Location:
Western Transylvania, Adjoining Rosia Montana to the Southeast
Concession Size:
32.1 square kilometres
Geology and History:
- Volcanic complex with subvolcanic intrusives (both dacitic and andesitic)
- Epithermal/Mesothermal gold-silver and porphyry gold-copper mineralisation
- Evidence of ancient mining activity
- Vertical mine development
Major Targets:
- Rodu-Frasin
- Corabia-Valcoi-Arama-Argint-Vipere
- Izbicioara-Botes
- Magulicea-Haracai
- Tarnita (porphyry copper-gold)
Gabriel's Work Program to Date:
- Preliminary Resource Estimate (Rodu Frasin)
- Updated Resource estimate (Rodu Frasin)
- Preliminary Metallurgical Testwork (Rodu Frasin)
- Drilling (Rodu Frasin)
- Data acquisition, scanning and digitising.
- Environmental baseline and impact assessment study.
- Underground geological mapping and channel sampling (Tarnita porphyry)
- Pulp re-sampling (Tarnita porphyry)
- Channel Sampling (Rodu-Frasin, Arama, Haracai, Valcoi-Corabia, Magulicea, Contu, Izbicioara, Vipere, Argint)
- Regional mapping, sampling and prospecting
- Geophysical surveys
- Geochemical surveys
The Bucium area is hosted within a sequence of Cretaceous sediments, predominantly fine grained shales with subordinate sandstones and conglomerates, into which Neogene magmatic rocks have been intruded and extruded. The volcanic rocks consist mostly of dacite, quartz andesite, andesite and basalt. Pyroclastics, contact breccias, and intrusive and phreatomagmatic breccias have been mapped. Associated with these lithologies are Miocene volcano-sedimentary rocks including mixed lithology breccias. The Bucium license covers the southern extensions of a major 15 kilometre long regional NNW-SSE structural corridor, interpreted to display right-lateral strike slip movement along which a number of gold-silver epithermal as well as copper-gold porphyry style mineralization prospects and deposits are known to occur. Historical mining and exploration has occurred along the entire length of the trend. Geophysical interpretation based on an aeromagnetic survey conducted by the Romanian State Exploration Company suggests that a major granitic pluton lies beneath both Bucium and Rosia Montana.
As with Rosia Montana, the Bucium area is surrounded by a major hydrothermal alteration halo, which comprises silicification and advanced argillic alteration. Strong hydrothermal alteration haloes surround all the deposits outlined to date at Bucium. The occurrence of deposits and mineralization is seen to occur on the intersection of the major NNE-SSE structural corridor and intersecting NE-SW trending structures.
Porphyry copper-gold mineralization has been identified at Bucium Tarnita, where historical drilling of a subvertical andesitic body has returned a sub-vertical zone of porphyry style copper (+ gold/silver) mineralization. The microfractured andesite contains fractures and veinlets of chalcopyrite associated with intense potassic and phyllic style alteration within a broad advanced argillic halo. The Tarnita porphyry deposit covers a surface area measuring 500m x 700m and has the potential to host a large tonnage deposit. Historical exploration of the deposit has included underground development (exploration drives and crosscuts), surface and underground diamond drilling along with surface pitting and trenching. During exploration, vertical surface diamond drill holes have been drilled to depths of up to 1,200 metres.
The Bucium gold deposits are located within the Bucium volcanic complex, situated from 4 to 10km southeast of Rosia Montana, within the northernmost volcanic belt of the Golden Quadrilateral. This complex, which measures approximately 6km by 3km in plan is elongated NW-SE and comprises several distinct sub-volcanic intrusions aligned along three separate NW-trending zones sub-parallel to the major Neogene tectonic trend of the Golden Quadrilateral. The western-most zone contains gold mineralization at, from southeast to northwest, Botes, Izbicioara and lzbita , associated with non-outcropping sub-volcanics and hosted within Cretaceous sediments. The central zone contains the youngest and best mineralized intrusions including, from southeast to northwest, the Corabia-Arama-Argint, Bucium Tarnita, Contu-Vipere, Rodu and Frasin and the Haracai sediment hosted gold deposits, all of which outcrop. The easternmost zone includes from southeast to northwest, the Bucium Poieni and Bucium Sasa gold prospects.
The Bucium volcanic complex is similar in size and geology to the nearby Rosia Montana-Rosia Poieni complex. It contains similar types of epithermal style gold-silver and porphyry style gold-copper mineralization associated with dacitic and andesitic intrusions respectively. Both complexes are surrounded by extensive haloes of hydrothermal alteration comprising mainly silicification and argillic alteration. The Corabia-Arama-Argint, Rodu and Frasin gold-silver deposits and the Bucium Tarnita porphyry gold-copper deposits have significant mineral potential.
The Corabia gold-silver deposit at the southern end of the central zone occurs within an andesitic stock and comprises of a steeply dipping, NNW-trending multiple-vein swarm having a strike length of 1000 m and a total width of approximately 900 m. The famous Corabia-Arama-Argint vein, up to 40 m wide, has been mined since Roman times over a strike length of 4 km. At Corabia itself, the vein swarm comprises the Corabia vein and eleven sub-parallel veins (generally less than 1 m. wide) in both the foot and hanging walls. Numerous minor veins and veinlets occur between the twelve major veins within this vein swarm, which outcrops along a ridge and has a resource potential with favorable features for large-scale open pit mining. Previous exploration consists of three adits, with crosscuts and drives, together with three surface diamond drill holes.
The Rodu gold-silver deposit, located west of Frasin at the northern end of the central zone, occurs in intensely altered, pyroclastic dacite vent breccia above a non-outcropping dacite intrusive. It is comprised of a multiple vein-swarm, with nine major veins up to 1 m wide, having a strike length of over 1000 m and a width of more than 500 m within pervasively altered and mineralized vent and reworked breccias, hosted within a maar-diatreme complex. The veins strike NNW and dip moderately to the west within a broad halo of sub-horizontal silicification hosted disseminated gold mineralization. Previous mine workings and exploration adits and underground drill holes have tested this vein swarm over an area measuring 500 m by 500 m (in plan) to approximately 200 m vertical depth below surface.
The Frasin gold-silver deposit consists of a dacitic intrusive body hosted in Cretaceous sediments and Miocene volcaniclastics and vent breccias. The dacite contains multiple vein, stock work and pervasive disseminated mineralization associated with intense hydrothermal alteration (quartz-adularia overprinted by carbonate - clay-quartz) similar to the Rosia Montana deposit. The dacitic dome outcrops as a hill and has a significant large tonnage resource potential. Historical exploration comprises surface pitting and trenching, with channel sampling and one deep (1200 m) stratigraphic drill hole of the hill, which has been subjected to extensive historical surface and some sub-surface mining. The altered and mineralized dacite body measures approximately 700m x 500m with additional altered amd mineralized outcrops considred to part of the same body located to the east which have been untested. The two properties are located adjacent to each other and the Rodu deposit is interpreted to represent the maar-diatreme structural zone associated with the Frasin dacite dome complex.
Exploration Projects
Highlights
- Initial phase of exploration drilling completed
- Updated resource estimate indicates an indicated resource of 491,000 oz Au and 1,385,000 oz Ag at the Frasin deposit
- Preliminary resource estimate indicates an inferred resource of 1,320,000 oz Au and 3,271,000 oz Ag at the Frasin and Rodu deposits
- Mineralization at Rodu and Frasin deposits remains open
To date, Gabriel has completed a total of 99 drill holes at Rodu and Frasin for a total of 19,958 metres of drilling, comprised of 5,322 metres of HQ and NQ sized diamond drilling and 14,636 metres of reverse circulation drilling. Gabriel has also completed a total of 24,683 metres of channel sampling, comprised of 10,484 metres of underground sampling and 14,199 metres of surface channel sampling at Rodu and Frasin. Upon completion of the 2004 field program, RSG-Global Pty Ltd. ("RSG Global") of Perth, West Australia prepared the updated resource estimate for the Frasin and Rodu deposits.
Preliminary Resource Estimate for Rodu and Frasin Deposits
Using a 0.6 g/t gold cutoff, a 40 X 40 X 10 metre parent block size and ordinary kriging the resource estimate are tabled below for the Frasin and Rodu deposits.
| FRASIN DEPOSIT | |||||
| Category | Grade (g/t) | Contained Ounces | |||
| Of Resource | Tonnes | Gold | Silver | Gold | Silver |
| Indicated | 7,945,000 | 1.91 | 5 | 491,000 | 1,385,000 |
| (incl. breccia zone)1 | 801,000 | 5.91 | 4 | 152,000 | 91,000 |
| Inferred | 9,285,000 | 1.70 | 5 | 508,000 | 1,574,000 |
| (incl. breccia zone)2 | 699,000 | 6.24 | 4 | 140,000 | 94,000 |
| RODU DEPOSIT | |||||
| Category | Grade (g/t) | Contained Ounces | |||
| Of Resource | Tonnes | Gold | Silver | Gold | Silver |
| Inferred | 26,079,000 | 0.97 | 2 | 813,000 | 1,696,000 |
| RODU & FRASIN DEPOSIT | |||||
| Category | Grade (g/t) | Contained Ounces | |||
| Of Resource | Tonnes | Gold | Silver | Gold | Silver |
| Indicated | 7,945,000 | 1.92 | 5 | 491,000 | 1,385,000 |
| Inferred | 35,365,000 | 1.16 | 3 | 1,320,000 | 3,271,000 |
| Total | 43,310,000 | 1.30 | 3 | 1,811,000 | 4,656,000 |
Gabriel will continue its regional exploration program over the balance of the Bucium exploration license to explore additional targets, including the Haracai sediment hosted gold prospect to the north of Frasin, The Trnita porphyry copper deposit and the Arama and Argint gold prospects to the south east as well as the extensions of Rodu and Frasin. The structural corridor between Frasin and Rosia Montana remains. open.
1 These amounts for the breccia zone of the deposit are included in the total on the line above.
2These amounts for the breccia zone of the deposit are included in the total on the line above.
Qualified Person
Brett Gossage, of RSG-Global is the qualified person (as defined in National Instrument 43-101) responsible for the preliminary resource estimate.. RSG corroborated the data collection, including sampling, analytical and quality control data, on which the resource estimate is based and prepared the resource model and estimate.
Resource Data Base
The updated resource estimate is based upon a total of 24,683 metres of surface and underground channel sampling, together with 19,958 metres of drilling, comprising 14,636 metres of reverse circulation and 5,322 metres of surface diamond drilling, in a total of 99 holes. In addition a total of 1,874 metres of historical underground and surface diamond drill core pulps from 22 drill holes at Rodu have been assayed and included in the resource database.
Sampling Protocol
Samples from both the drill program and the channel sampling program were assayed at SGS Ltd's laboratory in Gura Rosiei, Romania using a standard fire assay technique and an AAS finish. Duplicates, repeats, blanks and known gold standards are inserted according to standard industry practice, with independent check assays carried out by ALS - Chemex Ltd.'s laboratory in Vancouver and SGS Ltd.'s laboratory in Perth. Both SGS and ALS - Chemex are ISO 9002 certified.