Savannah Resources plc the AIM quoted resource development company, announces that it has commenced the next round of drilling over its highly prospective Block 4 and 5 properties in the Sultanate of Oman, which are prospective for copper and gold. Savannah is earning a 65% shareholding in the Omani company, Al Thuraya LLC, the owner of the Block 4 Project and is a 65% shareholder in Al Fairuz Mining, the holder of the Block 5 licence.
 
HIGHLIGHTS:

• Two stage 2,930m diamond drill programme underway at the Maqail South and Mahab 4 prospects in Block 5 and the Dog’s Bone and Bayda Prospects in Block 4
• Targeting to increase resource potential and upgrade current resource classification to establish Measured Resources at Maqail South and Mahab 4, which have a current Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resource of 1.7Mt at a grade of 2.2% copper
• Aiming to further define the resource potential at Dog’s Bone (which is part of the Aarja target) and Bayda, which were part of previously producing copper mines – reviews of historic data have identified that a significant volume of disseminated sulphide mineralisation remains at Bayda whilst high-grade mineralisation including 9m at a grade of 4.86% copper has been identified at Dog’s Bone
• Drilling will also assist the completion of initial geotechnical and metallurgical test work at both Block 4 and 5, which will feed into feasibility studies and ultimately Ore Reserves as the Company continues to target production in late-2017

David Archer, Savannah’s Chief Executive Officer said today “This drill campaign represents another significant step forward in advancing our copper/gold portfolio in Oman.  With a current Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resource of 1.7Mt at a grade of 2.2% copper already established, this drill programme will help build upon the aggregate Mineral Resources of both high-grade and disseminated sulphide copper mineralisation whilst also improving the resource confidence by upgrading the current resource classification from ‘Indicated and Inferred’ to ‘Measured’. With multiple high-grade targets identified the drilling is directed at accelerating our efforts to be in production in late-2017, utilising a hub and spoke mine development model to support low capex operations, whereby one central plant will process material from multiple mines.