Latin Resources Limited (ASX: LRS) ('Latin' 'LRS' or the 'Company') is very pleased to announce that it has signed a binding farm-in terms sheet ('Terms Sheet') with Mining and Energy Group Pty Ltd ('MEG') to earn up to a 75% interest in a gold project ('Yarara'), situated within the highly prospective Lachlan Fold gold belt of NSW.
In addition to gold, the Yarara project is also, to a lesser extent, prospective for copper.
This new strategic shift into the gold sector comes after LRS has recently announced a joint venture with Integra Capital in respect of Latin Resources' lithium project in Argentina and supplements Latin Resources' existing joint venture with global copper major First Quantum Minerals, which sees First Quantum sole funding exploration costs on its copper porphyry project in Peru. The complete funding of its operations in South America by its partners now allows LRS to enter this exciting new chapter focused on gold exploration closer to home in the Lachlan Fold Belt of NSW. The Lachlan Fold Belt hosts many significant mineral projects including Junee, Boda, Woodlawn, Cadia Ridgeway, McPhillamys, Hill End, Copper Hill, Cowal, Commonwealth, Tomingley and North Parkes, and is currently experiencing significant renewed interest following a number of exploration successes over the past several months.
There are three principle areas of interest to the Company within the Yarara Project: 1) Yarara Reefs (North): The Yarara area hosts structurally located gold mineralisation in sediments. A major shear zone provides the main focus for mineralisation.
Carboona (Centre): At Carboona, known mineralisation includes a wide variety of metals, including lead, tin, tungsten, gold and silver which are spatially related to granite contact or to a major shear zone and Ournie (South): The Ournie goldfield contains historical workings for gold and silver hosted in granite.
Latin's Managing Director Chris Gale described the Farm-In joint venture opportunity as outstanding entry into one of Australia's premier gold jurisdictions to create strong shareholder value.
'The Yarara Project presents an excellent opportunity to secure a significant and highly prospective gold project which has not benefited from modern exploration techniques in an emerging area of the Lachlan Fold Belt which has an established reputation as a world-class mineral province.
'Now we have our South American projects fully funded in Peru and Argentina, we can move our focus onto a very exciting gold project in the Lachlan Fold Belt, an area that shows incredible promise to enable LRS to become an exciting Australian junior explorer.'
TECHNICAL OVERVIEW OF THE YARARA GOLD PROJECT
The Yarara Shear Zone was mined from 1877 to the 1930's and the production mostly came from four mines in the northern part of the Shear Zone (i.e. Billabong, Rangitira, Just-in-Time and Perseverance) and very highgrade sheeted gold mined in the southern Ournie area (i.e. Peep-O-Day, Discovery and Hidden Treasure). This gold was generally hosted in quartz veins with pyrite in chlorite-graphite shear zones and micro-shear zones in the metasedimentary host rocks. The gold has a high fineness and is associated with quartz and sulphides. This is possibly analogous to the Bethanga gold workings in Victoria where the workings were taken to over 200 metres in mine development.
These results suggest potential for the discovery of bulk tonnage granite-hosted gold deposits similar to those at Cadia-Ridgeway, and there is also significant and relatively untested exploration potential for high-grade shear zone hosted gold deposits in the area and, to a lesser extent, copper.
The Carboona fluorite-silver-lead mine (also known as Coppabella) was mined by then BHP Billiton from 1905 to 1925 and produced a mine product of fluorite. Drill testing by BHP encountered disseminated mineralisation that was not assayed. There has been no exploration of the area since that time. There has been very little exploration of this area in the past 40 years, with limited drilling undertaken in 1956 and 1969 at the Carboona mine and more recently some drilling undertaken at the Rangitira gold mine in 1980/81. More recent exploration activity has been limited with no meaningful comprehensive programs undertaken.
Latin Resources intends on carrying out pre-drilling exploration activities that would initially involve the acquisition of high resolution geophysics, in particular low level closely spaced TEM type of surveys method in conjunction with detailed data compilation and interpretation followed by structural control studies/interpretations leading to drilling target definition. This approach will enable the prioritisation of high value targets and initial reconnaissance drill testing to be completed within 3 -6 months.
Contact:
Chris Gale
Tel: +61 8 6117 4798
ABOUT LATIN RESOURCES
Latin Resources Limited (ASX: LRS) is an Australian-based mineral exploration company with several mineral resource projects in Latin America and Australia. The Company is actively progressing its copper porphyry MT03 project in the Ilo Region with its joint venture partner, First Quantum Minerals Ltd. The Company has secured over 173,000 hectares of exploration concessions in the lithium pegmatite districts of Catamarca and San Luis Provinces, Argentina as well as a portfolio of lithium projects in Brazil. The Company is also progressing its Noombenberry Halloysite Project near Merredin, WA, and the Big Grey SilverLead Project in the Paterson region, WA.
LATIN RESOURCES LIMITED 
