Liberty Gold triples TV Tower resource in Turkey
Liberty Gold (TSX: LGD) has released a new resource estimate for its majority-owned TV Tower project in Turkey, tripling the existing resource on a gold-equivalent basis compared with a previous estimate from 2014.
The estimate brings five new deposits at the 92-sq.-km project in western Turkey into resources. The previous 2014 resource included only the Kucukdag deposit.
In a press release, Cal Everett, President and CEO of Liberty Gold noted that while the company is focused on its U.S. gold projects, it wants to raise the profile of the TV Tower project as it assesses options to “crystallize value” from it for its shareholders.
“Multiple gold, copper and silver deposits occur within this large land package,” he said. “The six deposits discovered to date remain open for extension laterally and to depth. When the discoveries were made, drilling stayed focused until another deposit was identified and drill tested. TV Tower is still in the early stages of exploration and discovery.”
Liberty holds a 62.9% interest in the project, with a Turkish subsidiary of Teck Resources holding 37.1%.
The updated resource includes two primarily gold oxide deposits and three primarily gold-copper porphyry deposits, as well as the Kucukdag high-sulphidation epithermal deposit. Four of the five new deposits are contained in the South TVT area.
South TVT deposits (Valley, Yumrudag, Hilltop and Kayali) contain indicated resources (oxide, supergene copper and porphyry) of 59.2 million tonnes grading 0.28 g/t gold and 0.17% copper for 540,000 oz. gold and 218.4 million lb. copper. Inferred resources add 104.5 million tonnes at 0.23 g/t gold and 0.16% copper for 761,000 oz. gold and 359.6 million lb. copper.
A deposit in the North TVT resource area, located 7 km north of the South TVT resource area, has also been brought into resources. The Columbaz gold-copper porphyry contains an inferred resource of 35.5 million tonnes grading 0.36 g/t gold, 0.12% copper (or 0.59 g/t gold equivalent) for 409,000 oz. gold and 93,153 lb. copper.
A 2014 estimate for Kucukdag outlined indicated resources of 23.1 million grading 0.63 g/t gold, 27.6 g/t silver and 0.16% copper (or 1.34 g/t gold equivalent) and inferred resources of 10.8 million tonnes grading 0.15 g/t gold, 45.7 g/t silver and 0.06% copper (or 1.01 g/t gold equivalent).
Liberty Gold, part of the Oxygen Group of companies, is also advancing two Carlin-style, oxide gold projects in the Great Basin in the US: Black Pine in Idaho and Goldstrike in Utah.
(This article first appeared in the Canadian Mining Journal)