TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Aug. 15, 2011) - Lydian International Ltd. (TSX:LYD) ("Lydian" or "the Company"), a gold-focused mineral exploration and development company, today announced results from further drilling at its Amulsar gold project in Armenia. Amulsar is a high-sulfidation style gold project which currently hosts a CIM compliant combined Indicated and Inferred Category Resource of 2.5 million ounces at 1.0g/t gold (1.1 million ounces at 1.1 g/t gold in the Indicated Category and 1.4 million ounces at 0.9 g/t gold in the Inferred Category).
Results have been received from a further 18 drill holes at Amulsar comprising primarily exploration drill holes at Erato and infill drilling from the Tigranes and Artavasdes areas (see Table and Figure in Appendix).
At Tigranes, DDA-111 was drilled towards the southwest and intersected 69 meters at 3.8g/t gold (including 32 meters at 7.9g/t gold) in an outcropping northwest trending high-grade fault-breccia structure ("feeder"). This structure cross-cuts the northeast oriented normal faults that tend to dominate in the Tigranes area. RCA-348 was also drilled towards the southwest at Tigranes and intersected 110 meters at 1.0g/t gold and 21 meters at 2.9g/t gold in another cross-cutting fault- breccia structure. Structural analyses on mineralized core intervals conducted over the winter and new detailed fault-mapping completed earlier this year have revealed that much of the higher grade gold mineralization at Amulsar is oriented northwest-southeast and parallel to an inferred caldera- margin fault structure which extends for at-least 4 kilometers from Arshak through to Erato. These new intersections and the incorporation of further cross-cutting higher grade structures will contribute significantly to the updated resource estimate at Amulsar and to the identification of further drill targets along the ridge top.
Drill holes RCA-339 through to RCA-346 were drilled towards the southeast along the southeastern extent of the current resource shell between Artavasdes and Tigranes. Intersections in this area include RCA-339; 29 meters at 1.6g/t gold, RCA-341; 26 meters at 1.0g/t gold, RCA-342; 53 meters at 1.0g/t gold and RCA-343; 33 meters at 1.0g/t gold. These drill holes extend the current resource shell (and thus the current pit shell; see Figure in Appendix) towards the southeast.
Drill hole DDA-116 targeted a complex zone of intersecting northeast-southwest oriented normal faults and northwest-southeast oriented wrench faults (caldera-margin) at Artavasdes and intersected 119 meters at 1.3g/t gold.
Notable intersections include:
| • | DDA-111 (Tigranes) | 69 meters at 3.8 g/t gold, |
| Including | 32 meters at 7.9g/t gold | |
| • | DDA-116 (Artavasdes) | 119 meters at 1.3 g/t gold |
| • | RCA-319 (Artavasdes) | 29 meters at 0.9 g/t gold |
| • | RCA-339 (Tigranes) | 29 meters at 1.6 g/t gold |
| • | RCA-341 (Tigranes) | 26 meters at 1.0 g/t gold |
| • | RCA-342 (Tigranes) | 53 meters at 1.0 g/t gold |
| • | RCA-343 (Tigranes) | 33 meters at 1.0 g/t gold |
| • | RCA-347 (Tigranes) | 20 meters at 1.1 g/t gold |
| • | RCA-348 (Tigranes) | 110 meters at 1.0 g/t gold and |
| 21 meters at 2.9 g/t gold |
"We are clearly on track to upgrade the resource and discover significant additional ounces at Amulsar" said Tim Coughlin, Lydian's President and CEO "We now have nine drill rigs on-site and expect to complete our target of 40,000 meters drilling ahead of a major resource update by the first quarter of next year."
About Lydian International
Lydian is a gold-focused mineral exploration and development company with expertise employing "first mover" strategies in emerging exploration environments. Currently Lydian is focused on Eastern Europe and on developing its flagship Amulsar gold project in Armenia. The Amulsar group of licenses is wholly owned by Lydian's Armenian subsidiary (Geoteam CJSC). Lydian also has a pipeline of promising early-stage gold and base metal exploration projects in the Caucasus regions.
Lydian's management team has a track record of success in grassroots discovery, in acquiring and developing undervalued assets, and in building companies. Lydian has a strong social agenda and a unique understanding of the complex social and political issues that characterize emerging environments. The Company's significant shareholders include the International Finance Corporation (IFC) which is a member of the World Bank Group and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). More information can be found on Lydian's web site at www.lydianinternational.co.uk.
Dr Tim Coughlin, BSc, MSc (Exploration and Mining), PhD, MAusIMM; is the Qualified Person overseeing Lydian's exploration programs. Dr. Coughlin has supervised the preparation of the technical information contained in this press release.
Lydian employees are instructed to follow standard operating and quality assurance procedures intended to ensure that all sampling techniques and sample results meet international reporting standards. All assay work for the released results was carried out by ALS Chemex analytical laboratory in Rosia Montana, Romania. More information can be found on Lydian's web site at www.lydianinternational.co.uk.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This news release may contain certain information that constitutes forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "plan," "expect," "project," "intend," "believe," "anticipate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made, and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. These factors include the inherent risks involved in the exploration and development of mineral properties, the uncertainties involved in interpreting drilling results and other geological data, fluctuating metal prices and other factors described above and in the Company's most recent annual information form under the heading "Risk Factors" which has been filed electronically by means of the Canadian Securities Administrators' website located at www.sedar.com. The Company disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.
APPENDICES RESULTS TABLE
| TABLE 1. INTERIM DRILL RESULTS FROM AMULSAR PROJECT (~1g/t GOLD) | |||||||
| Drill Hole |
Dip |
Azimuth |
Total Depth (m) |
From (m) |
To (m) |
Intersection (m) |
Gold (g/t) |
| DDA-110 | -60 | 245 | 57.2 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 1.6 |
| DDA-111 | -60 | 250 | 150.1 | 55.0 | 124.0 | 69.0 | 3.8 |
| Including | 68.0 | 100.0 | 32.0 | 7.9 | |||
| DDA-112 | -60 | 290 | 60.0 | NO SIGNIFICANT INTERSECTIONS >1G/T | |||
| DDA-113 | -60 | 290 | 25.5 | NO SIGNIFICANT INTERSECTIONS >1G/T | |||
| DDA-114 | -60 | 290 | 31.0 | NO SIGNIFICANT INTERSECTIONS >1G/T | |||
| DDA-116 | -60 | 120 | 125.2 | 1.0 | 120.0 | 119.0 | 1.3 |
| RCA-319 | -60 | 30 | 160.0 | 87 | 116 | 29 | 0.9 |
| 148 | 152 | 4 | 1.0 | ||||
| RCA-320 | -60 | 120 | 160.0 | NO SIGNIFICANT INTERSECTIONS >1G/T | |||
| RCA-339 | -60 | 120 | 147.0 | 106.0 | 135.0 | 29.0 | 1.6 |
| RCA-340 | -60 | 120 | 153.0 | 117.0 | 119.0 | 2.0 | 1.2 |
| RCA-341 | -60 | 120 | 191.0 | 90.0 | 116.0 | 26.0 | 1.0 |
| 125.0 | 131.0 | 6.0 | 1.4 | ||||
| RCA-342 | -60 | 120 | 197.0 | 139.0 | 192.0 | 53.0 | 1.0 |
| RCA-343 | -60 | 120 | 131.0 | 75.0 | 108.0 | 33.0 | 1.0 |
| RCA-344 | -60 | 120 | 113.0 | 13.0 | 20.0 | 7.0 | 1.0 |
| 79.0 | 81.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | ||||
| 102.0 | 112.0 | 10.0 | 1.0 | ||||
| RCA-345 | -60 | 120 | 151.0 | 14.0 | 21.0 | 7.0 | 1.0 |
| 129.0 | 141.0 | 12.0 | 1.0 | ||||
| RCA-346 | -60 | 120 | 125.0 | 1.0 | 16.0 | 15.0 | 1.0 |
| 101.0 | 109.0 | 8.0 | 1.0 | ||||
| RCA-347 | -60 | 50 | 167.0 | 1.0 | 21.0 | 20.0 | 1.1 |
| 141.0 | 144.0 | 3.0 | 1.1 | ||||
| 153.0 | 157.0 | 4.0 | 1.6 | ||||
| RCA-348 | -60 | 50 | 215.0 | 5.0 | 8.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 |
| 10.0 | 15.0 | 5.0 | 1.0 | ||||
| 22.0 | 132.0 | 110.0 | 1.0 | ||||
| 159.0 | 163.0 | 4.0 | 1.1 | ||||
| 193 | 214 | 21 | 2.9 | ||||
| Cut-off 0.2g/t gold, maximum down-hole internal dilution 10m |
| All intersections are oxide gold, not true widths |
To view the drillhole location map, please click on the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/DrillHoleMap.JPG
Contact Information:
Steve Smith
Investor Relations Manager
+44 (0)1534 715472; +44 (0)7829 848420
info@lydianinternational.co.uk