6 Mar 2014 10:45
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Alecto Minerals plc / EPIC: ALO / Market: AIM / Sector: Exploration & Development
6 March 2014
Alecto Minerals plc ('Alecto' or the 'Company')
Positive results from Gourbassi West drill programme provides further evidence
of a new resource opportunity
Alecto Minerals plc (AIM: ALO), the AIM quoted mineral exploration company focussed on West and East Africa, is pleased to provide details of positive assay results received for eight of the 11 Reverse Circulation ('RC') holes completed as part of the Company's recent drilling activities at the Gourbassi West target ('GRBW'), one of three targets identified at its 207 sq km Kossanto Gold Project ('Kossanto') in the prospective Kenieba Inlier in western Mali.
Overview
· Assay results received to date for ten of the RC holes at GRBW, of which eight confirm the continuity of mineralisation over a strike length of approximately 560 metres
· Significant average grades of mineralisation encountered for six of these holes, with the best results including:
o 14 metres @ 4.08 g/t of gold ('Au')
o 17 metres @ 1.17 g/t Au
o 5 metres @ 1.96 g/t Au
· Mineralisation is within the oxides and close to surface, presenting the potential for a mineable opportunity
· Results from a further RC hole and two Diamond Drill ('DD') holes undertaken at this target are expected before the end of March 2014
· There is considerable potential for the mineralisation to continue to the north of the GRBW target and Alecto will now deploy its own Rotary Air Blast ('RAB') rig to test this area
· The programme at GRBW is aimed at increasing the Company's understanding of the mineralised controls, proving any continuity of gold grades and progressing towards the generation of sufficient information for the preparation of an initial resource estimate over this area
· Results from DD drilling undertaken at the Gourbassi East target ('GRBE') where a maiden resource of 107,000 ounces Au has previously been defined, remain pending - minor delays have arisen due to the time taken to complete sample preparation and Au assays
Alecto's CEO Mark Jones said:
"These latest positive results from Kossanto, which include 14 metres @ 4.08 g/t Au, confirm the continuity of the gold mineralisation over a strike length of approximately 560 metres at GRBW, as well as its shallow nature, which should be beneficial for the economics of any potential future production at the project area. GRBW was not included within our initial resource estimate of 107,000 ounces Au and, with evidence that the mineralisation continues to the north of the target, the upside potential across the project area as a whole is now becoming clearer.
"With this in mind, we look forward to further advancing this target using our own RAB rig, as well as to receiving the forthcoming assay results from our outstanding holes at both GRBW, GRBE and our new gold discovery at Massakama. The recent RC and DD drill campaigns at these targets have been completed successfully and we believe that the results will increase both the current resource estimate and future resource potential at this highly prospective asset in a major gold region of West Africa."
Further Information
GRBW lies approximately 3.7 km WNW of GRBE and appears to be analogous with its clear NNW striking style of mineralisation associated with felsic volcanic rocks. Previous exploration has revealed significant high-grade mineralisation over a strike length of 1km.
Figure 1: Plan of the Gourbassi Permit showing the proximity of GRBW to the existing resource (107,000 ounces Au) at GRBE demonstrating the future potential to feed a single processing facility. (Please see the associated PDF at the top of the page)
This season's infill RC programme at GRBW concentrated on the southern half of the 1 km strike and has shown that the mineralisation is continuous over a distance of approximately 560 metres, open to the north and south. A total of 11 RC holes for a total of 997 metres and two DD holes for a total of approximately 200 metres were drilled as part of the recent drill campaign, with assays received to date for ten of the RC holes. The further RC hole and two DD holes completed at this target are currently being assayed with the results expected before the end of March 2014. Of the ten RC holes reported so far, six hit significant oxide mineralisation close to surface.
The full results for the six RC holes that encountered significant mineralisation are set out at the end of this announcement, with significant intersects including:
· GRC68: 5 metres @ 1.9 g/t Au
· GRC69: 14 metres @ 4.08 g/t Au
· GRC70: 17 metres @ 1.17 g/t Au
· GRC70: 5 metres @ 1.96 g/t Au
· GRC71: 26 metres @ 0.58 g/t Au
· GRC72: 3 metres @ 1.38 g/t Au
· GRC73: 1 metre @ 2.4 g/t Au
There is considerable potential that the mineralisation continues to the north and joins the previously drilled holes, completed in 2012, which returned values of:
· GRC46: 8 metres @ 1.31 g/t Au
· GRC47: 4 metres @ 1.06 g/t Au
· GRC48: 12 metres @ 1.43 g/t Au
· GRC49: 7 metres @ 1.77 g/t Au
Alecto will now deploy its own RAB rig to test this area. If continuity beyond the recently drilled zone can be proven, it will significantly increase the strike length and resource potential of Gourbassi West.
Figure 2: RC drilling assays from GRBW to date identifying significant intercepts (Please see the associated PDF at the top of the page)
At GRBE, a drilling campaign of 1,900 metres of RC drilling and 920 metres of DD drilling has been completed successfully. As previously announced on 23 January 2014, results received for the first nine holes confirmed the potential expansion of the current 107,000 ounces Au resource estimate based on extensions at depth and to the south west. The Company is currently awaiting further results, both for GRBE and scout holes at two targets at Massakama. There has however been a minor delay due to the increased time required for core preparation as well as backlogs at the laboratories in Bamako, Mali. Further results are expected before the end of March 2014 and we look forward to announcing these in the near term.
Figure 3: Significant Intercepts from Assay Results received for six of the RC holes for GBRW
Hole ID | Total hole depth (m) | DH From (m) | DH To (m) | Length (m) | Au grade g/t | Assay results |
GRC68 | 102 | 17 | 18 | 1 | 1.83 | 1.0m @ 1.83 g/t Au |
30 | 31 | 1 | 1.81 | 1.0m @ 1.81 g/t Au | ||
35 | 40 | 5 | 1.90 | 5.0m @ 1.90 g/t Au | ||
46 | 51 | 5 | 0.50 | 5.0m @ 0.50 g/t Au | ||
GRC69 | 102 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 0.42 | 1.0m @ 0.42 g/t Au |
7 | 15 | 8 | 0.49 | 8.0m @ 0.49 g/t Au | ||
18 | 20 | 2 | 0.48 | 2.0m @ 0.48 g/t Au | ||
26 | 40 | 14 | 4.08 | 14.0m @ 4.08 g/t Au | ||
53 | 54 | 1 | 0.30 | 1.0m @ 0.30 g/t Au | ||
GRC70 | 108 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 0.53 | 2.0m @ 0.53 g/t Au |
9 | 12 | 3 | 0.32 | 3.0m @ 0.32 g/t Au | ||
31 | 33 | 2 | 1.76 | 2.0m @ 1.76 g/t Au | ||
40 | 57 | 17 | 1.17 | 17.0m @ 1.17 g/t Au | ||
59 | 62 | 3 | 0.38 | 3.0m @ 0.38 g/t Au | ||
70 | 71 | 1 | 0.75 | 1.0m @ 0.75 g/t Au | ||
75 | 85 | 10 | 0.43 | 10.0m @ 0.43 g/t Au | ||
96 | 101 | 5 | 1.96 | 5.0m @ 1.96 g/t Au | ||
GRC71 | 108 | 3 | 18 | 15 | 0.59 | 15.0m @ 0.59 g/t Au |
21 | 47 | 26 | 0.58 | 26.0m @ 0.58 g/t Au | ||
105 | 107 | 2 | 2.24 | 2.0m @ 2.24 g/t Au | ||
GRC72 | 102 | 85 | 88 | 3 | 1.38 | 3.0m @ 1.38 g/t Au |
GRC73 | 108 | 33 | 34 | 1 | 0.43 | 1.0m @ 0.43 g/t Au |
42 | 43 | 1 | 2.40 | 1.0m @ 2.40 g/t Au |
Review of Information
The information in this announcement that relates to Exploration Results, Mineral Resources or Ore Reserves is based on information compiled by Rasmané Kaboré, who is the Company's Head of Exploration in Mali a Member of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.
Rasmané Kaboré has sufficient experience, relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity that he is undertaking, to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the 'Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves'. Rasmané Kaboré has reviewed this announcement and consents to the inclusion in the announcement of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.
**ENDS**
For further information, please visit www.alectominerals.com or contact:
Alecto Minerals plc Mark Jones | Tel: 020 3137 8862 |
Strand Hanson Limited Richard Tulloch Matthew Chandler James Dance | Tel: 020 7409 3494 |
XCAP Securities plc Jon Belliss Abigail Wayne | Tel: 020 3693 1470 |
St Brides Media & Finance Ltd Elisabeth Cowell Felicity Edwards | Tel: 020 7236 1177 |
Notes to editors
Alecto Minerals plc is an African focussed, gold and base metal exploration and development company quoted on AIM.
The on-going development of the Kossanto Gold Project in Mali is the Company's predominant focus and with significant value upside potential evident across the tenure, the Board plans to build on its current gold resource of estimate 107,000 ounces in the near term. Alecto also has a joint venture with Centamin over two prospective gold exploration licences in Ethiopia, under which Alecto retains exposure to the assets with no capital expenditure, as well as the wholly owned Wad Amour IOCG Project in Mauritania which is at an exploration status. Combined, these projects provide the Company with a strong, diversified portfolio with exciting exploration upside potential.