Overview
In Q4 2020, Erdene announced that it exercised its option to acquire 100% of the Ulaan exploration license (Press release), located immediately west of Erdene’s Bayan Khundii gold project mining license. The Company has carried out limited exploration on the license since acquiring a 51% of the license in 2017, however, the property has demonstrated significant geological potential.
The Ulaan license covers approximately 1,780 hectares and hosts a large and intense phyllic style quartz-sericite-pyrite (QSP) alteration zone (about 3 kilometres in diameter) with characteristics of a porphyry copper and epithermal gold system. Ulaan lies at the southeast end of a major alteration zone, extending for over 10 kilometres to the northeast. This alteration trend has a central zone of intense secondary silica with a peripheral halo of sericite alteration and an outer zone of white mica and sericite, which hosts the Bayan Khundii gold deposit. This northeast-trending alteration area, which incorporates the Ulaan, Bayan Khundii and other mineralized targets in the area (including Erdene’s Dark Horse and Altan Arrow prospects), is associated with a regional structural dilational jog and associated major volcano-plutonic centre, along a northeast-trending transform fault. The various alteration and mineralization styles within the Ulaan target and the adjacent zone of alteration are consistent with a fertile magmatic island arc, with evidence for possible arc migration, and overlapping or telescoped mineralization along major structures.
In 2018, three wide-spaced holes were drilled, totalling 1,050 metres over a 1.3-kilometre area in the central portion of the license. These holes intersected volcanic to sub-volcanic rocks exhibiting propylitic to phyllic (quartz-sericite-pyrite or QSP) alteration with varying pyrite concentrations and locally low-level copper mineralization (100 to 300 ppm over 60 metres). A 700-metre, three-hole drilling program was completed in 2019. One hole intersected a broad zone of intense tourmaline-silica-sericite alteration that hosts localized gold-bearing quartz tourmaline breccia and breccia veins from 140 to 202 metres (end of hole). Anomalous gold-bearing intervals include 2 metres of 1.3 g/t gold, 4 metres of 0.29 g/t gold, 2 metres of 0.5 g/t gold, and 2 metres of 0.23 g/t gold.
The exploration license is in its seventh year of a maximum 12-year term. It can be converted to a mining license at any time before the end of the twelfth year by meeting the requirements prescribed under the Mineral Law of Mongolia.
In 2018, three wide-spaced holes were drilled, totalling 1,050 metres over a 1.3-kilometre area in the central portion of the license. These holes intersected volcanic to sub-volcanic rocks exhibiting propylitic to phyllic quartz-sericite-pyrite (QSP) alteration with varying pyrite concentrations and locally low-level copper mineralization (100 to 300 ppm over 60 metres). A 700-metre, three-hole drilling program was completed in 2019. One hole intersected a broad zone of intense tourmaline-silica-sericite alteration that hosts localized gold-bearing quartz tourmaline breccia and breccia veins from 140 to 202 metres (end of hole). Anomalous gold-bearing intervals include 2 metres of 1.3 g/t gold, 4 metres of 0.29 g/t gold, 2 metres of 0.5 g/t gold, and 2 metres of 0.23 g/t gold.
Peter Dalton, P.Geo. (Nova Scotia), Senior Geologist, Erdene Resource Development Corporation, is a Qualified Person within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information contained herein.
Reports
No technical report available at time. See Erdene’s latest MDA disclosure for technical description of the project (click here)
Illustrations
Maps
