Established Australian copper-gold producer and explorer, Aeris Resources Limited (ASX:AIS) (Aeris or the Company) is pleased to announce a maiden JORC 2012 Mineral Resource estimate for the Golden Plateau deposit, located within the Company's 100% owned Cracow tenement package in Central Queensland. In addition to the Mineral Resource Estimate of 620kt at 3.1g/t gold (62koz contained gold), an Exploration Target has been defined for the Golden Plateau Deposit, peripheral to the Mineral Resource:
The potential quantity and grade of the Exploration Target is conceptual in nature and is therefore an approximation. There has been insufficient exploration drilling to estimate a Mineral Resource and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the estimation of a Mineral Resource. The Exploration Target has been prepared and reported in accordance with the 2012 edition of the JORC Code.
Aeris' Executive Chairman, Andre Labuschagne, said 'This maiden Mineral Resource and Exploration Target validates our long-held view that the Golden Plateau deposit has the potential to play an important part in extending the life of our Cracow Operation.' 'The focus is now on conceptual mining studies to incorporate the deposit into the mine plan and to continue drilling the defined Exploration Target.' 'Mining at Cracow has occurred since the 1930s, producing in the region of 2.5 million ounces of gold from the Eastern and Western Vein Fields. At a broader strategic level our aim is to find the next significant vein field, with the Southern Vein Field area our current primary target.'
Golden Plateau Background
The Golden Plateau deposit is located 1km north from the Cracow Processing Facility and is situated along a regional northwest trending epithermal quartz vein structure that has been traced along a total strike length of 7km to 10km. Anomalous gold mineralisation has been traced along most of the prospective northwest trending corridor. The Golden Plateau deposit is located at a major inflection (dilational jog) along the regional structure, where it changes orientation to an east-west trend. The Golden Plateau mine and surrounding deposits historically produced approximately 850,000 ounces of gold within a prospective corridor extending 1km along strike. Production at Golden Plateau was derived from several distinct high grade gold shoots ranging in size from
Golden Plateau Mineral Resource Estimate The Golden Plateau Mineral Resource Estimate totals 620kt at 3.1g/t Au and 15g/t Ag for 62koz Au metal and 300koz Ag metal. The Mineral Resource comprises a potential open pit component totalling 160kt at 2.9g/t Au for 15koz Au metal reported at a 0.5g/t Au cut-off within a conceptual open pit shell. A potential underground mining component of 450kt at 3.2g/t Au for 47koz Au metal is reported below the potential open pit Mineral Resource. The potential underground Mineral Resource is reported at a higher 1.5g/t Au cut-off (Table 2). Golden Plateau and other deposits along strike were the original focus of underground and open pit mining at Cracow between 1930 and 1994. The Mineral Resource comprises both remnant unmined areas and new structures or subordinate structures.
The Mineral Resource is estimated based on drilling completed since the year 2000 by Newcrest, Evolution and Aeris and some earlier surface RC drilling. In total 87 drill holes have been included in the Mineral Resource, targeting remnant resource areas and new exploration targets. Underground face samples and drilling completed prior to 2000 were not used for estimation due to concerns with the source and quality of the historic data and sampling. Nevertheless, the mineralisation interpretation is supported in some areas by previous level development. The West Lode presents an open pit target that has previously been mined by minor underground stoping. The open pit Mineral Resource is reported inside a conceptual pit design down to 110m below surface. Deeper parts of the West Lode and 10 additional mineralised structures comprise the Mineral Resource that is considered mineable via underground mining methods. The Mineral Resource Estimate contains Indicated and Inferred Resource categories. The Resource classification followed the current Cracow Mine classification method in accordance with the JORC Code (2012) definitions, and considered the drill spacing, confidence in the interpretation in three dimensions, the quality of the resulting grade estimate and the quality of the input data. The resulting Indicated category is approximately equivalent to 25m to 30m spaced drilling. The Inferred mineralisation interpretation has partly been extrapolated beyond the known data points in a manner consistent with the geological understanding of Golden Plateau and based on the considerable geological knowledge gained from underground mining elsewhere at Cracow.
Drilling and Sampling
Drilling and sampling at Golden Plateau have been undertaken since the 1930s, with active mining ceasing in the 1990s, with periodic exploration and review occurring subsequently. The current drilling and sampling database has been compiled from several sources and collated in the consolidated Cracow Mine database. The data subset for the Mineral Resource area is summarised in Table 4, where it can be seen that a large number of historic drill and face samples were available. These samples were used for exploration targeting and to assist with variogram assessment, however, they are mostly concentrated in mined out areas of Golden Plateau and the Competent Person considers that the data verification has not been satisfactorily completed. Therefore, the historic data has been excluded from the Mineral Resource Estimate
Appendix A and B summarise the drilling and resource domain intercepts. Appendix C describes all the available data, concentrating on the more relevant Aeris, Newcrest and Evolution drilling, which consists of predominantly RC drilling with diamond core tails. RC drilling followed conventional industry standards and used ~5 inch face sampling hammers with an onboard cyclone and a '1-in-8' riffle splitter to achieve a target sample of ~3kg. Diamond HQ3 core was cut in half longitudinally for sampling, while whole-core samples were taken from NQ3 core to achieve similar sample size between the three drill diameters. Sample preparation and analysis was completed by ALS Laboratories. Sample preparation consisted of standard drying, LM5 pulverization to 85% passing 75 -microm, with core samples initially crushed to >70% passing 2mm. Analysis by ALS Townsville was via 50g fire assay for Au with atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) finish while Ag analysis was via aqua regia digest with AAS finish.
This announcement is authorised for lodgement by: Andre Labuschagne Executive Chairman ENDS For further information, please contact: Mr. Andre Labuschagne Executive Chairman Tel: +61 7 3034 6200, or visit our website at www.aerisresources.com.au Media: Madeleine Thornton Tel: 0402 580 802
About Aeris
Aeris Resources is a mid-tier base and precious metals producer. Its copper dominant portfolio comprises four operating assets, a long-life development project and a highly prospective exploration portfolio, spanning Queensland, Western Australia, New South Wales and Victoria, with headquarters in Brisbane. Aeris has a strong pipeline of organic growth projects, an aggressive exploration program and continues to investigate strategic merger and acquisition opportunities. The Company's experienced board and management team bring significant corporate and technical expertise to a lean operating model. Aeris is committed to building strong partnerships with its key community, investment and workforce stakeholders.
Competent Persons Statement
The information in this report that relates to Exploration Targets, Exploration Results or Mineral Resources is based on information compiled by Dr Andrew Fowler. Dr Fowler confirms that he is the Competent Person for all Exploration Results, summarised in this Report and he has read and understood the requirements of the 2012 Edition of the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Targets, Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (JORC Code, 2012 Edition). Dr Fowler is a Competent Person as defined by the JORC Code, 2012 Edition, having relevant experience to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit described in the Report and to the activity for which he is accepting responsibility. Dr Fowler is a Chartered Professional in the Geology discipline and Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (MAusIMM No. 301401). Dr Fowler has reviewed the Report to which this Consent Statement applies and consents to the inclusion in the Report of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears. Dr Fowler is a full-time employee of Aeris Resources Limited.
AERIS RESOURCES LIMITED 
