Paul N. Wright, president and chief executive officer of Eldorado Gold Corporation announced an interim report on 2003 exploration activity being conducted in one of the company’s principal areas of operation, Turkey.
Eldorado has increased the level of exploration activity in Turkey in 2003 through its wholly owned subsidiary Tuprag Metal Madencilik. This decision is attributable to the continued improvements in the gold price and the company's consistent progress in advancing its Kisladag project towards a production decision.
Exploration activity in Turkey by domestic and international companies has recently intensified in response to the improved environment for investment and established potential for significant mineral deposits.
Eldorado continues to carry out reconnaissance work within a defined area of interest in western Turkey through a joint venture agreement signed in May 2001. In addition an option agreement was signed in April 2003 to carry out exploration work on the KS project located in central Turkey. Eldorado can earn a 50 percent interest in the project by spending US $160,000 on exploration by July 2004.
In addition to rock and stream sediment sampling, previous work on the KS project has included limited diamond core drilling to test a gold bearing hydrothermal structure. Tuprag is conducting a follow up program on a potential porphyry related target hosted in altered limestone within the license boundary.
To date, rock sampling and stream sediment and soil surveys have returned encouraging anomalous gold and base metal values. A strongly altered zone containing felsic intrusive and carbonates has been identified on surface along an EW direction in two zones having widths up to 100 meters and strike lengths of 400 and 500 meters respectively.
Tuprag will conduct a magnetic survey at KS in June as the next step in target identification. Initial reverse circulation drilling has also been planned to drill test a previously identified hydrothermal structure as well as the recently identified alteration zone, and will be completed in the third quarter 2003.
In addition, Eldorado plans to carry out work on three wholly owned prospects located in western Turkey which were the subject of earlier exploration activity by Tuprag in the mid 1990's. The geological setting in western Turkey is host to the company's Efemcukuru and Kucukdere projects as well as the Ovacik Mine (Newmont Mining) located at Bergama.
Subeylidere.
The prospect consists of 37 square kilometers located within a Neogene aged volcano-sedimentary sequence. Mineralization in the area consists of quartz adularia veins hosted in andesitic volcanics. Significant gold values have been found in banded chalcedonic and quartz veins with no presence of base metals.
Existing work on the prospect includes soil sampling and mapping and has successfully identified drill targets in a series of NNW trending veins. Rock sampling in this zone returned average gold grades of approximately 7 g/t.
A second target has been identified in an adjacent elliptical zone of opaline silica flooding measuring approximately 300 meters by 100 meters in volcanoclastics. Gold values detected in rock and soil sampling, indicate the presence of an upper level epithermal system with potential for buried stockwork or a more restricted high grade vein system underlying altered andesites.
A follow up program of 600 meters of reverse circulation ("RC") drilling will be carried out at Subeylidere in the third quarter 2003 to test both the exposed vein structures as well as deeper stockwork potential.
Yatiktas is located within 12 kilometers from the Subeylidere prospect in a similar Neogene setting. Previous exploration work carried out by Tuprag on the Yatiktas prospect included detailed mapping, rock sampling and stream sediment sampling.
Two vein structures have been identified including the main Yatiktas structure which lies along a NNE trending contact between the basement schist and a granitic dike. Mapping along the 1,300-meter structure revealed average widths of 14 meters.
Profile samples across the structure returned low average gold values of less than 1 g/t Au, however spot sampling along the hanging wall contact returned values greater than 11 g/t Au.
In 2003 the Company has plans to carry out an initial RC drill program on the Yatiktas vein to test the contact zone along the structure. In addition limited drilling will be carried out on the Kocakiran vein located NW of the Yatikas vein where anomalous gold values have been located in rock chip samples.
The Keditasi prospect comprises a 16 square kilometer license area also located in northwestern Turkey. The prospect is hosted in Miocene age andesitic volcanics with potential for bulk tonnage, high-sulphidation or porphyry style mineralization.
Tuprag has carried out detailed mapping as well as rock, stream sediment and soil sampling along a 190 meter ENE trending silcified ridge. High-grade values greater than 14 g/t Au have been obtained at the western end of the trend decreasing to less than 1 g/t Au to the east.
A strong soil anomaly has also been identified to the west of the main structure covering an area of 600 meters by 150 meters. Maximum values in this zone have approached 400 ppb Au. Both of the above targets will be drill tested in 2003 to further define the mineralization with a planned 600 meters of RC drill program.
Commenting on Eldorado's exploration plans in Turkey for 2003, Wright said, "We are very pleased to be active both in projects with our Joint Venture partner and in projects wholly owned by the Company with identified drill targets. Our in-country exploration team has encountered tremendous success to date in defining significant resources and it is very exciting to be drill testing properties for the first time."
With expertise in mining, finance and project development, Eldorado is a gold producing and exploration company with gold assets in Brazil and Turkey. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
