
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
You are viewing the World Edition
Choose the news you want to read
View the site in World Edition, UK News Edition
Canadian News Edition or Australian News Edition

View full financial data |
Etruscan Resources Inc. is a diversified Canadian mining company that has been exploring for gold and diamonds in Africa for over 13 years. Today, Etruscan holds one of the largest strategic land positions in West Africa covering over 13,000 km² in the prolific gold belts of Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana. The Company is also active in diamond exploration and development in South Africa and iron oxide copper gold exploration in Namibia. Etruscan's interests include operations that produce gold and diamonds together with advanced stage projects and earlier stage regional exploration opportunities. The Company is based in Nova Scotia, Canada and its common shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) under the symbol EET.
Etruscan's Plan for Growth
Burkina Faso
Youga Gold Mine
The first gold pour at Etruscan's Youga Gold Mine occurred in March, 2008. Youga presently has a mineable gold reserve of 6.6 million tonnes at an average grade of 2.7 grams per tonne containing 580,000 ounces gold. The initial open pit mining operation is comprised of five pits with the ore being processed over an initial 6.6 year mine life through a conventional gravity-CIL (carbon-in-leach) plant with a design capacity of one million tonnes per annum.
The Youga Gold Mine is located approximately four kilometers north of the Ghanaian border and 180 kilometers southwest of Ouagadougou, the capital city of Burkina Faso on the 80 kilometer Youga Gold Belt.
Etruscan has completed regional and detailed mapping as well as airborne and ground geophysics identifying a number of exploration targets within the Youga mining permit. Etruscan continues to evaluate near-surface mineralized zones that can provide additional mine reserves. The most recent drilling program focused entirely on a three kilometer radius of the Youga mill site. To date, six additional mineralized zones have been identified outside of the existing mineable reserve base including the Nanga Zone, the Leduc Zone, the A2 Village Zone, the Village Tail Zone, A2 West Zones 4 & 5, and the Zegoré Zone.
The most advanced zone is the Nanga Zone where Etruscan has completed 4,600 meters of drilling and 1,700 meters of trenching. Continuity of gold mineralization has been confirmed over a strike length of 400 meters to a vertical depth of 60 meters. The mineralization remains open along strike and at depth. Average grades of 1 to 2 grams per tonne over widths of 10 to 30 meters have been encountered through much of the zone. Higher grade intercepts within the Nanga Zone include 5 meters at 3.1 grams per tonne, 13 meters at 3.9 grams per tonne, 7 meters at 4.6 grams per tonne and 15 meters at 7.0 grams per tonne.
Youga/Bole-Bolgatanga Gold Belts
Outside of the Youga mining permit, Etruscan holds exploration permits covering over 1,000 square kilometers, which cover the 80-kilometer strike length of the Youga Gold Belt. Regional exploration on these permits has already identified significant target areas at Zerbogo (25 kilometers southwest of Youga), Bougre (13 kilometers southwest of Youga) and Bitou (25 kilometers northeast of Youga).
Cote d'Ivoire
Agbaou Gold Project
Etruscan's Agbaou Gold Project covers 939 km2, giving Etruscan control of the 40 kilometer strike length of the Agbaou Gold Belt in Côte d'Ivoire. Agbaou is an advanced stage gold deposit and one of the largest undeveloped gold resources in Côte d'Ivoire.
The Agbaou Gold Project is situated approximately 200 kilometers northwest of the port city of Abidjan in Côte d'Ivoire. The Project is readily accessible by paved highway and is within 10 kilometers of the national power grid.
Reconnaissance diamond drilling in proximity to the Agbaou gold deposit has identified three satellite discoveries within 600 meters of the Agbaou deposit. Reconnaissance drilling to the north of the main deposit has also intersected significant gold intersections. These results provide the potential to expand the known resources in the immediate vicinity of the gold plant at Agbaou.
Ghana
Etruscan began working in Ghana in 2006 under an option agreement with Redback Mining Inc. whereby Etruscan could earn a 100% interest in 580 km2 of ground in northern Ghana, including the Bole-Bolgatanga Gold Belt. These permits cover the southwestern extension of the Youga Gold Belt into Ghana. Throughout 2007 Etruscan looked to increase its land position in the prolific gold belts of southwestern Ghana. In August 2007 Etruscan entered into a joint venture with Haber Ghana Inc. to explore 1,331 km2 in the Sefwi Belt and the Kumasi Basin.
Bole-Bolgatanga Gold Belt
Previous work comprising regional soil geochemistry, trenching and RAB drilling has identified three drill targets on the Nangodi Prospecting Licence and two targets on the Bolgatanga Reconnaissance Licence. Reconnaissance RAB drilling intersections to be followed up include 6 meters of 4.4 g/t and 14 meters of 1.3 g/t on the Nangodi Prospecting Licence. Follow up drilling will also be carried out as a result of the sampling on the historic trenches of Bolgatanga Reconnaissance Licence, which gave intersections of 12 meters of 7.0 g/t, 10 meters of 5.0 g/t, 8 meters of 5.7 g/t and 10 meters of 2.1 g/t.
Sefwi Belt and Kumasi Basin
The Etruscan-Haber joint venture properties are located in the Sefwi Volcanic Belt and the Kumasi Sedimentary Basin which host significant gold deposits including the 13 million ounce Ahafo deposit, the nine million ounce Bogoso-Prestea deposit, the five million ounce Bibiani deposit, the two million ounce Obotan deposit, and the two million ounce Chirano deposit. These properties are all early stage projects that will require systematic regional geochemical and geological surveys.
Mali
Finkolo Gold Project, Mali South
Etruscan's most advanced project in Mali is on the Finkolo exploration permit located in Mali South approximately 300 kilometers southeast of Bamako. The Finkolo permit covers 160 square kilometers along the Syama gold belt and is contiguous with the Syama holdings of Resolute Mining Ltd. which hosts the 6.4 million ounce Syama gold deposit. Resolute is managing and funding the exploration program at Finkolo pursuant to an option and joint venture agreement. Resolute earned a 50% interest in Etruscan's 100% interest in the Finkolo Permit by expending US$2,000,000 prior to October 1, 2006 and elected to earn an additional 10% interest by contributing a further US$1 million to expenditures on the permit, which have been completed. Under the terms of the joint venture agreement Resolute must fund all costs of the joint venture until production of a feasibility study and Etruscan will reimburse Resolute from 50% of its share of future project cash flow.
Keniebandi Gold Project, Mali West
In Mali West, Etruscan has over 600 km2 that is contiguous with the Sadiola property of AngloGold Ashanti and IAMGOLD. It covers the southern extension of the Mali West Shear Zone along strike of the 14 million ounce Sadiola Mine in the Kofi Formation as well as prospective ground to the west in the Keniebandi Formation.
Exploration has outlined an area of anomalous gold mineralization over a distance of 2.5 kilometers and the Company focused drilling on the southeastern portion of the zone where mineralization was most consistent and higher grade. Diba is characterized by disseminated gold in a broad low grade (0.1 to 0.5 g/t) halo over 20 to 50 meters in thickness with narrow bonanza grade intercepts of 60-900 g/t over 1 to 2 meters. The last round of drilling at Diba confirmed that mineralization in the arkosic sediments is open downdip to the east, and a number of reconnaissance holes in the northwest intercepted wide zones of low-grade gold mineralization in a series of intrusive rocks. Exploration drilling will continue to focus on these two aspects of Diba.
Namibia
Namibia is the newest country in Etruscan's portfolio. The exploration strategy in Namibia is somewhat different than in the West African countries. In West Africa, there is a clear focus on the Birimian-age gold belts and in particular in establishing land positions around existing deposits. Interest in Namibia arose from an independent doctoral thesis that concluded that certain areas have a high potential for the discovery of iron oxide copper gold ("IOCG") deposits and possible relationships to copper deposits of the Zambian Copper Belt.
Kamanjab Project
This project consists of six permits covering almost 5,000 km2. During 2007 initial prospecting and rock sampling programs covered most of the primary target areas. Field crews encountered a range of mineralized occurrences (gold and base metals) and identified several zones of alteration that may be associated with IOCG type mineralization. Etruscan will carry out drilling on promising targets in 2008.
Witvlei Project
This project comprises five contiguous permits extending over 4,000 km2 covering much of the southern margin of the Rehoboth Volcano-Sedimentary Sequence. A number of historic copper occurrences are known from the belt. Much of the terrain is sand or calcrete covered and satellite studies proved less effective. There will be a greater reliance on geochemical survey methods and field crews are conducting regional surveys.
Niger
Samira Hill Gold Mine
The Samira Hill Gold Mine is the first commercial open pit gold mine in Niger and began operation in September 2004. The pre-production mineable reserves from the Samira Hill and Libiri pits are estimated to total 10.08 million tonnes grading 2.2 grams of gold per tonne from which 618,000 ounces will be recovered over a 6.3 year mine life.
The current mining operation is only processing the near-surface oxide and transition ores from the Samira and Libiri deposits and does not account for the possibility of mining the deeper sulphide ores or additional ores from satellite deposits along the 50 kilometer strike length of the Samira Gold Belt.
The Samira Hill and Libiri deposits are just two of a number of significant gold deposits along the 50 kilometer Samira Gold Belt extending into neighbouring Burkina Faso. By constructing a central processing facility at Samira, Etruscan expects to extend the 6.3 year mine life with the development of existing satellite deposits and the discovery of new deposits within easy trucking distance of the existing mill.
South Africa
Over the last six years, Etruscan, through its subsidiary, Etruscan Diamonds (Pty) Limited ("Etruscan Diamonds"), has acquired strategic properties in the Ventersdorp and Lichtenberg alluvial diamond districts, located approximately 150 kilometers and 200 kilometers respectively west of Johannesburg, South Africa.
Ventersdorp Alluvial Diamond District
The Ventersdorp Alluvial Diamond District is located approximately 150 kilometers west of Johannesburg and covers over 5,000 square kilometers. The area has not been commercially exploited on a large scale. From 1926 to 1984 over 667,000 carats were produced from the District. Over the past six years, Etruscan Diamonds has been acquiring strategic properties throughout the Ventersdorp district and presently holds two mining permits and 13 prospecting permits covering approximately 2,100 km2 with an additional two prospecting permits under application.
Blue Gum Diamond Deposit
Etruscan Diamonds holds one mining permit and three prospecting permits over three adjacent properties in the Ventersdorp alluvial diamond district (Nooitgedacht, Hartbeestlaagte and Zwartrand properties) known as the Blue Gum Project.
The Tirisano Diamond Mine, located on the Nooitgedacht property, represented the first phase of development for the Blue Gum Project. The Tirisano Diamond Mine was initially operated by Etruscan Diamonds. In May 2004, Etruscan Diamonds entered into an agreement with Mvelaphanda Exploration to facilitate the expansion of the Tirisano Diamond Mine and Mvelaphanda Exploration became the operator of the Mine. In June 2005, Mvelaphanda Exploration earned a 50% interest in the Tirisano Diamond Mine by commissioning a plant with a design capacity of 300 cubic metric tons per hour throughput and a 50/50 joint venture between Etruscan Diamonds and Mvelaphanda Exploration was formed with Mvelaphanda Exploration continuing as operator. Total diamond production from the Tirisano Diamond Mine up to the end of November 2005 when production ceased was in excess of 23,000 carats.
Etruscan Diamonds is presently undertaking a pre-feasibility study on the Blue Gum Diamond Project which is scheduled to be completed in April 2008. The pre-feasibility study is being led by MDM Engineering of South Africa. Upon successful completion of the pre-feasibility study, a public offering is planned together with an application for a stock exchange listing in order to advance the Blue Gum Diamond Project to full scale production.

| Management | |
| Gerald McConnell | President & Chief Executive Officer |
| Glenn Holmes | Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer |
| Donald Burton | Vice President Exploration & Chief Operating Officer |
| Robert Harris | Vice President, Operations |
| Werner Claessens | Director of Exploration for West Africa |
| Janice Stairs | Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary |
| Directors | |
| Joel D. Schneye | Director, Chair Audit Committee |
| Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse | Director, Chair Compensation Committee |
| William L. Young | Director |
| Walt Tyler | Director |
| Eddie Lui | Director |
Company AddressSuite 306, Royal Bank Building
|
Additional Address/Key ContactToll Free:+01 (877) 465-3674 |
CapitalIssued and outstanding; 106,496,315
|
Year EndNovember 30 |
| Royce Funds |
| Strategic Capital |
| Sprott Asset Mgt. |