GREAT WESTERN MINING CORPORATION PLC ('Great Western Mining', 'GWM' or 'the Company')
M2 Prospect Update
Great Western Mining Corporation plc, the Nevada based mineral exploration company quoted on AIM (under the ticker GWMO) and ESM, is pleased to provide the following update on its M2 copper- gold exploration target.
GWM's field team has now completed two site programmes on M2 during spring and early summer
2015, one in conjunction with Donald G Strachan, the Company's independent geological consultant.
Copper and gold at M2 occur with hematite and magnetite in an increasingly important geologic style known as Iron-Oxide-Copper-Gold ('IOCG'). To date the 2015 field programme on M2 has focused on the Northern section of M2, where GWM's recent mapping extended IOCG surface trace from the original inferred resource at M2 for another two kilometres across Bass Mountain.
M2 IOCG mineralisation, alteration, structure, and lithologic characteristics thus continue west to east across the northern end of the M2-North area. The 2015 mapping has also confirmed the steady, gentle southeastern dip of the IOCG environment inferred earlier by two 2014 drill holes at the current end of the Sharktooth Road in the center of the project area. Donald Strachan therefore concludes:
'…the favourable geologic environment for IOCG mineralisation beneath Bass Mountain is almost
4.0 km long, over 1.0 km wide, and open to further southwest extension.'
The Company's November 2014 near-surface Inferred Resource occurs within a 'stringer zone' of the mineralisation at M2. Upgrading this near-surface M2 copper resource will include drilling bore holes south along extensions towards a thicker, more consistent, and higher grade IOCG core projected beneath Bass Mountain. A southerly trend of increased grades and thicknesses is also evident in the
2014 resource blocks. Restating the 2014 Inferred Resource using a 0.15% cut off yields a 350% increase in grade of mineralised rock (from 0.12% Cu to 0.44% Cu) while only reducing contained Cu tonnes by 29%:
Category | Tonnes | Grade (g/t) | Contained Metal (tonnes) |
Inferred | 3,668,614 | 0.44 Cu % | 16,067 |
Source: Donald G. Strachan, competent person. Note: Reporting cut-off grade at 0.15 Cu%.
As stated in the Company's Phase 02 JORC-level November 2014 report gold (Au) is present in
sub-ppm values with copper (Cu) and seemingly occurs at a ratio of 1 Au/50,000 Cu, suggesting that the 2014 inferred M2 open pit copper resource includes 16,000 oz of gold. Gold profiles mimic copper
profiles in most drill-hole intercepts, suggesting this ratio would be maintained in the higher underground grades projected beneath Bass Mountain.
Mapping and sampling undertaken in the 2015 M2 field programme has further identified that high value silver-copper grades and thicknesses may exist along the M2 IOCG contact in two peripheral areas: 1) M2-North and 2) Southwest Bass. These two more localised high-grade silver-copper targets are projected along the Jd sediment-Kd diorite (M2 IOCG) mineralised contact. The Company is planning further mapping and rock chip sampling, leading to follow up drill holes.
'This is an excellent result from our 2015 M2 field programme. We have been able to increase the size of projected IOCG volumes significantly, and confirm favourable geology for a high-grade underground IOCG deposit, where the consistent copper-gold ratio could also indicate significant quantities of gold. The identification of two high grade silver-copper prospects adjacent to our primary copper-gold target is an exciting development. We look forward to updating shareholders as work continues.'
Note 1: JORC stands for Australasian Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC), which is sponsored by the Australian mining industry and its professional organisations. The Code for Reporting of Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (the JORC Code) is widely accepted around the world as the definitive standard for the reporting of a company's resources and reserves.
Note 2: Donald G. Strachan is a Certified Professional Geologist (CPG-10376) under the auspices of the American Institute of Professional Geologists. Mr. Strachan is also a Fellow of the Geologic Association of Canada, a Member of the Society of Economic Geologists, and a Member of the Geological Society of Nevada. Mr. Strachan fulfills the requirements of a Qualified Person by reason of experience and education, as set out in JORC (2012) standards, to act as a consulting geologist for advancement of the M2 Oxide Copper Project. Mr. Strachan has reviewed and approved the information contained within this announcement.
Note 3: A large number of small, closely spaced veins, often with many different orientations, is referred to as a stockwork and sometimes as a stringer zone.
ENQUIRIES:
Great Western Mining Corporation Plc David Fraser, Chief Executive | +44 207 933 8795 (via Walbrook) |
Davy (Nomad, ESM Adviser & Joint Broker) John Frain Roland French | +353 1 679 6363 john.frain@davy.ie roland.french@davy.ie |
Beaufort Securities Ltd (Joint Broker) Jon Belliss Elliot Hance | +44 207 382 8300 |
IR)
Paul Cornelius
Guy McDougall
+44 207 933 8795 greatwesternmining@walbrookpr.com
|
distributed by
|
