approximately 35% of the Hadal Awatib resource is located under the 200-meter wide "AB" pit, 50% under the link and the remaining 15% under "CD" pit.
As shown in Figures 2a and 2b at the end of this press release, the resource contained below the AB pit floor extends to between 100 to 350 meters below the pit floor. Figure 2b suggests that, despite the presence of enriched envelopes, the VMS structure below the AB pit does not show the presence of a clearly-defined supergene zone as it was the case below the Hassai South pit (Target #1). However, the mineralization presents an enriched zone consisting of feeder zones at the intrados of the folded lenses and some supergene enrichment; the cross-section in Figure 2b shows the position of this enriched material below the pit AB. The proximity of the resource to surface suggests that it could be open-pit minable. This enriched material represents a calculated minimum of 3.4 MT at 2.5% Cu consisting either of the feeder zone or supergene enrichment
The section identified as the link corresponds to the walls between the AB pit and the CD pit. It is currently being mined for its high gold grade oxidized material (an average of 9.0 g Au/t). The several parallel lenses shown in Figures 3a and 3b are the direct conclusion of drill hole #252 reported in our press release dated April 14, 2009, which intersected over 190 m of sulphides, corresponding to an estimated true width of 130-150 m.
The resource identified under the CD pit presents significant enriched Cu and Au domains toward the eastern end of the pit, as shown in Figures 4a and 4b the appendix; two lenses have been identified. In addition to being open at depth, the VMS structure appears to extend toward the north.
The resource also contains 210,100 tonnes of Zn (84,000 tonnes attributable to La Mancha). Zinc is not always coincident with the copper-gold ore envelope, and its distribution needs to be further studied; the average grade of the Zn ore envelope is less than 1%. More details on Zn content is presented in the table at the end of this press release.
It is important to note that the Hadal Awatib resource presented above does not include the potential of the Hadal Awatib West pit, which has not yet been drilled but shows the same visual signs of VMS at its bottom. Figure 5 shows the portion of the Hadal Awatib structure that has been tested to date. Moreover, the current preliminary Hadal Awatib resource remains open in several directions, particularly to the west of the AB pit, to the north of the CD pit and at depth in general. Most of the holes only tested the first 200 meters below the pits, with only one hole reaching the level -300 below the link. (Please see press releases dated April 14, 2009 and May 26, 2009 for more details on the drilling done to date.)
It is interesting to note that, in addition to the VMS resource shown on page one (sulphides), the recent drilling campaign has also resulted in the addition of a high-grade oxide gold resource. This resource, shown in the table below, is mainly located immediately below the floor of AB pit.
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43-101 resource Ore Au Total Au Au attributable Cu Cu
as of November (t) (g/t) (oz) to LMA (oz) (%) (t)
3, 2009
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Indicated
Resource 159,150 8.98 45,936 18,374 - -
Inferred
Resource 65,500 8.32 17,500 7,000 - -
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The Hassai mine has produced more than 2.1 million ounces of gold to date, and is expected to produce 62,500 to 75,000 ounces of gold in 2009 (25,000 to 30,000 ounces attributable to La Mancha). While the first 15 years of mining focused on the more-easily-minable oxidized portion of the deposit, the VMS structure is visible at the bottom of six of the mined-out pits.
NEXT STEPS
A preliminary metallurgical study is being conducted by SGS Lakefield and should be completed soon. The Company plans to publish the results of a scoping study summarizing all the technical and economical aspects of the project as early in the first quarter of 2010.
DRILLING CAMPAIGN UPDATE
La Mancha has received the results for nine additional drill holes, including the Hassai long hole referred to in a press release dated July 28, 2009. The drill results are provided in Table 2, appended to this press release. All eight holes drilled in Hadal Awatib were included in today's resource estimate. Hole 320 is particularly worthy of note, returning 7m at 9.58% Cu at 142 m and a maximum of 18.4% Cu (over 1 m from 142m), demonstrating the high grade of the feeder zone.
Jean-Jacques Kachrillo, La Mancha's Vice President of Exploration, commented: "Identifying in several places of Hadal Awatib these feeder zones with their high visible content in chalcopyrite and then their high copper grade is very encouraging for the future of the project, above all a significant part of Hadal Awatib complex remains little explored."
TECHNICAL NOTE
The updated resource review and estimation conform to the requirements of NI 43-101 and CIM Best Practices for Estimation of Mineral Resources. There are numerous uncertainties inherent in estimating mineral resource, including many factors beyond the Company's control. Resource estimation is a subjective process, and the accuracy of any resource estimate is a function of the quality of available data and engineering and geological interpretation and judgment. Results from drilling, testing and production, as well as material changes in metal prices subsequent to the date of an estimate, may justify revision of such estimates. To the best of La Mancha's knowledge, at the time of estimation there were no known environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-economic, marketing, political or other relevant issues that would materially impact on the eventual extraction of the mineral resources.
The technical information contained in this news release was prepared by Remi Bosc, who is a Member of the European Federation of Geologists and an independent consultant, Jean-Jacques Kachrillo, who is Vice President Exploration and a full time employee of La Mancha Resources, and Martin Bennett, who is the Exploration Manager for the Company's Sudanese property and a full-time employee of La Mancha Resources. The three have sufficient experience in the resources calculation, the style of mineralization and type of deposit to qualify as a Qualified Persons as defined in the 2005 Edition of "National Instruments 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects". Based on their information, Mr. Bosc, Mr. Kachrillo and Mr. Bennett have consented to the content of this press release in the form and context in which it appears. They have read the National Instrument 43-101 of the Canadian Securities Administrators ("NI 43-101") and have ensured that this press release has been written in compliance with the Instrument.
La Mancha has established an Analytical Quality Assurance Program to control and assure the analytical quality of assays in its gold exploration. This program includes the systematic addition of blank samples, pulp duplicates and internal material references ("standards") to each batch of samples sent for analysis. Blank samples are used to check for possible contamination in laboratory, duplicates allow the overall precision to be quantified while standards determine the analytical accuracy. All samples are half HQ or NQ diamond drill core sampled on a one metre basis. Samples were assayed at the Intertek Laboratory in Indonesia, which is ISO 17025 qualified, using respectively for gold fire assays on 30g sample followed by AAS and for base metals triple acidic digestion followed by AAS.
For the calculations, the following assumptions were used:
1) The sulphide cutoff was Cu Eq 0.8%, and the oxide cut-off was 1.0 g/t.
2) The sulphide block model was filtered at a 2% cut-off to individualize statistically high-grade Cu values.
3) Values were rounded to two or three significant figures to reflect the relative estimation precision of each resource classification.
ABOUT THE HASSAI MINE
The Hassai mine is located in the Red Sea Hills desert of northeastern Sudan, some 450 km from Khartoum. Inaugurated in 1992, it is Sudan's first and only gold mine in production. Twelve pits have been mined over the years, generating a cumulative production of more than 2.1 million ounces of gold. La Mancha owns 40% of the mine through a subsidiary and is the mine operator. The Hassai exploration licenses effectively encompass the entire geological district that extends over 24,000 square kilometres. The Hassai mine exploration budget is expected to reach $6.44 million in 2009 ($2.57 million attributable to La Mancha), distributed among several gold targets (quartz, SBR and tailings) and VMS targets.
ABOUT LA MANCHA RESOURCES Inc.:
La Mancha Resources Inc. is an international gold producer based in Canada with operations, development projects and exploration activities in Africa, Australia and Argentina. La Mancha's shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) under the symbol "LMA". For more information, visit the Company's website at www.lamancha.ca.
