The Uzhunzhul anomalies group (prospective area)

License
License ABN00488BR for exploration and mining of hard rock gold in the Uzhunzhulsk ore cluster has been awarded for the period from 20.11.2008 to 20.11.2031. The license block area is 134 km².

Geography and economic situation
The license area is located in an economically well-developed region, with large mining and metallurgical companies.
The topography of the area is medium-mountainous, with rugged terrain. Maximum absolute elevation is in the town of Sarykh (1275.6). Minimum elevation is 596.4m at the river edge.
The area has a severe continental climate. Winters are cold, with little snow.
The exploration area in the West is covered with coniferous forest, represented mainly by larch and pine, with rare occurrences of aspen and birch. The east is mainly covered by steppe plants.

Geological coverage
General prospects of the area for mineral resources were determined by geological and geophysical surveys at the scale of 1:200000-1:50000,wthin the region and the Nemir-Chazygolsk ore field.

Prospects of the area
The area’s gold potential has been known since the second half of the 19th century. Placer gold  and hard rock deposits have been mined historically. Until the mid-20th century, gold was mined from quartz veins in the central Yurkovsky area; according to GOSBALANS, one of them accounts for a production 296.0 kg of gold from ore with an average grade of 10.2 g/t.
The area is a continuation of the structures that contain the Kuznetsovsk field (with reserves of about 1 MOz). The Uzhunzhul group proper contains a series of goldshowings: Yurkovsky, Paraspan and Karbay.

Geological exploration
A geochemical survey of secondary dissemination areas was conducted in 2009-2011. An extended strip of contrasting geochemical gold anomalies was discovered, which contains both known  ore deposits and previously unknown anomalies.
Mining and exploratory work has disclosed ore body crossings requiring further investigation.
The Paraspan prospect has demonstrated 30 g/t potential; on the eastern flank of the Yurkovsky prospect , lower grade ores are up to 74m thick (with conditions similar to Kuznetsovsk). The total thickness of metamorphosed rocks, enriched by potentially productive gold mineralization in this location exceeds 100 m.
Geological exploration in the area  has a potential to increase the reserves in the area by at least 10 t.