Crescent Gold Doubles Key WA Gold Resource in A$8m Acquisition of Barrick / Carbon Energy Assets
Thu Aug 13, 9:58 PMPERTH, WESTERN AUSTRALIA--(Marketwire - Aug. 13, 2009) - Crescent Gold Limited (TSX: CRA.TO)(ASX: CRE.AX)(FRANKFURT:CRE5) -
Sale and Purchase Detail Crescent Gold is to double its gold inventory and gold exploration acreage in the key Laverton province of Western Australia after signing an agreement to acquire assets of Barrick Gold and Carbon Energy for A$8 million. The transactions will boost Crescent's gold inventory to over 2.1 million ounces of Measured, Indicated and Inferred Resources (Refer Table 1 & 2) as the Company maintains its drive to take advantage of the sector's consolidation opportunities. The Barrick Gold and Carbon Energy (ASX code: CNX) acquisitions include the Laverton Exploration Joint Venture (LEJV) containing the Chatterbox and Beasley Creek gold deposits and a 100%-interest in the Lancefield deposit. Crescent will pay A$1 million in cash to each of Barrick and CNX on signing of a formal sale and purchase agreement. Further payments to both parties totalling A$3 million will be made six months and 12 months after signing of the formal agreement, via a combination of cash and the issue of ordinary shares in Crescent. In addition, if total ounces produced by Crescent from the newly acquired assets exceeds 75,000 ounces, both Barrick and CNX will be paid a further A$1.5 million each through a combination of cash and shares to be negotiated. The purchase of the combined assets delivers an aggregate of 1,100,000 wholly owned ounces (including 510,400 resource ounces contained in shallow oxide deposits) to Crescent. This represents a purchase price of just over A$7 per resource ounce. The additional extensive resources in the acquired tenements could provide a number of operational and development synergies to Crescent to deliver ore into the recently signed Ore Purchase Agreement (OPA) with Barrick. Along with the substantial increase to the existing Crescent gold resource base of 1.0 million ounces, the agreement expands the Company combined JORC compliant resource base of Crescent to more than 2.1 million ounces. The acquisition also offers substantial exploration upside for resource addition with the amalgamation of numerous contiguous exploration projects and tenements simplifying ownership and management over a number of project areas. A map outlining these tenements is shown in Figure 1. Development and Production Update Crescent continues with its previously announced development plans and is pleased to state that it remains on track for the delivery and processing of ore to Barrick's Granny Smith Mill in the December 2009 quarter. Crescent has awarded the mining contract to Mining and Civil Australia Pty Ltd (MACA) and the ore haulage contract to Hampton Transport Services Pty Ltd. The mobilization of both contractors has commenced with mining and ore haulage (to Barrick Granny Smith) scheduled to commence in September. It is Crescent's strategy to be a principal participant in the essential consolidation of the Laverton region and leverage off the regions obvious but largely untapped prospectivity. The Company remains focused on extending Reserves and Resources and the continued delivery of ore to Barrick under the OPA to fully utilize the Granny Smith Mill. To view Figure 1. Laverton Gold Projects - Tenement Locations, please click on the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/CRA813m.pdf.
Table 1. Crescent Gold Mineral Resources as at June 2009
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Measured Indicated Inferred
------------------- -------------------- -------------------
Contai- Contai- Contai-
Au ned Au ned Au ned
Tonnes Grade Au Tonnes Grade Au Tonnes Grade Au
Deposit Kt g/t K Oz Kt g/t K Oz Kt g/t K Oz
--------- ------------------- -------------------- -------------------
Admiral
Hill - - - 4,786 1.2 182 972 1.3 39
--------- ------------------- -------------------- -------------------
Barnicoat - - - 340 1.3 14 250 1.0 8
--------- ------------------- -------------------- -------------------
Bells - - - 594 2.0 38 36 1.4 2
--------- ------------------- -------------------- -------------------
Black
Label - - - - - - 610 1.0 20
--------- ------------------- -------------------- -------------------
Burtville - - - 700 1.5 35 - - -
--------- ------------------- -------------------- -------------------
Castaway - - - 501 1.8 30 45 1.9 3
--------- ------------------- -------------------- -------------------
Craggie-
more 88 1.70 5 1,419 1.6 72 112 1.4 5
--------- ------------------- -------------------- -------------------
Euro - - - 869 1.8 50 308 1.9 18
--------- ------------------- -------------------- -------------------
Fish - - - 446 4.0 58 126 3.7 15
--------- ------------------- -------------------- -------------------
Grouse - - - 520 1.7 28 27 1.3 1
--------- ------------------- -------------------- -------------------
Ida H - - - - - - 627 1.4 28
--------- ------------------- -------------------- -------------------
Lily Pond
Well - - - - - - 338 1.4 15
--------- ------------------- -------------------- -------------------
Lord
Byron - - - 3,190 1.0 103 1,980 0.9 57
--------- ------------------- -------------------- -------------------
Mary Mac
South - - - 455 1.9 28 137 2.1 9
--------- ------------------- -------------------- -------------------
Sickle 496 1.84 29 195 2.9 18 141 3.2 15
--------- ------------------- -------------------- -------------------
West
Laverton - - - 1,355 2.0 86 507 1.7 27
--------- ------------------- -------------------- -------------------
TOTAL 584 1.82 34 15,369 1.5 741 6,216 1.3 263
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TOTAL (Meas + Indic + Infer) 22,169 1.46 1,038
Table 2. LEJV and LANCEFIELD - Gold Resource Summary as at 1 May 09
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Lower Upper
Cut Cut MEASURED Au INDICATED Au INFERRED Au
g/t g/t Tonnes g/t Tonnes g/t Tonnes g/t
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M38/37 - LANCEFIELD RESOURCE(2) (CEL 100%)
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DEEPS 4 - 603,000 6.2 120,000 7
NML 4 - 126,000 7.9 440,000 7
SPO 4 - 114,000 6.8 54,000 8
WMC(3) 3 - 1,036,000 6.8 158,000 4.7
TELEGRAPH(4) 4 20 91,000 6
TOTAL TONNES 1,036,000 6.8 1,001,000 6.2 705,000 7
TOTAL OUNCES 226,495 201,000 157,000
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STH L'FIELD OXIDE 1 15 72,000 4.0 3,000 5
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TOTAL M38/37 TONNES 1,036,000 6.8 1,073,000 6.1 708,000 6.9
TOTAL M38/37 OUNCES 226,495 210,259 157,957
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LAVERTON EXPLORATION JOINT VENTURE (CEL 50%, BARRICK 50%)
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VARIOUS OXIDE RESOURCES
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BEASLEY CREEK
(M38/49) 1 IDS 270,000 2.0 527,000 2.1 833,000 2.0
BEASLEY CREEK STH
(M38/49) 1 IDS 147,000 3.1 161,000 2.5 111,000 1.7
GLADIATOR NORTH(5)
(M38/49) 1 5 7,000 1.7 41,000 1.7 123,000 1.6
INNUENDO
(M38/101) 1 IDS 180,000 2.9 380,000 2.3
WHISPER(6)
(M38/535) 1 IDS 1,408,000 2.4
RUMOUR (M38/535) 1 IDS 1,590,000 2.1 1,060,000 2.1
GARDEN WELL(5)
(M38/101) 1 12 90,000 3.3 110,000 2.6 150,000 2
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TOTAL OXIDE TONNES
- LEJV 514,000 2.5 2,609,000 2.2 4,065,000 2.2
TOTAL OXIDE OUNCES
- LEJV 41,692 183,922 284,717
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OVERALL TONNES 1,550,000 5.4 3,682,000 3.3 4,773,000 2.9
OVERALL OUNCES 268,188 394,182 442,673
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TOTAL
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Au
Tonnes g/t Ounces
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M38/37 - LANCEFIELD RESOURCE(2) (CEL 100%)
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DEEPS 723,000 6.3 147,200
NML 566,000 7.2 131,000
SPO 168,000 7.2 38,800
WMC(3) 1,194,000 6.5 250,400
TELEGRAPH(4) 91,000 6.0 17,600
TOTAL TONNES 2,742,000 6.6
TOTAL OUNCES 585,000
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STH L'FIELD OXIDE 75,000 4.0 9,700
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TOTAL M38/37 TONNES 2,817,000 6.6
TOTAL M38/37 OUNCES 594,700
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LAVERTON EXPLORATION JOINT VENTURE (CEL 50%, BARRICK
50%)
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VARIOUS OXIDE RESOURCES
-------------------------------------------------------
BEASLEY CREEK (M38/49) 1,630,000 2.0 106,900
BEASLEY CREEK STH (M38/49) 419,000 2.5 33,700
GLADIATOR NORTH(5) (M38/49) 171,000 1.6 9,000
INNUENDO (M38/101) 560,000 2.5 44,900
WHISPER(6) (M38/535) 1,408,000 2.4 108,600
RUMOUR (M38/535) 2,650,000 2.1 178,900
GARDEN WELL(5)(M38/101) 350,000 2.5 28,400
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TOTAL OXIDE TONNES - LEJV 7,188,000 2.2
TOTAL OXIDE OUNCES - LEJV 510,400
-------------------------------------------------------
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OVERALL TONNES 10,005,000 3.4
OVERALL OUNCES 1,105,100
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Notes
1. Tonnes, grade and ounces have been rounded to the appropriate levels of
precision, and may not balance exactly.
2. M38/37 only, predominately sulphide resource, Telegraph free-milling West
Lode, WMC includes minor West Lode.
3. WMC data as per WMC Mineral Resources Report Dec 1994.
4. Telegraph resource calculated on basis of weighted average grade over
minimum downhole width of 1m.
5. Resources calculated by Micromine OBM as diluted geological resource, all
others using IDS methodology. Based on 1g/t model within 0.5g/t outline.
Reference March 99 Pre-feasibility Report.
6. Whisper resource recalculated May 05.
Competent Person Statement The information in this report that relates to Exploration Results, Mineral Resources or Ore Reserves is based on information compiled by Mr I.W. Walker, Director, Carbon Energy Ltd, who is a member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists and Mr Neal Leggo, Exploration Manager Crescent Gold Ltd, who is also a member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists. Mr Walker and Mr Leggo have sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which they are undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2004 Edition of the "Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves". Mr Walker and Mr Leggo consent to the inclusion in the report of matters based on their information in the form and context in which it appears. Regards Crescent Gold Limited Mark Tory, CFO & Company Secretary Additional information related to the Company is available for review at www.sedar.com or on the Company's website at www.crescentgold.com. ASX Code: CRE TSX Code: CRA FFT Code: CRE5 SHARE INFORMATION ASX Share Price: A$0.14 Issued Shares: 590.9m Market Cap: A$82.7m Options unlisted: 42.1m FULLY DILUTED BASIS Shares: 633.0m ABN 49 087 360 996ContactsRoland Hill
Crescent Gold Limited - Australia
+61 8 6380 7100
Jo-Ann Wellstead
Crescent Gold Limited - Australia
+61 8 6380 7100
Renee Brickner
Crescent Gold Limited - Canada
+1 604 802 6806
www.crescentgold.com
158.94 (1.43%)