- Published: 30 January 2009
- Written by Editor
Tanzanian Royalty Extends Gold Zones to Depth, Confirms Bulk Mining Potential in Surface Gravels
Tanzanian Royalty Exploration Corp (TSX: TNX) (AMEX: TRE), is pleased to report that it has received assay results from the multi-phase drill program completed late last year on its Kigosi Project in Tanzania. The program included 3,418 metres of diamond drilling, 5,974 meters of RC (Reverse Circulation) drilling and 7,688 meters of RAB (Rotary Air Blast) drilling.
The program confirmed depth extensions to drill-targeted veins (reefs) along with open pit potential in near-surface gravels and hard rock vein material. Diamond drilling within the Luhwaika Main Zone and the newly discovered Igunda Zone 2.5 kilometers to the southeast confirmed that each of the zones extend to depth, substantially enhancing the resource potential on the property.
Among the higher grade gold intercepts reported within the Luhwaika Prospect Area were 2.0 metres grading 9.40 g/t (grams per tonne); 2.0 metres averaging 7.06 g/t; 3.0 metres at 6.38 g/t including 1.0 meter averaging 15.96 g/t; 5.0 meters grading 2.93 g/t and 1.0 meter at 10.1 g/t. One 2.0 meter interval in gravel returned 6.64 g/t including 1.0 meter averaging 12.95 g/t. RC drilling of the new Igunda discovery returned some exceptional gold values including 1.0 meter averaging 35.0 g/t; 2.0 metres grading 4.58 g/t; and 2.0 metres averaging 3.27 g/t.
The deepest gold bearing intercept reported to date occurs in hole KG20DD-004 (see table below) at a down hole depth of 291.75 metres or approximately 950 feet.
According to James E. Sinclair, Chairman and CEO, "The depth extensions we have confirmed to date are consistent with deposits found in some of the world's largest gold mining camps. One of our priorities will be to increase the drill hole density in these deeper sections given the extreme range of gold values that can occur in geological environments such as this."
The diamond drilling phase was designed to test the vertical extent of the Main and Luhwaika West shear zones and any new gold shoots hosted therein to a vertical depth of 250 metres. Three diamond drill holes were drilled into the Igunda workings to test the depth extent of high grade shoots intersected earlier in the year (refer to Press Release dated Sept 9th 2008).
The RC drilling, which commenced in July 2008, targeted some infill holes on the Luhwaika West and Main zones, as well as new coincident Induced Polarization (IP) and soil anomalies at Luhwaika and the Luhwaika Central areas. In addition, six RC holes were drilled at the Igunda workings. RAB drilling was conducted to test regional soil and IP anomalies at Luhwaika North, Igunda South, and Igunda West areas.
Phase 7 RC -- Luhwaika Prospect Area:
Target: Infill drilling on Luhwaika Shear Zones, and IP anomaly at German Workings
Phase 7 RC drilling totalled 3,994 metres in 47 holes. This phase included infill drilling on the Luhwaika Main and West Reefs and drilling of the German Workings some 200 metres to the east. Some of the more significant results appear in the table below:
Hole No From To Intercept Gold Including Comments
(m) (m) (m) g/t
Line 1350N
KG20RC-472 2 4 2 6.64 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. gravel
Line 1650N
KG20RC-479 67 68 1 1.78 West Zone
KG20RC-480 63 65 2 1.36 Zone UZ2
KG20RC-506 70 71 1 3.95 Main Zone in shoot
KG20RC-507 4 7 3 1.43 West Zone
Line 1750N
KG20RC-508 56 58 2 3.45 Main Zone in shoot
KG20RC-510 1 3 2 0.42 gravel
10 16 6 1.79 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. West Zone in shoot
Line 1850N
KG20RC-505 4 6 2 1.01 gravel
14 17 3 0.72 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. West Zone
Line 1950N
KG20RC-512 39 40 1 10.10 BZ3
98 100 2 7.06 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Main Zone in shoot
KG20RC-513 3 5 2 0.95 gravel
111 114 3 0.66 Main Zone
Line 2050N
KG20RC-500 66 69 3 6.38 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Main Zone in shoot
KG20RC-501 59 60 1 1.53 BZ2
KG20RC-503 5 6 1 0.55 gravel
106 108 2 9.40 Main Zone in shoot
KG20RC-515 116 118 2 0.47 Main Zone
Line 2250N
KG20RC-516 100 108 8 0.80 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Main Zone in shoot
KG20RC-517 13 14 1 1.74 West Zone
117 119 5 2.93 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Main Zone in shoot
KG20RC-518 99 105 6 0.62 BZ
116 118 2 0.66 BZ
127 129 2 0.88 LM
Line 2850N
KG20RC-483 2 3 1 0.89 gravel
Line 3450N
KG20RC-488 52 53 1 1.09 LZ30
Line 4250N
KG20RC-489 5 8 3 0.72 GW1
KG20RC-490 30 31 1 1.30 GW1
The above intersections are estimated to be very close to true thicknesses with all the drill inclinations being -60 degrees and the dip of the reef being -22 degrees. All holes are drilled perpendicular to the assumed strike of the reef(s).
Phase 1 Diamond Drilling -- Luhwaika Prospect
Target: Test for additional shoots at depth
Four drill fences with between two to four holes on each fence were drilled to test the possibility of more shoots at depth on the Kigosi Main Shear Zone.
The Bateleur shoot appears open ended towards the northwest in KG20DD002 and should be traced out with further diamond drilling. The twin hole KG20DD012 intersected the Bateleur shoot from 48.95 - 50.79 metres returning a grade of 10.68g/t over 1.84 metres. The RC hole had a grade of 25.25g/t over 3.0 metres.
Hole No From To Intercept Gold Including Comments
(m) (m) (m) g/t
Line 2050N
KG20DD-007 9.74 10.55 0.81 1.86 UZ
51.26 52.00 0.74 0.69 LW
Line 2250N
KG20DD-010 128.80 132.60 3.80 0.63 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. LM
KG20DD-011 3.60 4.15 0.55 4.76 gravel
90.60 91.60 1.00 1.07 LW
Line 2450N
KG20DD-002 35.50 37.82 2.32 1.99 0.59@6.0 LW in shoot
118.52 120.12 1.60 3.03 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. LM in shoot
KG20DD-003 133.50 134.32 0.68 3.88 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. BZ3
192.97 194.50 1.53 0.84 LM
KG20DD-004 174.43 175.00 0.57 5.05 BZ3
290.95 291.75 0.80 1.04 LM
Line 2650N
KG20DD-008 131.35 133.00 1.65 2.22 LM in shoot
Phase 1 RC -- Igunda Prospect
An additional six RC holes were drilled at the Igunda workings as follow-up to positive results obtained late in 2008 (refer to release on 9 Sept 08). The objective of the drilling was to test the grade of the two reefs at depth. Some of the better results from this short program are listed in the following table:
Hole No From To Intercept Gold Including Comments
(m) (m) (m) g/t
KG125RC031 76 78 2 3.27 Igunda Main Reef A
KG125RC034 71 72 1 35.0 Igunda Main Reef A
75 76 1 2.03 Igunda Main Reef A
96 98 2 4.58 1m @ 8.65 g/t Igunda Main Reef B
KG125RC035 27 29 2 0.94 1m @ 1.50 Igunda Main Reef A
Based on a preliminary interpretation of the down-hole geology and assay results, there appears to be up to three sub-parallel shear zones hosting gold mineralization in and around the Igunda workings. The latest interpretation suggests that the shoots here are steep dipping. Three diamond drill holes tested this hypothesis on three fences spaced 100 metres apart, and results from this short program are presented below:
Phase 1 Diamond Drilling -- Igunda Prospect
Hole No From(m) To(m) Intercept(m) Gold g/t Comments
KG125DD001 158.00 158.60 0.60 3.65 Igunda Main Reef A
180.92 181.77 0.85 2.85 Igunda Main Reef B
KG125DD002 169.89 171.01 1.12 1.16 Igunda Main Reef B
KG125DD003 220.66 221.50 0.84 1.50 Igunda Main Reef A
222.46 223.38 0.92 4.07 Igunda Main Reef A
Summary
The deep diamond drilling at Luhwaika indicated that these structures continue at depth, creating new target areas for subsequent evaluation. At Igunda, the deeper diamond drilling suggests that the gold-bearing structure also continues at depth. The infill RC drilling further confirms the presence and persistence of shallow plunging high grade gold shoots.
The next exploration phase at Kigosi is to validate the results obtained from the initial RC assay results on the sub-surface gravels. As time permits, geological staff will also be allocated to the preparation of a resource report for regulatory authorities.
Analysis
Fire assay with flame AAS finish was conducted by Humac Laboratories in Mwanza. Blanks, Duplicates and Standards were inserted in the sample stream approximately every 20 samples. For the diamond drilling assays 90% of the standards fall within the acceptable limit, all the blanks were acceptable and the field duplicates returned a 92% correlation. For the RC assays 98% of the standards fall within the acceptable limit, 94% of the blanks were acceptable, and the field duplicates returned a 98 percent correlation after taking out 4 outliers (4% of the samples). For the diamond drilling the duplicate samples were analyzed at ALS Chemex laboratory in Johannesburg, South Africa. The figures used in this press release are the average grades taken for between one and three duplicates run by the labs on each analysis.
Qualified Person
The technical information contained in this document has been reviewed and approved by John Deane, President, Tanzanian Royalty Exploration Corporation Limited, a qualified person as defined by NI 43-101. He has an M.Sc. from the University of Cape Town (1993) and is a registered scientist with SACNASP (Reg. No.400005/05).
Respectfully Submitted, James E. Sinclair Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
For further information, please contact Investor Relations at 1-800-811-3855
Visit our website: www.TanzanianRoyaltyExploration.com
The Toronto Stock Exchange and American Stock Exchange have not reviewed and do not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release
Cautionary Note to U.S. Investors -- The United States Securities and Exchange Commission limits disclosure for U.S. reporting purposes to mineral deposits that a company can economically and legally extract or produce. We use certain terms on this news release, such as "reserves," "resources," "geologic resources," "proven," "probable," "measured," "indicated," or "inferred" which may not be consistent with the reserve definitions established by the SEC. U.S. Investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in our Form 20-F, File No. 001-32500. You can review and obtain copies of these filings from the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml.
Certain information presented in this release may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are based on numerous assumptions, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, including risks inherent in mineral exploration and development, which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any projected future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Investors are referred to our description of the risk factors affecting the Company, as contained in our Form 20-F, File No. 001-32500, for a more information concerning these risks, uncertainties, and other factors.
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Investor Relations 1-800-811-3855 www.TanzanianRoyaltyExploration.com
SOURCE: Tanzanian Royalty Exploration Corp.
http://www.TanzanianRoyaltyExploration.com
