Inter-Citic drills 17 metres of 4.47 g/t gold at new Dachang areas

Inter-Citic Minerals (TSE:ICI) reported Monday additional drill and trench results from the 2011 exploration program at its Dachang gold project in China, with the 861 Zone returning multiple gold intercepts.
The latest holes are from the 861 Zone on the property, which is a large fault structure roughly eight kilometres northwest of the Dachang Main Zone resource area.
Highlights of the latest holes include CJV-1241, which intersected 17.0 metres at an average grade of 4.47 grams per tonne (g/t) of gold, and hole CJV-1244, which returned multiple intercepts including 11.5 metres of 1.97 g/t gold.
In addition, hole CJV-1247 intersected 12.5 metres of 1.62 g/t gold, while hole CJV-1248 returned multiple intercepts with an interval of 1.8 metres grading 8.00 g/t gold and hole CJV-1252 found 8.0 metres of 2.34 g/t gold, among other intercepts.
The Toronto-based gold explorer said it now believes the 861 Zone is the western end of a larger fault structure, with additional drilling and trenching indicating that the 861 and XP Zone to the east are part of a single, well-mineralized fault that can now be defined along a strike length of at least 2.8 kilometres. The fault structure remains open along strike, Inter-Citic added.
Further, Inter-Citic said that the western-most section on the 861 Zone was also mineralized, and regional soil geochemistry shows that the fault also continues much farther west than originally thought.
Aside from drilling, the program to test the 861 and XP Zones has also involved trenching over a strike length of 1,500 metres. So far this year, the company has completed roughly 4,500 metres of trenching in 85 trenches - spaced 20 to 40 metres apart along the 861/XP fault structure.
The company said field observations correspond well to trench results, and it believes they represent good potential drill targets for further exploration. Notable trench results include 7.28 g/t gold over 3.00 metres in T-4606, 3.45 g/t gold over 5.00 metres in T-6804, and 1.53 g/t gold over 19.00 metres in T-7402.
While several results are still pending, and further analysis required to determine the zone's potential for open-pit mining, drill and trench results to date show a well-mineralized fault structure hosting sulfide-bearing gold mineralization similar to the Dachang Main Zone, Inter-Citic concluded.
The company's aim is to define new open pit resources at the property, with continued exploration designed to enhance potential production and project economics.
Earlier this month, Inter-Citic reported drill results from early exploration and condemnation drilling at Dachang, in areas of the property outside of the Dachang Main Zone (DMZ), which is now in the permitting phase.
There were several notable holes reported, including an interval of 4.70 metres at 25.9 grams per tonne (g/t) of gold, including a 1.0 metre interval of 107 g/t gold in hole CJV-1202 in the South East Area.
Drill hole CJV-1179 on the South East Area also returned an interval of 4.70 metres with an average grade of 2.34 g/t gold.
Meanwhile, hole CJV-1214A on the Acadia Zone also returned 4.0 metres at 6.05 g/t gold, while hole CJV-1215 in the same area intersected 8.0 metres with an average grade of 3.91 g/t gold.
Eight drills have been testing new exploration targets on the property and it is anticipated that the full 25,000 metre program will be finished in December, with results continuing to be reported during January and February of next year.
A new NI 43-101 compliant preliminary economic assessment for Dachang is due out in  2012.