Nyota Minerals strengthens management team

Nyota Minerals (LON:NYO, ASX:NYO) has made a number of managerial appointments, with current COO Terry Tucker being promoted to the board of directors, and the company having hired a new in-country manager for Ethiopia.

Tucker joined Nyota as COO in May 2010, and the company said he has made an immediate and significant contribution to the rapidly advancing Tulu Kapi gold project.

"I am delighted to welcome Terry to the board.  We have recently commissioned a preliminary economic feasibility study to be completed by SRK. Terry's experience in taking projects through the feasibility and development stages will be of invaluable assistance to the board and to the vompany," Nyota chief executive Melissa Sturgess commented.
One of Tulu Kapi’s senior geologists, Dr Kebede Belete, has been promoted to the position of Nyota’s Ethiopia Country Manager.

Dr Belete, an Ethiopian national, has over 20 years experience as a geologist in the country including senior positions within the Ministry of Water Resources and the Geological Survey of Ethiopia. The newly promoted manager has been a senior geologist for a number of years.

Dr Belete was awarded 500,000 options - exercisable at $0.31 on or before 30 June 2013 – in relation to his promotion.

Nyota has also appointed Richard Jarvis (Nyota’s CFO) and Mark Burchnall (Nyota’s Strategic Development manager) as joint company secretary.

At Tulu Kapi, an ongoing drilling programme is designed to expand and upgrade the current Inferred JORC resource of 1.38 Moz (million ounces).

Yesterday, the company released assays from a further 10 reverse circulation (RC) drill holes. The latest results were positive and they will help increase the project’s Inferred resource as well as upgrading the project’s current inferred resource into the Indicated category.

The RC results included 14 metres grading 1.77 g/t (grammes per tonne) of gold, 23 metres 3.55 g/t gold, 8 metres at 4.84 g/t gold, 3 metres at 5.34 g/t gold, 3 metres at 5.68 g/t gold, 3 metres at 6.25 g/t gold, 4 metres at 6.95 g/t gold, 2 metres at 7.10 g/t gold, 1 metre at 9.79 g/t gold, 7 metres at 2.21 g/t gold, 6 metres at 3.83 g/t gold and 6 metres at 3.42 g/t gold.

Drilling results from the western limit of the resource included intersections of 6 metres grading 3.83 g/t gold, 32 metres at 3.55g/t gold and 14 metres at 1.77g.t gold. Nyota has intersected additional Lode 3 mineralisation in diamond drill hole TKBH-042, which is located within the existing resource and below defined lodes 1 and 2. The hole intersected 5 metres at 5.59 g/t gold.

Back in June, the company announced the discovery of a high grade structure beneath the current inferred resource that intersected 8.7 metres averaging 8.9 g/t gold and also that lose-spaced ground magnetic and induced polarisation surveys conducted over the main Tulu Kapi deposit and surrounding area had revealed new extensions to the Tulu Kapi deposit.

Twenty-two infill and expansion holes drilling during the last quarter returned positive results, indicating the presence of additional mineralisation. Nyota has mobilized a second diamond drill rig to the site to assist with completing the infill drilling and over the current inferred resource and the drilling of high priority targets to form extensions to the main Tulu Kapi orebody.