(Alliance News) - IronRidge Resources Ltd on Monday said drilling has begun as its Zaranou gold project in the Ivory Coast.
The licence borders Ghana and is along strike from operating gold mines Chirano, Bibiani and Ahafo - being 5 million ounce, 5.5 million ounce, and 17 million ounce mines, respectively.
Drilling at Zaranou will test around an 8 kilometre strike of hard-rock artisanal mining, which has anomalous geochemistry as well as coincident magnetic anomalies.
Around 6,500 metres of air core drilling will take place in seven traverses of up to 800 metres in length, intended to test the width of the artisanal mining site as well as magnetic targets. A further 1,500 metres of deeper reverse circulation drilling will take place below or along strike of large artisanal pits, structural targets, and magnetic anomalies.
IronRidge is also planning further drilling to test a 2.8 kilometre long 800 metre wide discrete magnetic anomaly found during a survey.
Chief Operating Officer Len Kolff said: "It is a challenging task, as the area is vast, with over 40 kilometre strike of alluvial workings, within which the artisanals have discovered and defined 16 kilometre strike of in-situ mineralised structures, of which we are testing approximately 8 kilometre strike within the most intensively pitted zone.
"We believe the wide spaced [air core] drill traverses across the width of the mineralised corridor, in conjunction with targeted deeper [reverse circulation] holes, will provide us with the best chance of testing the structures across strike and at depth at this early stage of exploration across a large area."
Results from the drilling are anticipated in the first quarter of 2020.
Shares in IronRidge were untraded at 9.10 pence in London on Monday afternoon.
By Anna Farley; annafarley@alliancenews.com
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