Romarco Inreasing Drill Program At Haile
TORONTO, ON Romarco Minerals reported the planned exploration program for 2011 at its 100%-owned Haile Gold Mine in South Carolina. The planned 2011 drilling program consists of approximately 172,000 meters, representing a 60% percent increase over the 2010 drilling program of 107,735 meters. Exploration planned for 2011 is approximately 110,000 meters, an 83% increase over the 2010 exploration program.Additional condemnation drilling will be performed for stockpile and facility sites necessary for final design, construction plans and expansion scenarios. The Company also reported that it increased its land position from 3900 acres to a total of approximately 7900 acres. Approximately 94% of the landholdings are owned fee simple (surface, water, and mineral rights) and the balance is leased. The current Haile corridor now extends more than 5 km along the mineralized strike.
The significant drilling campaign continues to develop on the success and growth achieved in 2010 and substantiates what Romarco's team continues to see as additional upside potential at the Haile Gold Mine. Following three years of exploration, the mineralized footprint at Haile remains unconstrained providing potential for expansion. During 2010, the Company focused on three drilling objectives comprising step-out drilling to expand the overall mineralized footprint at Haile, infill drilling to convert inferred ounces to the measured and indicated categories, and condemnation drilling to identify available areas for production related facilities. The results of the 2010 program were successful in all objectives as the Company increased known mineralization, improved measured and indicated resources by 44% over the 2009 estimate, increased the average grade and cleared an area for development of the proposed tailings facility. In 2011, the Company plans to expand upon these successes by using a similar approach to further define the mineralized system at Haile and target the following areas for continued expansion: Mill Zone - the high-grade extension of the South Pit; Horseshoe; Continuity between Snake and Horseshoe; Snake Deep; West Ledbetter; Easterly extensions of the property beyond Horseshoe; Westerly extensions of the property including the Champion and 601 deposits, which are situated more than 1 km west of South Pit. Additionally, as the Company expands its land position throughout the district, exploration drilling will be initiated to evaluate these prospective new target areas. The program will also include on-going condemnation drilling to test areas proposed for future expansion of the operation. Throughout 2011, the Company expects to maintain a fleet of 11 drilling rigs, including seven core and four reverse circulation rigs. The anticipated 2011 drilling allocation includes: one-third designated as condemnation drilling; half designated for the Haile Mine property area and includes step-out and infill drilling for all zones, as well as incidental water and monitoring well installations; the balance designated for anticipated regional exploration drilling on recently acquired properties within the greater district. The Company is currently in the process of completing a feasibility study and continuing exploration drilling for its flagship project, the Haile Gold Mine. The company's address is 181 Bay, St. Suite 3630, Toronto, ON M5J 2T3, 416-367-5500, fax: 416-367-5505.