Mariana Resources Ltd LON:MARL exploration and development company with projects in Turkey, Côte d’Ivoire and South America, has told DirectorsTalk that it has commenced the drilling of an initial 7-hole diamond drill program at its 100% owned Ergama copper-gold project in Balikesir Province, western Turkey. The diamond drilling is being undertaken by drill contractor Ortadogu Drilling, and is expected to be completed by early-January, 2017 (with assay results expected Q1, 2017). The main targets to be tested include near-surface, porphyry-style copper-gold mineralisation within the central portion of the Ergama claim block, in addition to peripheral high grade vein / fault-hosted gold-silver mineralisation.
Links to Figures: http://media.wix.com/ugd/24ee23_28c00e9f71044db287f62460cb3498a1.pdf
Chief Executive Officer Glen Parsons today commented:
“Whilst the high grade gold and copper Hot Maden project advances to development, Mariana continues to work its diversified portfolio of advanced and early stage exploration projects. Ergama is a 100% owned, prospective, copper-gold porphyry target in a region that hosts a number of key discoveries, development projects and mines and Turkey’s largest gold mine Kisladag operated by Eldorado Gold.
“Mariana’s objective is to confirm mineralisation and geological model being a mineralised copper gold porphyry system as well as high grade gold and silver epithermal mineralisation and, if successful, will lead to the next stage of drilling at Ergama.
“I look forward to updating the market on Hot Maden soon and further news from Ergama in the New Year.”
About the Ergama Project
The Ergama Project licence covers an area of 2,168 Ha (21.6 km2), and is located in western Turkey between the well mineralized Biga Pensinsula and Eldorado Gold’s Kisladag gold mine (currently Turkey’s largest gold mine with gold production of 280,000 oz in 2015). Geological mapping at Ergama has identified extensive zones of both porphyry- and epithermal-style hydrothermal alteration assemblages – dominated by low temperature chalcedonic silica on hilltops and advanced argillic alteration assemblages (“lithocap”) elsewhere – within Oligocene- to Miocene-age volcanic rocks. Ground geophysics completed in 2012 confirmed the presence of two strong, near surface IP chargeability anomalies, with the largest measuring 1km x 1km and interpreted to represent sulphides associated with a “blind” porphyry copper-gold deposit; (Figure 2). Geochemical sampling on surface has also returned high gold values (up to 16 g/t Au) in vein / fault-hosted systems that lie on the periphery of the main porphyry target. The geological model proposed for Ergama is that of a surface “lithocap” overlying a buried porphyry copper-gold system, with secondary targets including peripheral high grade gold-silver targets (Figure 3).
Mariana is the 100% beneficial owner of the Ergama property, with Sandstorm Gold Ltd (“Sandstorm”) owning a 2% NSR on future production (the Ergama NSR was part of a package of 55 royalties acquired by Sandstorm from Teck Resources in January, 2016).
