New VMS Licence Award at Rulikha Deposit

East Star Resources Plc (LSE:EST), which is exploring for copper and gold in Kazakhstan, is pleased to announce it has been awarded a new exploration licence – 3631-EL (the “Licence”), encompassing the remaining part of the induced-polarisation (IP) anomaly north of the Rulikha Deposit.

With the entire IP anomaly at Rulikha now under 100% ownership by East Star, execution of the next phase of exploration can begin. Additional historical drilling within the newly awarded Licence has also been included in East Star’s ongoing assessment of both the Rulikha Deposit and its geological interpretation of the Rulikha IP anomaly. Some highlighted intersections from the historic drilling are below.

Highlights of Historical Intersections Within New Licence:

• 11.4m @ 9.8% Zn, 3.1% Cu and 1.1% Pb from 196.6m
• 6.9m @ 17.6% Zn, 1.0% Cu and 3.3% Pb from 237.4m
• 11.2m @ 5.5% Zn, 0.32% Cu and 1.2% Pb from 236.0m
• 8.7m @ 5.4% Zn, 0.3% Cu and 0.3% Pb from 256.2m

180 historical drill holes are currently being modelled to provide an Exploration Target and assess the Reasonable Prospects for Economic Extraction (RPEE).

Alex Walker, East Star CEO, commented:

“East Star is expanding its VMS opportunities through this additional highly prospective exploration licence, adding a second soviet-era deposit to our East Region assets. Although permitting is expected to be more arduous due to proximity to a settlement, at less than 2km from an existing rail line and 11km from an underfed mill, we are eager to assess the potential economic viability of this deposit, in a region which has been mined since the mid-1700s.

In remodelling such detailed historical data, East Star will be able to assess the reasonable prospects for economic extraction prior to on the ground exploration and therefore, like Verkhuba, we will undertake a low-cost exploration campaign to verify the data and convert the exploration target to a JORC Resource.

We are grateful for the support from the Shemonaikha District in allowing us to apply for the Licence and we look forward to updating the market on future exploration activities.”

Further Information

History of the Rulikha Deposit

The Rulikha Deposit and geophysical targets are situated about 33km northwest from East Star’s 100% owned Verkhuba Deposit (JORC MRE of 20.3Mt @ 1.16% copper, 1.54% zinc and 0.27% lead). Located within the Rulikhinskoe-Vydrikhinskoe Ore Field in the Shemonaikha District of East Kazakhstan, the Rulikha Deposit is a VMS polymetallic deposit primarily explored for zinc, copper and lead. The Rulikha Deposit was part of a broader geological exploration effort in the region, conducted by the East Kazakhstan Geological Exploration Expedition under the Ministry of Geology of the USSR and later the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The Rulikha Deposit was discovered in the 1940s and delineated during exploration up to the 1980s,…