Thursday, 21st July, 2011

Drilling Resumes at Kestanelik

Thursday, 21st July, 2011

Drilling Resumes at Kestanelik 30,000 metre RC & Diamond Drill Program Extending High-Grade Gold Mineralisation

  • A 30,000 metre drill program has commenced
  • Drilling will follow-up on the very successful eleven kilometres of 
drilling to date and test:
  • Previously undrilled veins and additional geochemical targets; and
  • Expand known zones from previous drilling (eg KERC-66 5 metres at 26.5g/t gold)
  • Further metallurgical and geotechnical test work to be carried out
  • Estimation of a maiden Mineral Resources estimate by the end of 
2011

Exploration Drilling Program


Chesser Resources Limited (Chesser) is pleased to announce that a 
major drilling program, for thirty kilometres of RC and Diamond drilling, has started at its Kestanelik property, in NW Turkey.

The Company has recently reviewed the drill results received from its initial three rounds of drilling, for 11,150 metres of combined RC and Diamond drilling, and has now completed the design of the extensive follow-up exploration program which includes a program of approximately 150 drill holes, for a planned 30,000 metres of drilling.


“We are very confident that the drilling program that we have planned will test a much larger proportion of the high quality targets at the Kestanelik project, and we expect to continue to identify and expand high grade gold zones in what we believe is a world class epithermal vein field,” said Dr Rick Valenta, Managing Director of Chesser Resources. “This extensive drilling program should put us in a position to publish a maiden Mineral Resource estimate by the end of this year. Furthermore, it will also open up for further exploration a host of the other untested veins which have so far received little or no drilling. The Company is well cashed-up to carry out this exciting program and it is absolutely true to say that we really have barely scratched the surface on this property” he added.

Drilling program

A program of 30,000 metres of RC and diamond drilling is planned on the seventy-seven quartz veins, which are known to extend over a twenty-two kilometre strike length, on the Kestanelik property. Drilling will expand the known zones of mineralisation that have been identified on the six veins that have received meaningful drilling to date, including the higher-grade mineralised shoots identified on the K3 vein. A further twenty-seven quartz veins, which have a strike length of more than nine kilometers, are known to contain gold mineralisation, but as yet have had no drilling on them. Initial drill testing on these veins, which represent forty one percent of the identified strike length of veins on the property, will be carried out as part of the current program. An initial scout drill program will also test the remaining forty-three veins which to date have received no follow-up exploration work.

More details of the proposed program (Fig. 1) are set out as follows:

Karakovan Vein

Three zones of high-grade veining and stockwork, which extend over a 150 metre strike length, a 100 metre width and down to a 50 metre depth, have been drilled. The veins are closed off to the northeast by faulting but there are some high-grade intercepts further to the southwest, which will be tested by a planned 1,000 metres of drilling.

K1 Vein

This vein has been defined over a strike length approximately 375 metres and is still open in both directions. A program of 5,000 metres of drilling is planned which will also test the down dip and strike extension of the KERC-66 high-grade intercept (75m @ 2.3g/t Au from 18 metres, including 5m @ 26.5g/t Au at 68 metres).

K2 Vein

The K2 vein has a strike length of about 300 metres and appears to be a link structure between the K1 and K3 veins. Five drill holes have so far been completed but drilling is only to a depth of some 80m below surface. The K2 vein is open at depth and 2,000 metres of drilling is planned.

K3 Vein

The K3 vein has, to date, had the most amount of drilling due to easier access to the permitted drill sites. 31 holes have been completed with two high-grade shoots identified over a strike length of about 400 metres. The K3 vein is open in both directions and Chesser believes that drilling thus far has only been testing the upper levels of the “boiling zone” of the epithermal system - consequently 5,000 metres of drilling is planned to test deeper in the system as well as along strike in both directions.

Meydan Zone

The Meydan zone is a two-kilometre zone of silicification, stockwork and sheeted veining. A soil geochemical survey over this zone has shown highly anomalous area of gold in soils (with one float sample returning 419 g/t gold). The survey also returned high levels of mercury and antimony indicating that the veins in this area are likely to be at a high level in the epithermal system and therefore any high grades will have been preserved and not eroded away. Due to timing and some access difficulties in the past, no drilling has yet taken place and Chesser has planned 3,000 metres of drilling to test a series of locations along the Meydan zone.

Kara Tepe Vein

Three holes have been drilled into the Kara Tepe vein and examination of the vein textures and the gold/silver ratio in the mineralisation has led to the conclusion that economic grades would lie at deeper depths than the three holes drilled to date have reached – consequently deeper holes, for 1,000 metres of deeper drilling is planned.

Scout Drilling

8,000 metres of RC drilling are planned at the Meydan North zone where strong soil anomalies and numerous high-grade surface samples have been collected in previously conducted soil sampling programs. As part of the overall regional exploration effort a further 5,000 metres of other scout drilling is planned to be drilled on other veins which have so far had no drill testing at all.