KEFI Minerals starts drilling at Bakir Tepe copper-gold project in Turkey

KEFI Minerals PLC (AIM:  KEFI) said it has started a drilling programmes at the Bakir Tepe project in southwest Turkey with the aim of testing a large geophysical anomaly that is interpreted to potentially be related to a Cyprus-style copper-gold volcanic-hosted massive sulphide (VHMS) deposit.
                   
The exploration company with projects in Turkey and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is oparating Bakir Tepe as a joint venture with Centerra Gold Inc (TSX: CG). Centerra has the right to earn a 51 percent interest in the project upon contributing US$750,000 to the JV over two years with a minimum expenditure of US$350,000 in the first year. KEFI Minerals is the manager of the joint venture.

The 900 metre drilling programme is planned to comprise three diamond drillholes targeting an anomaly down dip of surficial mineralisation that has returned up to 3.6 percent copper, 4.6 grammes per tonnes of gold, and 67 g/t silver in rock chip samples.

The Bakir Tepe Project is located in the Burdur Province of southwestern Turkey and comprises seven tenements, which cover approximately 78 square kilometres within the Lycian Ophiolite Belt and recent work carried out by KEFI Minerals has identified the potential for Cyprus-style copper-gold VHMS deposits.

Also in a JV with Centerra, KEFI Minerals is currently conducting a drilling programme at the Artvin gold project in northeastern Turkey targeting a very large geophysical gold and base metals anomaly identified on surface. Centerra is funding exploration there in order to earn up to 70 percent of Artvin upon expenditure of US$6 million.

KEFI’s projects include seven in Turkey, targeting +1 million gold-ounce equivalent deposits. The company recently engaged in exploration activities in Saudi Arabia, where it established the Gemco Ltd joint venture (KEFI: 40 percent) with local construction and investment group ARTAR, targeting a 1 million oz gold deposit in the Precambrian Shield. KEFI and ARTAR have already lodged ten exploration licenses with the Saudi Arabian authorities. http://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/11856/kefi-minerals-starts-drilling-at-bakir-tepe-copper-gold-project-in-turkey-11856.html