The Altan Nar (“Golden Sun”) project was discovered by Erdene in 2011 as part of a systematic, large-scale regional exploration program over southwest Mongolia’s Tian Shan Copper-Gold Belt. Altan Nar is a carbonate-base metal gold deposit and is characterized by multiple, sub-parallel, moderately to steeply dipping epithermal vein and breccia zones.
Exploration programs carried out by Erdene have included mapping, geochemical and geophysical survey programs, and a multi-stage scout and resource delineation drilling program. The results have greatly expanded the area of known mineralization at Altan Nar with 18 target areas now documented over a 5.6 km long area. Two of the early discoveries, Discovery Zone and Union North, are the most advanced targets and host wide zones of high-grade, near-surface mineralization that remain open at depth and along strike.
A mineral resource estimate was completed at Altan Nar in May 2018 and consists of 5.0 Mt of Indicated material at 2.8 g/t AuEq for 453 kozs of AuEq and an Inferred Resource of 3.4 Mt at 2.5 g/t AuEq for an additional 277 kozs of AuEq (0.7 g/t AuEq cut-off grade).
Erdene is working towards the completion of a Preliminary Economic Assessment of the Khundii Gold District which includes Altan Nar and the nearby Bayan Khundii project.