Thu Aug 12, 2004 Tournigan Begins Drilling Campaign at Kremnica
Initial Drilling to Expand Current Gold Resources
Tournigan has begun an exploration drilling campaign at Kremnica, in the Slovak Republic. Kremnica is a volcanic-hosted epithermal vein system which has seen considerable historical gold production. A Preliminary Assessment of the current gold resource at Kremnica yielded a Net Present Value of $62 million in March 2004. This drilling program is focused on extension targets along strike which have historical resource calculations not included in the current resource estimate. A separate drilling program will be started shortly at Kremnica South, an entirely new multi-million ounce target, when soil geochemistry and geological sampling is completed.
Drilling Program
Previous operators at Kremnica had begun to delineate additional resource zones called Wolf and Vratislav at Kremnica, which host historical non-compliant inferred resources of 105,300 ounces gold equivalent and 73,000 ounces gold equivalent, respectively. Tournigan has assessed these targets to potentially contain 388,100 to 857,600 ounces of gold (see the Company's April 19, 2004 Press Release). Tournigan has begun a delineation program of 4 diamond drill holes totaling 400 metres at Wolf and 4 diamond drill holes of 520 metres total at Vratislav to extend both resource zones along strike to depth.
An additional 5 diamond drill holes totaling 670 metres will focus on a partially-delineated, higher-grade zone adjacent to the south end of the main Sturec resource. The Ridge zone is 150 metres wide, 150 metres long and when projected to extend 100 metres deep, is equivalent to 5,000,000 to 6,000,000 tonnes. With potential grades of 2.5 - 3.0 grams of gold, the Ridge target could potentially contain 375,000 - 600,000 ounces of gold. Note that while there has been insufficient exploration to define this new target as a mineral resource and it is uncertain that further work will result in the delineation of a mineral resource, the data and structural interpretation makes this zone an attractive exploration target.
Kremnica Background
Kremnica has seen historical underground production of 1.5 million ounces of gold dating back to the 14th century. Previous operators discovered open-pittable resources at the main Sturec Zone which Tournigan has re-estimated to National Instrument 43-101 standards as:
-------------------------------------------------- Silver Grade (g/t) Gold | Gold eq. Sturec Grade | Grade Ounces Ounces Ounces, Zone (g/t) | (g/t) Tonnes Gold Silver Gold eq. -------------------------------------------------- Indicated 2.11 15.43 2.31 5,663,941 384,231 2,809,802 421,540 -------------------------------------------------- Inferred 2.01 16.06 2.22 8,367,508 540,733 4,320,487 596,968 -------------------------------------------------- Kremnica South is a large exploration target 1 to 2 kilometres south of the Sturec Zone along strike. It is interpreted to be covered by alluvium, soils and a rhyolite flow-dome and tuff complex. Large zones of strong silicification and argillic and propylitic alteration are being tested by geologic and soil geochemistry surveys. Tournigan expects these surveys to generate robust drill targets within a 10 to 12 square-kilometre area.
Tournigan Gold is focused on developing two advanced gold projects in Europe - Curraghinalt in Northern Ireland and Kremnica in Slovakia. Drilling programs are underway on both projects, with a Pre-Feasibility Study also in progress at Curraghinalt.
TOURNIGAN GOLD CORPORATION
"Damien Reynolds" Damien Reynolds, President and Chief Executive Officer
The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Statements in this press release other than purely historical information, including statements relating to the Company's future plans and objectives or expected results, constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on numerous assumptions and are subject to all of the risks and uncertainties inherent in the Company's business, including risks inherent in mineral exploration and development. As a result, actual results may vary materially from those described in the forward-looking statements.
For further information please contact:
Damien Reynolds, President Tel: (604) 683-8320
Garry Stock, Executive VP Tel: (604) 683-8320
|