AMANTA REPORTS INITIAL RESULTS OF TRENCHING PROGRAMME AT LANGU GOLD PROJECT
January 11, 2006
Vancouver, Canada - Amanta Resources Ltd. (the “Company”) is pleased to report on its ongoing field exploration programs at the Company's Langu gold project, in southern Thailand. Over the past nine months, the Company has successfully completed a number of programs within the 25 sq. km. Licence area, including a closely-spaced systematic soil sampling survey which has led to the identification of a six kilometer long anomalous gold trend. Six priority exploration targets have been identified along the north-south trend and the Company is currently advancing a surface trenching program over these targets. The Company has received trenching results from two of the target areas.
Discovery South target
The first results are from the area outside and immediately south of the Discovery Quarry, the “Discovery South” target. To check anomalous soil and rock values obtained during the early work phase, two east-west oriented trenches were completed for a total of 210 meters. Trench # 1 shows intercepts of 2 meters @ 3.2 g/t Au and 1 meter @ 1 g/t Au. Trench # 2 shows an intercept of 7 meters @ 8.8 g/t Au, which includes 4 meters @ 15.2 g/t Au.
These gold values occur in black calcareous shale, similar to that seen in the Discovery Quarry where limited shallow reconnaissance drilling mainly intersected this shale unit with widely disseminated pyrite, stibnite and occasional arsenian pyrite. In the quarry the most significant gold intercepts in the nine drill-hole, 767 meter program of cored HQ included 3.5 meters @ 2.9g/t Au in LNG #2 on line 772350N (previously reported) and 2.15 meters @ 1.38 g/t Au in LNG #6 (not previously reported), 150 meters to the south. Other gold bearing intercepts carried values of 0.3 g/t Au or less. The high-grade surface indications in the Quarry have yet to be explained. The trenching results indicate that the same type of mineralisation, also with the occasional high grades, extends at least over a length of 575 meters along a north-south trend.
May target
The second set of completed trenches is from the “May” target area. May is located 1500 meters due west from Discovery South and is an area 750 x 250 meters in extent with occasional outcrops of a partially oxidized black silicified mudstone and an extensive field of leached siliceous boulders derived from these mudstones.
Four trenches have been completed on the May target area for a total length of 528 meters. The 159 meter long trench # 1, dug in a north-south direction, tested the main silicified mudstone outcrop area. The results show a total length of 55 meters mineralized with gold with an intercept of 21 meters @ 1.8 g/t Au, which includes 8 meters @ 3 g/t. Other intercepts include 6 meters @ 1.5 g/t and 2 meters @ 3 g/t Au. The gold occurs associated with very fine sulphides in silicified mudstones. These rocks are, notwithstanding the silica content, deeply weathered and it is to be expected that at least some leaching has occurred.
Trench # 2 is parallel to # 1 and located 80 meters to the east. This 158 meter long trench tested the eastern contact between the silicified unit and a unit of massive limestone. The trench showed mainly massive limestone intersections without any significant gold content. South of trenches 1 and 2, trenches 3 and 4, 102 and 109 meters long respectively, were dug in east-west direction at distances of 300 and 150 meters south of the end of trench # 1. Both trenches cut through deeply weathered soil and rock units in which recognition of original rock types is difficult. Trench # 3 shows a leached mineralised intercept of 15 meters @ 0.3 g/t Au, while trench # 4 is too deeply leached to give any meaningful results.
Methodology
Trenches of 1.5 – 2 meters depth are dug using a small backhoe. One or two meter channel samples are taken along the bottom of the trench, bagged and send to the MAS laboratory in Bangkok for sample preparation and fire assay. Surface weathering is generally deep and with the exception of trenches across outcropping silicified rock units, un-weathered rock is usually not exposed in the bottom of the trench.
The Company is very encouraged by the initial trenching results. The results show that gold occurs both in the silicified units, of which a large area has been mapped out, and in the calcareous limestone extending south from the Discovery Quarry.
The trenching program continues at the “Banhan” target, the largest extent of silicified rocks, and will then focus on the remainder of the targets identified to date.
The Company will also conduct geophysical programs including I.P. work and an airborne magnetic survey. With the information then available, planning will begin for a first phase exploration drilling programme, with priority given to those areas exhibiting the greatest potential for resource development.
Geological Information contained within this report has been verified by Pieter Bakker (Director, Executive VP – Amanta Resources Ltd.). Mr. Bakker satisfies the requirements of a Qualified Person as defined in the National Instrument 43-101 (Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects).
Amanta Resources Ltd. is focused on mineral exploration, development and production in Thailand and the Southeast Asian region. The Company’s strategy is to concentrate on the systematic evaluation of known mineral occurrences, rather than "greenfields" exploration, creating early opportunities to finance and develop mines.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF
AMANTA RESOURCES LTD.
“Gerald D. Wright”
Gerald D. Wright,
President
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