The drilling program has confirmed the mineralised zones and geological structures as previously modelled. The orebody appears to be wide closer to surface with moderate grades while progressively thinning down dip with a corresponding increase in value. The assayed values appear to support the development of a second open pit operation at Manaila with the construction of a metallurgical processing facility on site, thereby significantly reducing the cost of ore transport incurred at the current operation.
For the second phase of drilling, a total of nine surface drill holes are in the process of being completed totalling a further 1,200 metres of core. The second phase of drilling will intersect the defined mineralised zones identified from historic drilling and the first phase of drilling at depth and serve to verify the continuation of the zones at depth.
The drilling undertaken at Manaila by Vast, in conjunction with the significant data obtained from historic sources, is being collated and modelled in-house by Vast and will result in a JORC compliant mineral resource for Manaila being reported in due course.
“Carlibaba is shaping up to be an important new component in our expanding portfolio of development projects and operating mines in Romania. Not only does Carlibaba appear to be a significant new mining prospect in its own right, but when coupled with the proximal main open pit at Manaila and the proposed new metallurgical complex, the entire production profile of the licence has potential to be significantly enhanced to deliver long-term profitable operations for the Company,” said Roy Pitchford, Chief Executive of Vast Resources.
A total of nine diamond drill holes were cored for a total of 1,000.6 metres of drilling. All samples were logged on site by Vast employees in conjunction with Formin SA, a local drilling and geological consultancy firm. All core from mineralised intervals were split in half using a diamond saw on site and photographed. One half of the core was used for sampling with the samples sent to the independent laboratories of ALS at Rosia Montana. The remaining split core is stored on site for future reference.
Vast Resources was founded in late 2005 and its core activity consists of exploration of mineral deposits in Zimbabwe and Southern Africa. Vast Resources has been operating in Romania since May 2013.