ExplorMine Consultants was commissioned by MineRP Eurasia Madencilik Tic. Ltd. Sti. (MineRP) to complete a NI43-101 compliant Mineral Resource estimate for Gümüştaş Madencilik ve Ticaret A.Ş. (Gumustas) Gümüşhane polymetallic [lead-zinc-copper (gold-silver)] Mine (Gumushane) located 2 km southwest of the town of Gümüşhane in the eastern Black Sea Region of Turkey.
The Gümüşhane Mine can be classed as a high sulphidation epithermal type polymetallic deposit. The mineralisation occurs as a combination of open space filling, breccia pipe and carbonate replacement, especially evident at the Hazine Mağara historical workings. The mineralisation is hosted primarily in the Cretaceous limestones of the Berdiga Formation. It occurs as lenticular bodies that exist in three stratigraphic zones throughout the Berdiga. Galena, sphalerite and tennantite host the lead, zinc and copper mineralisation. The gangue mineralogy comprises quartz, calcite, dolomite, kaolinite, barite, siderite, ankerite, chlorite and sericite.
The Mine differentiates two mineralisation styles based on metallurgy and occurrence namely; yellow ore and black ore. The yellow ore is a pyrite dominant and sphalerite – galena poor mineralisation and typically comprises a lead + zinc value less than 1 % and a copper value greater than 1 %. The black ore is lead – zinc dominant where the lead + zinc is typically greater than 1 % and copper is less than 1 %. The term complex ore is applied to areas where these two mineralisation styles co-exist.