POSITIVE DRILL INTERCEPTS NORTH OF SIAN OPEN PIT CONTINUE TO EXTEND THE SIZE OF THE ESAASE RESOURCE IN GHANA
TSX-V: MEX
TORONTO, Dec. 29 /CNW/ - Midlands Minerals Corporation ("Midlands" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that positive drill intersects indicate potential for further increasing the gold resource on Sian at depth and along strike and depth with the strike length now at 1.2 kilometres. The Company is pleased to provide updates on:
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1. Ongoing resource building with on-strike drilling at Esaase
2. Drill testing of airborne targets within 5km of Esaase zone and
3. Initial drilling at the Kaniago prospect
4. QA/QC
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"We are going into 2011 with the potential to significantly increase the resource on our Sian - Kwahu Praso gold projects in Ghana. I am pleased to provide an update and a summary of our field activities to date, and for the last Quarter of 2010," said Tom Neelands, P.Geo and Midlands Vice President Exploration.
1) The (Sian) Esaase Zone
On Oct. 15, 2010, Midlands received an in-house interim resource update of the Esaase Zone prepared by SGS Canada Inc. (Geostat). The Memorandum outlined results of a 9,732m drilling program, using assay results received up until September 15, 2010, which showed that the indicated ounces of gold increased 67% from the NI 43-101 compliant estimate of 2008 (please refer to Table 1 below). President and CEO Kim Harris noted that "for each metre drilled in the 2010 campaign, approximately 15 ounces of gold were added to the resource estimate."
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Table 1: Sian - Esaase Zone
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2010 2008 %
Increase
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MT Au g/t Oz MT Au g/t Oz
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Indicated 5.4 1.9 192,400 2.6 2.3 322,100 67
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Inferred 4.0 1.7 203,350 2.7 2.4 216,800 7
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The sheared pyritic gold zone previously mined by Sian Goldfields as an oxide ore, is hosted mainly by mafic to intermediate volcanics and prorphyritic felsic dykes. The Esaase shearing is enhanced by the competency contrast between the dykes and the volcanics and both brittle and ductile shears have been exploited by gold-bearing solutions rich in K-spar and pyrite.
The central portion of the zone strikes NNE and dips steeply E. To the N, the zone is offset to the NE and to the south the mineralisation splays off to the SE.
Since the interim resource estimate report was completed by SGS, infill drilling has continued on the northern extensions of the Sian - Esaase zone and has confirmed an additional strike length extension of 240 metres as reported in the November 10, 2010 News Release. This brings the zone strike length to 1.4 kilometres where it is still open in all directions.
More recently, two diamond drill holes (MSRD-104 and MEDD-10-35) confirmed depth and along strike continuations of the gold resource. MSRD-104 was designed to extend an intersection in a RC hole which previously terminated in mineralisation. Results from this hole of 1.59 g/t Au over 5.0m extends the deposit to a depth of 100m and also intersected gold zones projected from previous holes (please refer to Table 2 below). MEDD-10-35, drilled 50m to the south of MEDD-10-34A links up with both MEDD-10-21 and MEDD-10-34A, and intersected 1.11g/t over 4.0m. In the zone, the average depth of mineralisation is only 250m with the deepest intersection being 300m.
Table 2: Esaase North Extension Drilling (0.5 g/t Au cut off)
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Hole_ID FROM_ TO_(m) INTERVAL_ GRADE_ SUMMARY
(m) (m) (g/t)
MEDD-10-035 106.00 110.00 4.00 1.11 4m @1.11g/t from 106m
MEDD-10-035 149.00 150.00 1.00 1.01 1m @1.01g/t from 149m
MEDD-10-035 155.00 156.00 1.00 1.00 1m @1g/t from 155m
MEDD-10-035 223.00 224.00 1.00 0.50 1m @0.5g/t from 223m
MSRD-10-104 183.00 188.00 5.00 1.59 5m @1.59g/t from 183m
MSRD-10-104 192.00 194.90 2.90 1.15 2.9m @1.15g/t from
192m
MSRD-10-104 215.30 217.00 1.70 0.88 1.7m @0.88g/t from
215.3m
MSRD-10-104 232.20 233.10 0.90 0.51 0.9m @0.51g/t from
232.2m
MSRD-10-104 247.00 248.50 1.50 0.54 1.5m @0.54g/t from
247m
MSRD-10-104 268.00 268.50 0.50 0.93 0.5m @0.93g/t from
268m
MSRD-10-104 280.00 283.00 3.00 1.37 3m @1.37g/t from 280m
MSRD-10-104 299.40 304.00 4.60 0.60 4.6m @0.6g/t from
299.4m
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"Continued positive drill intercepts north of the open pit have added to the overall resource valuation, but a better understanding of the structural controls on Sian-Praso is vital prior to further drilling in 2011. We will be re-logging the core in order to understand the economic relationship between the porphyry dykes and the structural controls. We are committed to detailed exploration programs to fully understand the structural complexity of the Esaase zone so that we can apply it to the area." said Tom Neelands, P.Geo.
To the SSW of the Esaase zone, by another 1.5km, untested gold soil anomalies indicate that the zone may continue to a point where ENE VTEM lineaments crosscut the Esaase NNE trend. The ENE lineaments are an extension of the Obuasi trend which hosts Newmont's Akyem deposit that is located 30km to the WSW. The Obuasi Gold Mine has a current reserve in excess of 30 million ounces while Newmont's Akyem Mine is host to over 8 million ounces of gold.
This area of cross cutting structures has been identified as the Mpeyo Area and this area contains gold soil anomalies whose shapes are controlled by both the Obuasi and Esaase trends. These anomalies are more anomalous than the gold soil anomalies surrounding the Esaase zone, making this area highly prospetive. More infill soil sampling is planned for this area prior to additional drilling in early 2011.
2) Geotech Airborne Targets
Initial diamond and RC drilling on Geotech Airborne Spectral-VTEM survey has encountered narrow mineralized zones in weakly altered and sheared volcanic (please refer to Table 3 below). Drill holes constituted a first pass test on target areas which were selected because of the presence of old artisanal workings, Au-soil anomalies, K spectral airborne anomalies and NNE magnetic and resistivity lineaments. Due to the initial unfavourable results, more infill soil sampling is planned to define the targets more precisely.
Table 3: Drilling Results of Geotech Airborne Targets
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Target Hole ID From To_m Interval Grade_ Summary
g/t
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MEDD-10-
A1 040 21.00 22.00 1.00 1.14 1m @1.14g/t from 21m
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MEDD-10-
A3 041 3.00 4.00 1.00 0.74 1m @0.74g/t from 3m
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MEDD-10-
A3 041 6.00 7.00 1.00 0.68 1m @0.68g/t from 6m
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MEDD-10-
A3 041 78.00 79.70 1.70 0.55 1.7m @0.55g/t from 78m
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MEDD-10-
A3 041 110.00 112.00 2.00 0.45 2m @0.45g/t from 110m
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3) Kaniago Gold Project
The Kaniago concession is 46 square kilometers in size and is located in the Asankrangwa Gold Belt. It is on strike with two past open pit gold producers, the Abore deposit to the north and the Obotan to the south. It is underlain by metasediments that have been deformed into three different (NNE, NE and ENE) trends that are named after deposits and concessions located within the trend; these are: Kaniago-Abore-Keegan Trend (300,000 ounces Abore deposit and Keegan's Essase 3.5 million ounce resource), the Kaniago-Adubiaso Trend (Adubiaso deposit) and the Kaniago-Obotan Trend (800,000 ounces Obotan deposit).
Geotech Airborne Services has also completed an airborne spectral, magnetic and electromagnetic survey on the Kaniago gold project and Midlands has completed regional and detailed soil sampling surveys. The Company has begun to make drill preparations on Kaniago and public relations meetings have been initiated with the local Community. Once, final target selection is completed, RC (Reverse Circulation) drill pads will be cleared and if necessary, crop compensation will be paid to farmers for these targets as required. RC drilling is planned to start in the First Quarter of 2011.
4) QA/QC
Core samples are generally taken at 1 meter intervals with exceptions varying from 0.3 to 1.5 meters due to the particular rock type. Sampling is done utilizing a core saw to split the core in two parts, one half to the laboratory and keeping the other half as witness core. All core drill samples are logged and sampled at the property field core shack facilities by SEMS Explorations Services Ltd. of Accra, Ghana. All samples were sent to SGS Laboratory in Tarkwa, Ghana where they were assayed using standard 50 gram fire assay with atomic absorption finish. QA/QC programs are in place using blanks and external standard samples.
Intercepts shown above were calculated using a minimum of a 0.5 g/t cut-off at the beginning and end of the intercept and allowing for no more than 3 consecutive samples (three meters) of less than 0.5 g/t Au. All holes were drilled in a direction at an angle of 90 degrees with the deposit trend. The dip of the hole were planned to intersect at a specific vertical depth.
The technical information in this news release has been reviewed by Tom Neelands, P.Geo. - a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101.
ABOUT MIDLANDS MINERALS
Midlands is a growth oriented and value based gold exploration company operating in Ghana and Tanzania, two stable countries with a history of gold mining. Midlands' top priority project is the fully permitted Sian gold project in Ghana. The Sian property contains Esaase and Ampeha, two previously producing open pit mines with a resource with significant growth potential. Midlands' contiguous Kwahu Praso project, which was once part of Sian, contains extensions of the Esaase and Ampeha trends. Sian and Praso are just 30 kilometres northeast of Newmont Mining's +8.7 million ounce Akyem gold deposit.
Midlands' second priority project in Ghana is the highly prospective Kaniago gold project, which is located on the Asankrangwa Gold belt and is contiguous to two past open pit gold producers - Abore to the north and Obotan to the south.
Midlands, in addition to the Company's Ghana properties, holds highly prospective licences in Tanzania for gold and diamonds, in the Lake Victoria Goldfields, including its advanced Itilima Gold project which lies within the Geita-Bulyanhulu-Itilima-Sekenke Trend, and which is host to over 40 million ounces in gold reserves.
The Company has a highly qualified management and technical team with broad African experience and extensive experience in the countries in which the Company operates. For more information on the Company, please visit Midlands' website at www.midlandsminerals.com.
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Kim Harris
President and Chief Executive Officer
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The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content of this news release.
Certain statements contained in this news release constitute forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from actual results and achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. No assurance can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will occur or, if they do occur, what benefits the Company will obtain from them. These forward-looking statements reflect management's current views and are based on certain expectations, estimates and assumptions which may prove to be incorrect.
The Company adds a cautionary statement to the effect that the potential quantity and grades referred to in this press release are conceptual in nature. There has been sufficient exploration to evaluate a mineral resource. However, the Company is uncertain if further exploration will result in a mineral reserve. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date the statements were made. Readers are also advised to consider such forward-looking statements while considering the risks inherent in the business of mineral exploration. For more information, investors should review the Company's filings that are available at www.sedar.com.
Kim Harris, President and CEO, CEO Direct Line: + 1 416 447 6882, 1210 Sheppard Avenue East, Suite 302, Toronto, Canada M2K 1E3, Tel: + 1 416 492 6992, Fax: + 1 416 492 6993, E-Mail: [email protected], Website: www.midlandsminerals.com
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