Vancouver, British Columbia, October 30, 2012 (TSX Venture: EMX; NYSE MKT: EMXX) - Eurasian Minerals Inc. (the “Company” or “EMX”) is pleased to announce that it has signed an agreement to regain 100% ownership of the Akarca gold-silver property in Turkey (the “Property”). Previously, EMX had signed an agreement with a subsidiary of Centerra Gold Inc. (“Centerra”), pursuant to which Centerra could earn up to a 70% interest in the Property under a joint venture arrangement. Earlier this year, Centerra earned an initial 50% interest in the Property as a result of investing over US $5 million in drilling, geological mapping, geochemical sampling, and geophysical surveys. In June, EMX entered into discussions with Centerra to regain control of the Property in return for relieving Centerra of certain exploration and payment obligations. Centerra and EMX have now signed an agreement pursuant to which EMX will again control 100% of the Akarca property.
The Akarca project is an EMX grassroots discovery highlighted by six separate gold-silver mineralized centers occurring within a district-scale area (please see attached map). To date, 81 drill holes totaling over 10,000 meters, 2,900 rock and 2,400 soil geochemical samples, 74 line-kilometers of IP-resistivity surveys, and a property-wide gravity survey have been completed, primarily through Centerra-funded work programs that considerably advanced the discovery.
Akarca Overview. Gold and silver mineralization at Akarca occurs as both structurally focused vein-style, as well as disseminated-style mineralization in silicified zones. The quartz veins typically host higher-grade mineralization, while the silicified halos in the wall-rocks host lower-grade disseminated mineralization. In addition, earlier this year EMX discovered gold-silver mineralization hosted at the intersection of vein structures and the basement schist contact, significantly increasing the project’s exploration potential. Exploration results from the six known prospect areas are summarized below.
- The Sarikaya Tepe prospect is a 500 by 100 meter zone of quartz veining, silicification, and gold-silver mineralization exposed on the surface. This year’s drill results include an intercept of 26.1 meters averaging 4.47 g/t gold and 16.39 g/t silver, with a higher-grade sub-interval of 5.8 meters averaging 13.59 g/t gold and 49.65 g/t silver (true widths interpreted as 59% of reported interval) that confirmed the new basement contact target-type. Surface mapping, geochemical sampling, and a 2012 IP-resistivity survey further extended the mineralized trend to Sarikaya North. The 1.8 kilometer trend from Sarikaya Tepe to Sarikaya North has undergone limited drill testing.
- The Arap Tepe prospect is a 2.5 by 2 kilometer, northwest trending corridor of multiple, sub-parallel zones of oxide gold-silver mineralization, quartz veining, and IP-resistivity anomalies located approximately three kilometers east of the Central Target area. Previous drill results include 55.4 meters averaging 3.10 g/t gold and 4.89 g/t silver (true width interpreted as 65–85% of the reported interval).
- The Kucukhugla Tepe, Fula Tepe, and Hugla Tepe prospects constitute the initial EMX discovery zones, and occur in the 2.1 by 2.2 kilometer Central Target area. Kucukhugla Tepe is defined as a 100 meter wide, northwest trending corridor of oxide gold-silver mineralization characterized by two sub-parallel systems of veining and stockworking. Fula Tepe is a 900 by 200 meter, northeast trending corridor of oxide gold-silver mineralization, quartz veining, wall-rock silicification, and IP-resistivity anomalies. Hugla Tepe is a 650 by 350 meter area of oxide gold-silver mineralization, quartz veining and IP-resistivity anomalies.
- The Percem Tepe prospect is an 800 meter long trend of multiple zones of oxide gold-silver mineralization. Previous drill results include 102.2 meters averaging 0.57 g/t gold and 5.50 g/t silver, with a higher-grade sub-interval of 28.2 meters averaging 1.17 g/t gold and 11.44 g/t silver (true widths interpreted as 75-85% of the reported interval).