BrightStar Resources (BUT)

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BUT

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BrightStar Resources (BUT) is an exploration company for gold and other minerals in Australia, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand. BrightStar Resources has a solid resource base of 680,000 attributable ounces and excellent exploration targets.

BrightStar was previously named Tasman Goldfields Limited which listed on the Australian Stock Exchange in 2008 with a small portfolio of Australasian gold projects. After experiencing financing difficulties in 2009, the board was replaced with the current directors. After a small capital raising in 2010, the company was re-named to BrightStar.

The company's latest project is the Miyabi Gold Project where it is earning up to 75% by funding exploration and evaluation. The project has a Mineral Resource of 520,000oz and excellent exploration targets.

At the 100% owned Kitongo Gold Project, the company is exploring to add to the 290,000oz Mineral Resource and to test other exciting exploration targets on the property.

BrightStar's corporate objectives are:
Exploration and development of the Kitongo Gold Project;
Exploration and development of the Miyabi Gold Project; and
Acquisition and exploration of other mineral resource opportunities, particularly in Tanzania.

The country of Tanzania has a strong, modern gold mining industry and hosts a number of large gold mines. It is Africa's third largest gold producer behind South Africa and Ghana. BrightStar has planned a substantial exploration program utilising an experienced crew of local geologists and field technicians

Miyabi Gold Project
The Miyabi Project is located approximately 200km southwest of Mwanza in the Lake Victoria Goldfields of Tanzania. It is approximately 60km west of African Barrick Gold's operating Buzwagi mine, and approximately 30km south of Resolute Mining Limited's Nyakafuru project. The Project is some 150km southwest of BrightStar's Kitongo Gold Project. The tenement holding is 252km2.

The project encompasses a discrete segment of greenstone lithologies surrounded by granitoid rocks. It forms a hinge between the Nzega greenstone belt to the east (hosting Resolute's Golden Pride deposit) and the Siga Hills greenstone belt to the north (hosting Barrick's Bulyanhulu and Golden Ridge projects and Resolute's Nyakafuru project).

Exploration at the project has been carried out by African Eagle subsidiary Twigg Gold since 1999. Geochemical exploration quickly led to the discovery of a zone of elevated gold in soil at the north-western margin of the Miyabi greenstone. This was termed the Miyabi Structural Corridor and subsequent drilling led to the discovery of bedrock gold mineralisation. This led to the delineation of the substantial gold resource of 520,000 ounces at four main deposit areas over 3.5km of strike. Excellent potential remains to define extensions to the existing resources.

A number of key targets for follow-up exploration have been identified at the project. The highest priority target is the 7km long granite/greenstone contact zone at the northwest margin of the greenstone belt. This area has shallow alluvial cover which has rendered soil sampling ineffective. However coincident chargeability and magnetic anomalies occur along the contact and suggest that sulphide bodies may be present. The very sparse drilling in the zone (including the Schule prospect) has generally intersected significant gold mineralisation.

Preliminary metallurgical test work conducted on RC chips and drill core shows that the fresh mineralisation is free-milling and good recoveries can be achieved from conventional CIL treatment.

Initial work programs are anticipated to include RAB or Air Core drilling of the granite/greenstone contact zone including follow-up drilling at the Schule and IP70 prospects. Facilities at the Project include a well-established camp (currently on care and maintenance) with sample processing and administration facilities. This will allow exploration work at the project to be initiated very quickly.

Initial work programs are anticipated to include RAB or Air Core drilling of the granite/greenstone contact zone including follow-up drilling at the Schule and IP70 prospects. Facilities at the Project include a well-established camp (currently on care and maintenance) with sample processing and administration facilities. This will allow exploration work at the project to be initiated very quickly.

Kitongo Gold Project
The Kitongo Project is located in the Lake Victoria Goldfields region of Tanzania, 90km south of the mining service centre of Mwanza. Access is via bitumen and unsealed roads. Several multi-million ounce gold projects occur in the region, including African Barrick Gold's Bulyanhulu, Buzwagi and Nyanzaga projects; Anglogold Ashanti's Geita project, and Resolute's Golden Pride project.

The Kitongo Project licence area was initially granted in 1992, with initial work being carried out by East Africa Mines, a subsidiary of Spinifex Gold. This led to the discovery of the substantial gold resource of 290,000 ounces at Kitongo Main Zone. The resource is defined by 239 RC and core drill holes for approximately 21,000m. Excellent potential remains to define extensions to the existing resource and this will be the focus of initial drilling programs by BrightStar.

The primary near-term exploration opportunity is the oxide resource extension at the Main Zone deposit in the NE and NW mineralised trends. There are also potential high grade sulphide extensions at Main Zone below 100m depth. Early stage exploration targets at the Project include Kitongo Hill (9m at 12.95 g/t Au from 74 metres, and 10m at 2.14 g/t Au from 48 metres) and Isgehenge (25m @12.96 g/t from 131 metres and 3m @ 19.60 g/t from 141 metres).

Processing test work conducted on drill core in 2001 by Ammtec Perth suggests CIL (75 micron grind) recoveries of 92-94% Au recovery in oxidised ores and sulphide flotation recoveries of approximately 91% Au. Preliminary metallurgical testwork on the oxidized ore also indicated potential for it to be amenable to low cost heap leaching.

Maji Moto Project
The Maji Moto Project is located in the northwest of Tanzania, approximately 200km northeast of the city of Mwanza. It consists of two non-continuous licence areas with a combined area of 38.5km2. The project is located within the Musoma-Mara greenstone belt which hosts African Barrick Gold's North Mara Gold Mine.

Soil sampling has defined two zones of +200ppb gold anomalism which coincides with scattered artisanal workings. A program of aircore drilling was completed in 2008 to test the main geochemical and structural targets. The drilling was inconclusive and further assessment of the data is warranted to determine if the workings relate to substantial bedrock gold mineralisation.

Nyangombe Project
The Nyangombe Project is located in the northwest of Tanzania, approximately 85km southwest of the city of Mwanza. It consists of three PL's with an area of approximately 50km2. The project is located within Archaean greenstone lithologies and is approximately 5km north of African Barrick Gold's Golden Ridge project.

Partially outcropping BIF and volcanic lithologies on the western portion of the licence area have been sampled by rock chip, trenching and soil sampling. Weak gold anomalism was defined in area. The eastern portion of the tenement is covered by a considerable thickness of transported regolith. Soil sampling is considered ineffective and further work is required to properly explore the area which has prospective lithologies and structure.

Miclere -Australia Project
The Miclere Project is located approximately 30km northwest of Clermont in Central Queensland. It is centred on the historic Miclere, Black Ridge and Springs Goldfields on the southeast margin of the late-Proterozoic aged Anakie Inlier. The Miclere Project consists of 17 granted Mining Leases (ML) and two Exploration Permits for Minerals (EPM).

Gold has been mined from shallow surface workings and from underground workings in the Miclere, Black Ridge and Spring goldfields with total production of approximately 100,000 ounces.

The targeted gold mineralisation is interpreted to be a modified placer similar to the Witwatersrand Basin of South Africa with gold occurring as particles within conglomerates and other sediments unconfomably overlying the basement rocks of the Anakie Inlier. Exploration work carried out to date includes surface drilling, as well as development of a 500m long decline to a depth of 65m. Bulk sampling of the sediments from this development returned 2,000 ounces from a 20,000 tonne parcel with a nominal back-calculated grade of 3g/t Au.

There is demonstrated potential for large scale placer type gold mineralisation at the project. The Project is also considered prospective for hard rock gold and base metal mineralisation. BrightStar plans to divest the project to concentrate on the more advanced Kitongo Project in Tanzania.

Previous Company Name: Tasman Goldfields