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Sunridge Gold Corp. (TSX.V:SGC) is pleased to announce that it has received a new independent resource estimate for the Adi Nefas zinc-gold-copper volcanogenic-massive-sulphide (VMS) deposit on the Company's 100% owned Asmara Project, Eritrea. This new resource was completed by Snowden Mining Industry Consultants Inc. ("Snowden") as part of its ongoing prefeasibility study on the Asmara North Deposits which include the Emba Derho copper-zinc-gold deposit, the Adi Nefas zinc-copper-gold VMS deposit, the Debarwa copper-gold VMS deposit, and the Gupo gold deposit. Adi Nefas is located only six kilometres from the 70 million tonne Emba Derho Deposit. The prefeasibility study is being conducted by Snowden and GBM Minerals Engineering Consultants Ltd. and is scheduled for completion in April 2012.
Highlights:
Indicated resources in the primary zone are 1.8 million tonnes averaging 10.05% zinc, 3.31 g/t gold, 1.78% copper and 115g/t silver
Total contained metals in the Indicated categories at Adi Nefas are estimated as:
408.0 million pounds of zinc
72.2 million pounds of copper
196,000 ounces of gold
6.81 million ounces of silver.
Note: Contained metal calculations are as follows: copper and zinc: tonnes x grade (%) x 2204.622. Gold and silver: tonnes x grade (g/t) ÷ 31.10348. Results were rounded and no allowance was made for mining dilution or metal losses in the recovery process.
Sunridge President and CEO Michael Hopley says, "The average grade of all metals in the Adi Nefas deposit has significantly increased in this new resource estimate compared to the previous estimate in 2008.This high-grade material should enhance the economics of the Asmara Project when this material is mined and blended as a high-grade feed to a central North Asmara processing plant in conjunction with the nearby Emba Derho deposit as well as the sulphide material from the Debarwa deposit. We expect that most of these resources will be converted to reserves with the completion of the pre-feasibility study in April."
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Note: Resource and contained metal estimates are rounded and remain subject to factors such as mining dilution and process recovery losses.
NOTES
This new Adi Nefas resource estimate, completed by Snowden, is as of February 20, 2012 and complies with the CIM Definition Standards on Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves, as required by National Instrument 43-101. Resource modeling and grade estimation was undertaken by Snowden and reviewed by Andrew F. Ross, FAusIMM (CP Geo), P.Geo (APEGBC #145711)(Senior Principal, Snowden), a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101, based on geological interpretations and a drill database (current to August 2011) provided by Sunridge. The database and the Sunridge sampling and assaying QA/QC procedures and results were reviewed by Snowden. Further details of the estimation procedure will be available in the NI-43-101 report which will be posted on the Company's profile on SEDAR (http://www.sedar.com) no later than 45 days from the date of this press release.
GEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND
The Adi Nefas deposit occurs as a prominent outcropping gossan at surface that is the expression of deeper volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) mineralization. The gossan is traceable over a strike length of 700 metres and is north-northeast trending. The deposit is a steeply east dipping massive sulphide layer that is hosted within a sequence of felsic meta-volcanic and meta-sedimentary rocks. The massive sulphide layer has an average width of 6 m to 12 m and is largely hosted within a hydrothermally altered felsic quartz-sericite-chlorite pyrite schist which is flanked in the hanging wall and footwall by altered meta-basaltic rocks. The deposit is partitioned into upper oxide and transition zones with precious metal enrichment and base metal depletion, underlain by a zinc and copper rich supergene zone, and a lower primary zinc-rich sulphide zone.
The primary zone is typically developed beyond a depth of 40 metres from surface and is the focus of the prefeasibility study. The primary zone includes a unit of low grade chert and exhalite which has been modeled separately to the massive sulphides. Previous mineral resource estimates did not partition this rock unit from the massive sulphides and as a result were lower grade and higher tonnage than the current estimate.
METHODOLOGY
The mineralization on which this new Adi Nefas resource estimate is based extends over a strike length of 455 metres and a width of up to 12 metres and has been drilled to a maximum vertical depth from surface of approximately 400 metres. The deposit has been explored using 101 exploration drill holes and 8 geotechnical drill holes. 70 drill holes encountered mineralization and assays of split core have been used in this estimation of resources.
