Key Facts
| Ownership | 100% |
| Location | Kyrgyzstan |
| Mining (projected) | Open pit |
| Operating Company | Highland Exploration LLC |
Overview
Unkurtash, located in Kyrgyzstan, Jalal-Abad Province, Ala-Buka District, (11 sq. km) is an advanced exploration project featuring stockwork-disseminated gold mineralisation hosted in a granitic intrusion. This project includes three distinct prospects: the Unkurtash, Sarytube and Karatube located within the Company's two licenses Unkurtash-Andagul (12 km2) and Kassan (51 km2). The combined mineralised zone measures approximately 4,000 metres on strike, ranges from 250-500 metres in width and has a potential vertical extent of at least 350 metres.
In 2012, the drilling programme concentrated on the deeper levels of the Unkurtash prospect down to a depth of 450 metres with the objective of increasing the currently defined JORC compliant mineral resource base of ca. 3.0 Moz of gold at an average grade of 1.8 g/t (94% Measured and Indicated) which encompasses the overall project.
An independent JORC compliant resource update for the entire project has been completed and data required for the registration of additional C1+C2 category reserves has been submitted to the Kyrgyzstan State Committee on Reserves (GKZ). Mining permits for the Unkurtash and Karatube prospects, which provide the rights for exploitation of subsoil gold reserves and outline project development timelines, were granted in early H2 2012. Since then, the Company has continued its exploration program and intends to proceed with engineering studies for a planned large-scale open-pit operation.
Unkurtash Scoping Study Executive Summary
Unkurtash Project Presentation
Resources (in accordance with JORC)
| Classification | Ore, tonnes | Gold, g/t | Contained gold, ounces | Highland’s interest (%) | Gold ounces attributable to Highland |
| Measured | 21,024,000 | 1.7 | 1,179,836 | 100% | 1,179,836 |
| Indicated | 32,870,000 | 1.8 | 1,860,917 | 100% | 1,860,917 |
| Measured + Indicated | 53,894,000 | 1.8 | 3,040,753 | 100% | 3,040,753 |
| Inferred | 12,291,000 | 1.7 | 656,004 | 100% | 656,004 |
| Total | 66,185,000 | 1.7 | 3,696,757 | 100% | 3,696,757 |
As of 31.12.2014 (cut-off grade >0.8 g/t)