Exploration

The Akarca gold-silver property (pronounced "ak-ar-jaa") is located in northwestern Turkey, and was discovered by Company geologists during a 2006 follow-up of a regional MTA pan concentrate gold anomaly. The name of the local village of "Akarca" translates into 'alunite, an alteration mineral'. The village is located near an existing borate mine which may have led to its name but the surrounding hills have scattered outcrops of banded epithermal quartz and amethyst that sparked the geologists' excitement. The property is comprised of 135 square kilometers of EMX exploration licenses. Akarca is part of a larger joint venture agreement with Centerra Gold Inc. (TSX: CG) on the Akarca, and Elmali properties in Turkey (see news release dated January 6th, 2009).

The geology at Akarca is dominated by Neogene-aged basin fill sedimentary rocks that were formerly thought to be unmineralized. These sediments unconformably overlie Paleozoic-aged schists and re-crystallized limestones. There are multiple zones of gold-silver vein mineralization that trend both northeast-southwest and northwest-southeast. The zones consist of parallel to sub-parallel epithermal quartz veins, veinlets, and silicification.

The Akarca Central Area

EMX began its exploration at Akarca with reconnaissance level rock sampling, mapping and soil sampling. This led to the identification of the mineralized zone named the Akarca Central Zone. The veins in this zone have a surface expression ranging from 0.5 to 15 meters in thickness and with strike lengths of 100 to 400 meters. The veins display combinations of banding, lattice, colloform, crustiform and massive textures characteristic of the upper levels of gold-silver vein deposits. Samples from these veins have assayed over 50 g/t gold with hundreds of g/t silver. Within this zone, the Kucukhugla Tepe, Hugla Tepe and Fula Tepe mineralized vein systems have been identified. An IP survey conducted over the area helped identify unmapped and covered portions of the veins.

Further expansion of the soil grid to cover 15 square kilometers, reconnaissance rock sampling and additional IP surveys in 2009 and 2010 led to the discovery of even more mineralized veins and vein systems including the Arap Tepe, Percem Tepe and Sarikaya Tepe mineralized zones.

Drilling at Akarca commenced in June 2007 and continues on an annual basis to delineate and confirm gold-silver mineralization. High-grade oxide gold-silver drill intercepts from multiple vein zones, coupled with broader low-grade envelopes of gold-silver mineralization over a +9 square kilometer area, continue to confirm Akarca's potential to host a bulk minable precious metals system.


The Kucukhugla Tepe

• The Kucukhugla Tepe area is the southernmost vein system in the Akarca license and is hosted in conglomerates and sandstones. The area contains multiple northwest trending IP-resistivity apparent vein anomalies as well as a 450 X 540 meter soil and rock chip sample gold anomaly. The Kucukhugla vein currently has 150 m of known strike length with an exposed thickness of 2 to 15 m The EMX exploration staff has taken over 700 rock samples averaging 1.97 g/t gold, including high-grade samples such as 50.1 g/t Au with 350 g/t Ag, 37.2 g/t Au with 405 g/t silver, 32.8 g/t gold with 480 g/t silver and 21.2 g/t gold with 641 g/t silver. There have been 17 core and RC drill holes drilled within the Kucukhugla Tepe area. These holes intersected multiple sub-parallel gold-silver mineralized veins, highlights below:
  
  

  Drill Hole	From	To	Interval	Au	Ag
  	(m)	(m)	(m)*	(g/t)	(g/t)
  AKC-1	13	76.7	63.7	1.54	14.52
  Including	16.2	18.2	2	13.8	117
  Including	33	34	1	19.95	241
  AKC-25	1.4	73.3	71.9	0.96	9.38
  including	17.65	21.1	3.45	4.77	98.83
  including	38.9	41.65	2.75	5.27	13.82
  AKC-26	2.5	48.2	45.7	0.68	5.29
  including	23.9	27.1	3.2	3.12	21.19
  	86.25	94	7.75	0.37	3.47
  AKC-34	21.3	33.05	11.75	0.3	3.16
  	54.8	67.3	12.5	2.54	3.86
  including	64.4	65.7	1.3	18.5	26.1
  	75.8	105.1	29.3	0.59	2.03
  including	82.6	83.2	0.6	7.94	19.75
  AKC-50	64	122.6	58.6	0.39	3.88
  AKC-51	0	30.7	30.7	0.31	2.4
  	80.4	116.9	36.5	0.51	45.76
  including	107.4	109.4	2	1.99	536.32
  AKC-52	0	22.5	22.5	1.35	13.87
  including	0	2.9	2.9	3.39	60.92
  including	11.4	14	2.6	6.78	30.61
  *True thickness estimated at 60-90% of reported interval length

  
  For a more complete list of drill results please click here.
  
  
  
  
  Click to enlarge
  
  Core from AKC-1 38.3 - 38.5m revealing bladed quartz (after calcite?) veining and assaying at 6.8 g/t Au, 27 g/t Ag.
  
  
• Drilling has delineated a small portion of the mineralized system at Kucukhugla Tepe Future drilling would test some of the IP-resistivity anomalies as well as confirming the continuity of mineralization between existing holes.
  
  
  
  Click to enlarge

The Hugla Tepe

• The Hugla Tepe vein system also known as the Buyukhugla Tepe zone is just north and east of Kucukhugla Tepe. Hugla Tepe vein system strikes northeast and dips steeply to the southeast down the side of a northwest trending ridge and is highlighted by a 620 X 370 m soil anomaly. The mapped vein has ~400 m of strike length and an exposed width of 0.5 to 10 m. The vein is roughly coincident with a 760 m long IP-resistivity apparent vein anomaly. Over 230 rock samples taken average 0.55 g/t gold, with a maximum of 4.6 g/t. and silver assays averaging 7.0 g/t, with a maximum of 85.10 g/t. There have been 20 drill core and RC holes completed in this area testing the mineralization extent and continuity. The mineralization remains open in both directions and at depth. These holes intersected multiple sub-parallel gold-silver mineralized veins, highlights below:

• Drilling has delineated gold-silver mineralization over 550 m of strike length and to a depth of 120 m at Hugla Tepe. Future drilling to test the full extent of the IP-resistivity anomaly as well as confirming the continuity of mineralization between existing holes and at depth is planned.

The Fula Tepe

• The Fula Tepe vein system occurs in the northern portion of the Akarca central area. Exploration and mapping has revealed over 370 meters of strike length with widths up to 18 meters wide. This vein displays classic low-sulfidation epithermal textures similar to those observed in other gold-silver bearing veins identified on the property. The vein strikes northeast and appears to be horsetailing. There are numerous subparallel IP-resistivity apparent vein anomalies within and just outside the Fula Tepe vein system. Over 200 rock samples have been collected from the Fula Tepe vein with an average grade of 1.9 g/t gold, and a maximum of 31.0 g/t. There have been 8 core holes drilled at Fula Tepe to date. The drilling has delineated a 350 by 140 meter gold-silver zone within an overall 900 by 200 meter target corridor of mapped veins and IP-resistivity anomalies. Highlights from the drilling are below:
  
  

  Drill Hole	From	To	Interval	Au	Ag
  	(m)	(m)	(m)*	(g/t)	(g/t)
  AKC-6	0.6	10.0	9.4	0.85	13.26
  	14.5	32.0	17.5	1.14	8.61
  AKC-7	2.0	10.0	8.0	0.63	11.29
  	18.5	26.5	8.0	1.46	9.78
  	31.0	38.0	7.0	2.67	11.72
  	50.0	57.3	7.3	3.22	7.49
  AKC-48	0.0	6.0	6.0	0.83	14.23
  	30.6	46.0	15.4	1.96	15.95
  including	31.5	38.2	6.7	2.43	30.5
  including	43.0	44.5	1.5	7.71	18.55
  	58.2	79.4	21.2	0.8	2.67
  AKC-49	0.3	3.5	3.2	0.81	24.87
  	35.8	55.3	19.5	0.45	7.5
  	67.3	85.1	17.8	0.55	4.08
  	112.2	145	32.8	0.68	1.58
  including	118.1	123	4.9	2.39	3.62
  including	141.6	142.6	1.0	6.55	9.32
  	204.9	225.1	20.2	0.4	11.55
  *True thickness estimated at 60-90% of reported interval length

  
  For a more complete list of drill results please click here.
  
  
  
  
  Click to enlarge
  
  
  
• Plans: The mineralization has not been closed off by the current drilling and remains open at depth and to the west. There are also several other sub-parallel IP-resistivity targets that remain untested. Future drilling will focus on extending the existing mineralization as well as testing these other concealed targets.

The Sarikaya Tepe

Sarikaya Tepe, located west of the Central Target area, is a 2010 EMX discovery originally characterized as a broad 500 by 75 meter zone of surface exposed quartz veining and silicification coincident with a steep north-northwest topographic high. Surface channel sample results include 1.8 meters averaging 54.7 g/t gold and 28.0 g/t silver, and 11% of this year's samples assayed greater than 1 g/t gold. An IP-resistivity survey conducted earlier in 2011 extended the projection of the zone a further 200 meters to the north, yielding a total strike length of 700 meters.

Three core holes at Sarikaya Tepe, totaling 421.4 meters, delineated approximately 200 meters of strike length at a drill spacing of 75-100 meters. In addition to the thick intercepts of gold-silver mineralization, there are also higher grade sub-intervals such as 11.4 meters averaging 4.90 g/t gold and 45.75 g/t silver and 5.8 meters averaging 10.00 g/t gold and 4.16 g/t silver. The deeper, un-oxidized Sarikaya Tepe intercepts are consistently enriched in both gold and silver. A table of drill intercepts is below.



The Arap Tepe Area

Arap Tepe is a three by two kilometer, northwest trending corridor of multiple, sub-parallel zones of gold-silver mineralization, quartz veining, silicification, and IP-resistivity anomalies located approximately three kilometers east of the "Central Target" area. There have been several IP-resistivity apparent vein anomalies and mapped quartz vein zones located in this area. Over 570 rock samples have been collected from this area averaging 0.75 g/t gold with an individual sample which returned 54.8 g/t gold with 24.7 g/t silver. There have been three separate zones identified within the Arap Tepe area (Zone A, B and C). These zones were identified from outcropping and subcropping quartz veins and vein zones in combination with IP-resistivity apparent vein anomalies. There are additional IP resistivity and vein outcrops that are not included in these three zones.

Thirteen drill holes have been completed within Arap Tepe totaling over 1200 meters, with most of the holes being drilled within Zone A.

This year's program followed-up on encouraging 2010 drill results from Zone A that included 50.4 meters averaging 3.39 g/t gold (see Company news release dated 12/21/2010), as well as initial drill tests of other targets in the Arap Tepe area including the "B" and "C" zones. A table of Arap Tepe 2011 drill results is given below.

• Zone A -- A total of eight holes were drilled in Zone A between 2010 and 2011. The drilling targeted outcrop and subcrops of quartz vein material and an over 500 meter curved east-west trending IP-resistivity anomaly. All drill holes revealed an approximately 40 to 50 meter thick zone of gold-silver mineralization and defined a drill strike length to 250 meters. The majority of Zone A remains untested, with further potential identified by outcrops of quartz veining and silicification and IP-resistivity anomalies.
  
  
• Zone B -- One hole was drilled into this zone. AKC-42 intersected anomalous gold mineralization and pathfinder geochemistry (i.e., arsenic and mercury), along with hornfels altered sedimentary rocks and disseminated sulfides at the end of the hole. Further field work is planned to evaluate the nature of this alteration and how it relates to the subcropping quartz veins at surface.
  
  
• Zone C -- The initial drill test of Zone C confirmed this recent discovery of gold-silver mineralization. Two holes (AKC-45, -45B), collared from the same pad, followed-up on surface chip channel samples that include 3.87 g/t gold over 1.0 meter and 17.4 g/t silver over 0.4 meters. Both holes intersected mineralization, including 44.3 meters averaging 0.72 g/t gold and 6.12 g/t silver in AKC-45, and defined 30 meters of dip extent to the zone, which remains open along strike and down dip.
  
  
• Elsewhere in the Arap Tepe area, hole AKC-46 was drilled in the middle of a 640 meter long concealed IP resistivity target intersected anomalous gold mineralization (i.e., > 0.1 g/t Au) in 35% of the intervals. In addition, 59% (50 out of 85) of this year's channel samples in the central portion of the Arap Tepe area assayed greater than 0.1 g/t gold.

The Percem Tepe

This recent EMX discovery originally delineated from surface exposed gold-silver zones of silicification and quartz veining, as well as concealed targets identified by IP-resistivity anomalies is located approximately 1.2 kilometers north of Arap Tepe. There are three mineralized quartz vein zones having strike lengths of 85 to 110 meters, and range from 1 to 18 meters in width. Channel samples assayed up to 66.0 g/t gold over 1.0 meter and 100 g/t silver over 1.2 meters, with 12% of over 300 rock samples assaying greater than 1 g/t gold. Percem Tepe occurs within an 800 meter long, northwest oriented trend defined by gold-silver mineralized surface rock samples.

The initial drill test of Percem Tepe consisted of four holes totaling 401 meters. The drilling intersected two zones (i.e., Zones B and C) of gold-silver mineralization located approximately 650 meters from each other along a northeast trend of veining and surface sampled gold-silver mineralization. Zone B was intersected by holes AKC-55 and AKC-56 along 100 meters of strike length, and Zone C was with two holes tested along 35 meters of strike length. The results are summarized in the table below.





With the surface and drill results achieved thus far, in conjunction with geophysical targets beneath cover, the Akarca project represents a vein system with promising upside exploration potential. Additional exploration work is currently being planned.

EMX has filed an updated NI 43-101 report titled "Akarca Gold-Silver Project Technical Report" which may be found at www.sedar.com, dated January 20th 2012.