Central Asia Resources drilling Kazakhstan

Central Asia Resources Ltd announced a revised resource estimate for its Kengir...

  Central Asia Resources Ltd announced a revised resource estimate for its Kengir Prospect in Kazakhstan which has been classified in accordance with the JORC Code.The resource estimate completed by Coffey Mining Pty Ltd included the result of Central Asia’s drilling and sampling campaign which extended the previously defined mineralised zones, discovered new mineralised zones and validated historical sampling data from previous owners and Soviet exploration programs.The estimate is based on 57 holes (9,815m) of historical and Central Asia diamond drilling and 8.3km of trenches across the prospect.Central Asia CEO Jason Stirbinskis said “This is a significant milestone for Central Asia as it is the first new resource announcement since we listed in July 2007.The results are very encouraging and represent a substantial increase in the previous estimates that have been quoted for Kengir”.Mineralisation occurs from surface and is considered amenable to open pit mining methods.Mr Stirbinskis added “Previously, a 1g/t lower cut-off was used but the revised resource has been reported using both 1g/t Au and 0.5g/t Au lower cut-offs. We believe the 0.5g/t lower cut-off is applicable as the deposit is near surface and is amenable to open pit mining.The Kengir deposit is located near infrastructure and on flat terrain; while the initial metallurgical testwork indicates we can recover over 90% of the gold through flotation.The historical data also suggests we may achieve Cu, Ag, Pb and Zinc credits”.A more detailed metallurgical test program for Kengir will commence in Q2 2008.The Kengir deposit is hosted in a gabbro-diorite body, which in turn is intruded by a felsic plug of porphyry.Gold mineralisation occurs as eruptive breccia along loop- formed faults showing characteristics of a gold-copper porphyry system.The breccia and associated alteration zone is interrupted to the east and west by north-south striking faults. To the east, it was believed that the intensity of the brecciation and alteration decreased as the zone swings to the north.The Kengir resource announcement is the first of four resource announcements for Central Asia with the remaining 3 in the final stages of completion and to be announced over the coming weeks.