A programme of trenching and reverse circulation drilling has continued, concentrating on 2 of the 24 deposits in the 192 sq km Amantaytau Area. Since October 2001, when Oxus announced that it had doubled its gold and silver resources in Uzbekistan to 6.4 million ounces, the Company has excavated 42 trenches (2,073 metres) and drilled 35 drillholes (2,031 metres) around the Vysokovoltnoye and Asaukak Deposits.
At Vysokovoltnoye, infill trenching and drilling is being carried out with the objective of upgrading resources from the Indicated to Measured category. Extensions of mineralisation to the north and north-west of the deposit are also being tested, to increase the deposit's resource and extend the existing pit design into potentially high grade areas, thereby enhancing the economics of the deposit.
Assay results received to date have generated the following more significant trench and drillhole intersections. Intersection results are stated above a 2.5 g/t gold equivalent grade on the basis of 61 ounces of silver being equivalent to one ounce of gold:
VYSOKOVOLTNOYE OXIDES
(FOR OPEN PIT MINING AND GOLD-SILVER HEAP LEACHING)
| Infill trenching | From (m) | To (m) | Width (m) | Gold (g/t) | Silver (g/t) | Gold equivalent (g/t) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TNV-10 | 0.00 | 8.00 | 8.00 | 2.70 | 2 | 2.74 |
| TNV-12 | 41.00 | 47.7 | 6.7.00 | 3.66 | 2 | 3.69 |
| Infill drilling | From (m) | To (m) | Width (m) | Gold (g/t) | Silver (g/t) | Gold equivalent (g/t) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SRV-4 | 34.00 | 42.00 | 8.00 | 1.39 | 357 | 7.24 |
| SRV-5 | 11.00 | 15.00 | 4.00 | 1.03 | 163 | 3.69 |
| SRV-5 | 19.00 | 25.00 | 6.00 | 0.87 | 272 | 5.32 |
| SRV-6 | 18.00 | 25.00 | 7.00 | 2.23 | 193 | 5.39 |
| SRV-6 | 30.00 | 33.00 | 3.00 | 1.12 | 383 | 7.39 |
| SRV-7 | 44.00 | 50.00 | 6.00 | 2.36 | 1348 | 24.42 |
| SRV-8 | 31.00 | 45.00 | 14.00 | 3.88 | 441 | 11.10 |
| SRV-9 | 64.00 | 71.00 | 7.00 | 4.27 | 2548 | 45.96 |
| SRV-10 | 40.00 | 43.00 | 3.00 | 1.33 | 176 | 4.21 |
| SRV-15 | 53.00 | 56.00 | 3.00 | 0.87 | 141 | 3.18 |
| SRV-15 | 58.00 | 66.00 | 8.00 | 4.33 | 464 | 11.92 |
| SRV-16 | 6.00 | 8.00 | 2.00 | 3.70 | 19 | 4.00 |
| SRV-16 | 23.00 | 25.00 | 2.00 | 3.00 | 172 | 5.82 |
| SRV-17 | 48.00 | 58.00 | 10.00 | 2.57 | 236 | 6.43 |
| SRV-18 | 7.00 | 12.00 | 5.00 | 2.44 | 233 | 6.25 |
| SRV-19 | 34.00 | 36.00 | 2.00 | 1.00 | 268 | 5.39 |
| Extension trenching | From (m) | To (m) | Width (m) | Gold (g/t) | Silver (g/t) | Gold equivalent (g/t) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TNV-5 | 8.00 | 10.00 | 2.00 | 1.20 | 281 | 5.79 |
| TNV-6 | 10.00 | 14.00 | 4.00 | 2.57 | 23 | 2.95 |
| TNV-6 | 17.00 | 22.00 | 5.00 | 1.69 | 236 | 5.56 |
| TNV-15 | 0.00 | 3.00 | 3.00 | 0.67 | 223 | 4.32 |
| TNV-16 | 4.00 | 6.80 | 2.80 | 0.60 | 1183 | 19.96 |
| Extension drilling | From (m) | To (m) | Width (m) | Gold (g/t) | Silver (g/t) | Gold equivalent (g/t) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SRV-2 | 0.00 | 7.00 | 7.00 | 2.90 | 530 | 11.57 |
| SRV-2A | 0.00 | 2.00 | 2.00 | 3.08 | 910 | 17.97 |
Drilling is also being carried out to better delineate high grade mineralisation at Asaukak, with the intention of increasing the current resource estimate, and defining mineralisation for pit design. Definition of open pit reserves for heap leaching around Asaukak would allow a further increase in the planned production rate in the Amantaytau Goldfields Area. Asaukak is not yet included in the Phase I reserves for open pit mining. Assay results received to date have generated the following more significant drillhole intersections:
ASAUKAK OXIDES
(FOR OPEN PIT MINING AND GOLD HEAP LEACHING)
| From (m) | To (m) | Width (m) | Gold (g/t) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SRA-2 | 6.00 | 8.00 | 2.00 | 5.50 |
| SRA-2 | 40.00 | 53.00 | 13.00 | 6.78 |
| SRA-3 | 45.00 | 47.00 | 2.00 | 4.95 |
| SRA-4 | 20.00 | 23.00 | 3.00 | 3.07 |
| SRA-5 | 42.00 | 45.00 | 3.00 | 4.23 |
| SRA-5 | 48.00 | 55.00 | 7.00 | 5.24 |
| SRA-8 | 19.00 | 22.00 | 3.00 | 7.43 |
| SRA-9 | 16.00 | 19.00 | 3.00 | 3.21 |
Drilling is scheduled to continue within the Amantaytau Goldfields Area early in 2002.
The ongoing trenching and drilling programme will also evaluate the recently acquired 690 sq km Tamdytau and Ayirak Exploration Areas, which include a further two gold deposits, namely Balpantau and Aristantau. The Balpantau Deposit alone has an estimated resource of 18.45 million tonnes at an average grade of 2.30 g/t containing 1.36 million ounces gold.
END
Contacts:
Oxus Mining
Roger Turner, CEO
Dr Steve Westhead, Chief Geologist,
Amantaytau Goldfields Project
William Charter, VP Geology & Exploration
Tel: +44 (0)1483 714411
Old Mutual Securities
Frank Moxon, Director
Tel: +44 (0)20 7002 4618
College Hill
Archie Berens
Kate Aquila
Tel: +44 (0)20 7457 2020
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