Oxiana undertakes aggressive exploration program

ASIA’s Resource Communications, publishers of The ASIA Miner magazine and The ASIA Miner weekly electronic news service - Oxiana undertakes aggressive exploration program: "Oxiana has an aggressive exploration program planned this year at its Sepon operations in Laos with more than $10m to be spent on exploring ground around the operating mine. The aim is to identify both extensions to the existing deposits and locating entirely new deposits.
The potential for further gold and copper discoveries in the 400 square kilometre Sepon mineral district continues to be clearly demonstrated with new resources, deposits and prospects discovered each year, both around the existing pits and in new parts of the district.
Last year seven new gold prospects were generated and two potential new gold deposits were discovered. Mineable Reserves of oxide gold have so far been outlined at the Discovery ( Main , East, Colluvial), Discovery West, Nalou , Nam Kok (West and East), Vang Ngang and Luang deposits.
The total oxide resources at Sepon stand at 1.6Moz. These near surface oxide variants of the primary sulphide hosted gold mineralisation at depth have been the main focus of exploration to date, with the potential for primary sulphide hosted gold mineralisation remaining highly under-explored. Total known primary resources are 2Moz.
Last year wide-spaced drilling to test the down-dip continuity between the Discovery Main and Luang deposits confirmed continuity of both oxide and primary mineralisation. Some high grade results were returned including 10m @ 13.7g/t gold (from 90m), 19m @ 5.4g/t (from 46m), 7m @ 17.64g/t (from 100m), 16m @ 5.65 g/t (from 51m) and 7m @ 18.9g/t (from 24m). "