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Stratex International Plc / Index: AIM / Epic: STI / Sector: Mining

Stratex International Plc   

('Stratex' or 'the Company') 

Dalafin Update

Stratex International Plc, the AIM-quoted exploration and development company, provides an update on its Dalafin gold project in Senegal following receipt of results from latest drilling of the Faré South prospect in November-December last year.

The 472.5 sq km Dalafin gold licence, which the Company owns 85% through its wholly-owned subsidiary Stratex West Africa, is located in the south-east of the country within the highly prospective Kédougou-Keniéba Gold Belt. To date, the Company has identified five key prospects, Faré (North and South), Konkonou, Baytilaye, Saroudia and Madina Bafé.

Highlights:

· Additional drilling at Faré South prospect in November-December returned modest intersections, including:

· 4.8 m @ 1.06 g/t Au from 63.70 m (FADD-0026);

· 3 m @ 1.04 g/t Au from 23 m and 5 m @ 0.78 g/t Au from 72 m (FARC-0044);

· 2 m @ 1.26 g/t Au from 50 m (FARC-0052);

· 1 m @ 4.39 g/t Au from 42 m (FARC-0053); and

· 2 m @1.07 g/t from 59 m (FARC-76).

 · The drilling completed by the end of 2014 has not provided a sound basis for undertaking a resource estimation and as a result the potential deferred payment to Silvrex will not be made;

· Potential for strike extension of the mineralisation to the north remains but is considered to be of secondary priority; and 

· Stratex is now planning to focus its near-term efforts on the Madina Bafé prospect where previous drilling returned results that include; MBDD-002 (9.60 m @ 16.08 g/t Au) and MBRC-117 (15 m @ 6.10 g/t Au), as well as reviewing other key prospects in the licence area.

Bob Foster, Stratex Chief Executive, said, “The latest phase of drilling at Faré South has confirmed that the mineralisation is broadly related to a well-developed NE-trending structural corridor as originally interpreted. There is little evidence for the continuation of mineralisation to the south-west of the prospect but we have identified moderately developed mineralisation that continues to the north-east, albeit insufficient at this stage to justify further drilling of the ground between Faré South and Faré North. Interestingly, however, the drilling has indicated the likely importance of a NNW-trending breccia zone and this warrants further investigation, which will be considered after a detailed review of the data.

“In our opinion the licence area remains very prospective and in particular we are prioritising further field work in the southernmost prospect, Madina Bafé, where the previous drilling returned very good intersections. We are also undertaking a detailed evaluation of the other key prospects previously identified by a coincidence of regolith geochemistry and structural features.”

In November 2014, a follow-up programme of diamond and RC drilling was started on the Faré South prospect (Announcement dated 17th November 2014). Drilling was focused on testing the northern and southern strike extensions of the 600m-mineralised corridor identified previously as well as limited step-out drilling defined on the basis of a high-resolution IP (‘induced polarization’) survey.  

The programme was suspended on the 18^th December when it became evident that only weak mineralisation was being intersected and also that the mineralised zones lacked significant continuity. 

A total of six diamond holes were completed for 1,418.30 m (Table 1) and these intersected predominantly diorite, volcanic breccia, and volcano-sedimentary units.

Table 1: Significant intercepts from diamond drilling at Faré South (>0.3 g/t Au)

A further 44 RC holes averaging 78 m depth, and 2 RC pre-collar diamond holes, were drilled for a total of 3,571meters, primarily to evaluate the potential strike extensions of the mineralised corridor to the north-east and south-west.

Table 2: Significant intercepts from RC drilling at Faré South (>0.3 g/t Au) 

Please see http://www.stratexinternational.com/project/dalafin for drill hole locations and cross section.

Overall, the NE-SW trend has been confirmed but the mineralisation is only weakly developed. Previous drilling of the Faré North prospect, approximately 2,000 m further to the north-east, had indicated that this mineralised structural corridor is a substantial zone and soil geochemistry had suggested even further continuity to the north-east.

However, the drilling has now indicated the potential importance of a NNW-trending breccia zone, oblique to the dominant NE-SW structural trend. Intersection of the NNW- and NE-trending structures may in fact explain the localised high-grade gold mineralisation previously reported along drill line 4 (Announcements dated 19^th February 2014 and 19^th May 2014).

Detailed evaluation of all the drilling and other exploration data for the Faré South and North prospects is now underway and the results will dictate the way forward. In the meantime, the Madina Bafé prospect in the southern part of the licence area remains very prospective and further detailed geological mapping and sampling is underway to complement earlier work. Two key targets have already been identified by previous drilling - MBDD-002 (9.60 m @ 16.08 g/t Au) and MBRC-117 (15 m @ 6.10 g/t Au), both of which comprise quartz-tourmaline veins within a granodioritic host rock. 

Due to the lack of continuity of robust mineralisation identified at Faré South thus far, the Company is not yet in a position to determine a resource and therefore the deferred payment of £3.8 million to Silvrex, dictated by the discovery of a minimum of 500,000 oz of gold in the first three years of exploration, will not be paid.

Sampling, assaying, and QA/QC

Stratex’s sampling of outcropping rocks, drill core, and other geological materials conforms to industry-wide good practice, with chain of custody being observed for all samples. Gold analysis for material sampled in this campaign is undertaken by Bureau Veritas Mineral Laboratories in Cote d’Ivoire.

The Company maintains QA/QC on all analytical work via the use of certified reference materials, field duplicates, and blank samples in addition to monitoring of internal laboratory check-analyses.

Dr Bob Foster, Chief Executive Officer, is a Competent Person as defined by various international instruments and takes responsibility for the release of this information.

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For further information please visit www.stratexinternational.com, email [email protected], or contact:

Notes to Editors:

Focused on the exploration and development of gold and high-value base metals, Stratex International is active in Turkey and Senegal and has strategic interests in East Africa and Ghana. Since listing on AIM in 2006, Stratex has had an impressive track record of successful exploration supported by joint-venture partnerships, both with major international mining companies and local companies to maximise the potential of its discoveries.

To date Stratex has discovered more than 2.2 million ounces of gold and 7.9 million ounces of silver, as well as 186,000 tonnes of copper. The Company is looking to completion of construction of its 45%-owned Altintepe gold project in Turkey in Q1-2015 and anticipates gold production soon thereafter. Additionally a 1% production royalty capped at US$20 million will be due from the Öksüt project, also in Turkey, with first production provisionally targeted for late-2016 by owners Centerra Gold. With its current cash position and projected cash returns, the Company is well-placed to advance its existing exploration programmes and is also actively seeking to acquire advanced projects that are at the drill-ready stage or even have identified resources.