Sunridge Gold "significantly" increases indicated resource for Adi Nefas, Eritrea

Sunridge Gold (CVE:SGC) Wednesday announced a new independent resource estimate for the Adi Nefas zinc-gold-copper volcanogenic-massive-sulphide (VMS) deposit at its 100 percent-owned Asmara project in Eritrea.

The company said that indicated resources in the primary zone are 1.8 million tonnes averaging 10.05% zinc, 3.31 grams per tonne (g/t) gold, 1.78% copper and 115 g/t silver.

Total contained metals in the indicated categories at Adi Nefas were estimated as 408.0 million pounds of zinc, 72.2 million pounds of copper, 196,000 ounces of gold and 6.81 million ounces of silver.

An NI 43-101 resource estimate from 2008 gave an indicated resource of 2.7 million tones with 8.38% zinc, 2.85 g/t gold and 99.36 g/t silver, containing 504 million pounds of zinc, 250,000 ounces of gold and 9 million ounces of silver.

Sunridge's president and chief executive, Michael Hopley, said: "The average grade of all metals in the Adi Nefas deposit has significantly increased in this new resource estimate compared to the previous estimate in 2008.

"This high-grade material should enhance the economics of the Asmara Project when this material is mined and blended as a high-grade feed to a central North Asmara processing plant in conjunction with the nearby Emba Derho deposit as well as the sulphide material from the Debarwa deposit.

"We expect that most of these resources will be converted to reserves with the completion of the pre-feasibility study in April."

Adi Nefas is located only six kilometres from the 70 million tonne Emba Derho deposit at the project.

The new resource estimate for Adi Nefas was completed by Snowden Mining as part of the ongoing prefeasibility study on the Asmara North Deposits.

Asmara North is comprised of the Emba Derho VMS deposit, a large surface minable 62 million tonne copper-zinc-gold VMS deposit that was the subject of a positive scoping study by Wardrop Engineering in 2009; the Adi Nefas deposit located 6 kilometres away from Emba Derho; and the Gupo gold deposit, which is 8 kilometres from Emba Derho and is a near-surface structurally controlled gold deposit that was mined during the Italian colonial period.

Sunridge said that the Adi Nefas deposit occurs as a prominent outcropping gossan at surface that is the expression of deeper VMS mineralization. The gossan is traceable over a strike length of 700 metres and is north-northeast trending.

The deposit is a steeply east dipping massive sulphide layer that is hosted within a sequence of felsic meta-volcanic and meta-sedimentary rocks. The massive sulphide layer has an average width of 6 to 12 metres.

The primary zone is typically developed beyond a depth of 40 metres from surface and is the focus of the prefeasibility study.

Sunridge is a mineral exploration and development company focused on the acquisition, exploration, discovery and development of base and precious metal projects on the Asmara Project in Eritrea, and exploration properties in Madagascar.

In January, the company said it expects a feasibility study for the Debarwa copper-zinc-gold-silver deposit at Asmara in the first quarter of this year, which will examine the potential for a stand-alone open-pit mine and process plant at the deposit over a seven year mine life.