Drilling has started on the South Zone of Kenadyr Mining’s Borubai Gold Project in the Kyrgyz Republic. This zone is directly adjacent to Zijin Mining Group’s Taldy-Bulak Levoberejny (TBL) Mine, which is currently in production.
Initial drilling is designed to intersect an area which was previously drilled by the Soviets between 1970 and 1990, and which intersected significant gold mineralisation. The target depth of the initial drill hole is 850 metres.
The South Zone is open in three directions and to depth, and drilling in this zone has the potential to see increased grade of the mineralisation as a result of increased core recovery and the use of Fire Assay versus ICP analysis techniques. Core recovery during Soviet drilling averaged only 60% recovery while the ICP techniques were predominately used during Soviet assaying.
Kenadyr says it is in a strong position to embark on this upcoming program, having a strong balance sheet, no debt nor significant payments owing, a strong institutional shareholder base and a management team with extensive in-country operational experience, and merger and acquisition expertise.
Kenadyr’s chief executive officer Dr Alexander Becker said, “Drilling has now commenced, ahead of schedule and this is a testament to the team’s strong efforts in the field along with the efficiency of QED, the drill contractor.
“The South Zone is a high priority area for Kenadyr with excellent underlying geology. It is open and strongly mineralized at the extent of drilling, according to historical results, and we look forward to retesting this area, to confirm the high grade results reported from previous drilling.”
Kenadyr’s Borubai project comprises a 100%-owned exploration licence covering a contiguous 164sqkm land package that encircles the Zijin/Kyrgyz/Altyn newly constructed and operational TBL mine, in northern Kyrgyz Republic.
Citing unclassified (non-NI 43-101) Soviet-era estimates, Kenadyr says the South Zone at Borubai contains 900,000 ounces of gold graded at 8.3 g/t, based on a 24-hole drilling program.
Zijin, the majority owner of the TBL mine, is one of China’s largest gold producers, second-largest copper and zinc producer, as well as a major producer of tungsten and iron ore.
QED and its predecessor company have a 30-year history and QED has grown its business to be an industry leader in provision of drilling services to varied clients. QED’s services includes diamond drilling, reverse circulation (RC) drilling, RC grade control, geothermal, geotechnical drilling, water boring and slope stability solutions.
Kenadyr