Last checked at 7 Jun 2018 07:00
07 June 2018
GOLDSTONE RESOURCES LIMITED
("GoldStone" or the "Company")
High Gold Grades of 51.01g/t, 24.80 g/t & 17.72 g/t Confirmed
Following Review and Re-logging of Akrokeri Core
GoldStone Resources Limited (AIM: GRL) is pleased to report, further to the Company's announcement of 19 January 2018, the confirmation of high-grade gold intersections following the completion of the review and re-logging of historic diamond core ("DD") holes drilled under or adjacent to the previously producing Akrokeri underground gold mine ("Akrokeri Mine" or the "Mine").
Overview
· Mineralised intercepts of up to 1.0 metre at 51.01 g/t Au confirmed in re-logged diamond core from below and adjacent to the Akrokeri Mine, which previously produced 75,000 oz Au at a final recovered average grade of 0.73 ozs/t, equivalent to approximately 24 g/t
· Two further DD holes identified from 2012, indicating gold bearing quartz intersections in the footwall of the Mine
· Assaying of four of the historic DD holes to the south of the Mine to be undertaken
· The Akrokeri Mine is 12 km along strike to the north of AngloGold Ashanti's Obuasi Gold Mine, one of the world's major gold mines with a total historical and current resource in excess of 70 million ounces of gold
· Defined work programme being finalised to re-open the Akrokeri Mine, targeting gold production within 24 months
· The Akrokeri Mine, together with the Homase pit, provides two highly prospective targets within GoldStone's licences
Emma Priestley, CEO of GoldStone, commented:
"Grades of up to 51.01 g/t gold are remarkable and together with completion of the review and re-logging process, we are very excited about the opportunity and believe it warrants the acceleration of development and the ultimate reopening of the Akrokeri underground mine. Management is focused on identifying the most economic and timely route to production, which we believe can be achieved within 24 months.
"Together with the highly encouraging Homase pit target area and the regional geology which hosts one of the world's largest gold mines, management believe we have a truly exciting development opportunity at the Akrokeri Mine.
"I look forward to keeping shareholders updated as we seek to accelerate the development of GoldStone into becoming a gold producer."
Further Information
The Akrokeri Mine, located within GoldStone's Akrokeri licence, operated from 1904 to 1909 with an average final recovered grade of 0.73 ozs/t, equivalent to approximately 24 g/t, according to mine records from the Ghana Geological Survey. The underground mine comprised two vertical shafts exploiting a high-grade quartz vein within a package of sheared metasediments, which have been interpreted as the northern extension or splay to mineralised structures mapped in AngloGold Ashanti's Obuasi mine 12 km to the south. The Ghana Geological Survey records state that the Akrokeri Mine was forced to cease operations due to an inrush of groundwater.
Modelling of historic drilling has identified a continuous quartz vein to a depth of 120 metres from surface. This vein lies in the hanging wall of the underground development drives at the northern end of the Mine workings interpreted by the Company to represent a faulted repetition of the mine vein.
As announced on 19 January 2018, the Company has located the entire 5,200 metres of core drilled by the two diamond campaigns undertaken by Birim Goldfields Ltd ("Birim") in 1996 and Pan African Resources Ltd ("PAR") in 2008 respectively at the Akrokeri Mine. The core is from, in aggregate, 19 holes drilled along the known quartz vein, of which nine were drilled to the north and four to the south of the Mine and six were drilled within the Mine's previous workings.
The review and re-logging of the Akrokeri Mine DD core also revealed two further DD holes totalling 666 metres, drilled in 2012 by Goldstone, to the north of the Mine. The review of the cores identified two significant intersections within the quartz vein on the footwall of the Mine as follows:
Hole ID | Depth from (metres) | Depth to (metres) | Intersection (metres) | Au (g/t) |
12AKDD004 | 116.1 | 118.3 | 2.2 | 1.69 |
309.0 | 311.1 | 2.1 | 6.10 | |
12AKDD006 | 105.0 | 108.7 | 3.7 | 1.98 |
GoldStone has now re-logged and reviewed all 21 diamond core holes, with the significant intersections from the Birim and PAR set out below.
Significant intersections from the re-logging of Birim's drilling at the northern end of the Mine workings are as follows:
Hole ID | Depth from (metres) | Depth to (metres) | Intersection (metres) | Au (g/t) |
ABD010 | 58.8 | 60.0 | 1.2 | 11.40 |
ABD011 | 171.0 | 172.0 | 1.0 | 4.90 |
ABD003 | 116.0 | 119.0 | 3.0 | 4.62 |
including | 117.3 | 117.8 | 0.5 | 24.80 |
Significant intersections from the re-logging of PAR drilling within the Mine's previous workings are as follows:
Hole ID | Depth from (metres) | Depth to (metres) | Intersection (metres) | Au (g/t) |
PAR001 | 392.9 | 393.2 | 0.3 | 3.60 |
405.0 | 406.0 | 1.0 | 5.25 | |
PAR003 | 9.0 | 12.0 | 3.0 | 5.49 |
15.3 | 18.5 | 3.0 | 1.24 | |
39.0 | 39.5 | 0.5 | 2.42 | |
50.0 | 51.0 | 1.0 | 51.01 | |
67.0 | 68.0 | 1.0 | 1.25 | |
145.0 | 146.0 | 1.0 | 17.72 | |
171.0 | 172.0 | 1.0 | 1.03 | |
215.0 | 216.2 | 1.2 | 3.92 | |
300.0 | 301.0 | 1.0 | 4.27 | |
337.0 | 338.0 | 1.0 | 1.24 |
Based upon GoldStone's re-logging of four diamond core holes for 1,565.5 metres drilled by PAR through the southern extensions of the Akrokeri mine vein, it has been observed that significant portions of these holes remain unsampled. All four holes were collared within the Akrokeri granodiorite and terminated in sheared metasediments to the east of the granodiorite. These recovered cores are now being prepared for assaying and the Company will update the market when the results have been received.
We are now working to finalise a defined work programme to re-open the Akrokerri Mine, targeting gold production within 24 months and look forward to keeping shareholders updated in this regard.
**ENDS**
For further information, please contact:
GoldStone Resources Limited | |
Emma Priestley | Tel: +44 (0)7867 785177 / +233 (0)55 581 8855 |
Strand Hanson Limited | |
Richard Tulloch / James Bellman | Tel: +44 (0)20 7409 3494 |
SI Capital Limited | |
Nick Emerson | Tel: +44 (0)1483 413 500 |
Citigate Dewe Rogerson | |
Louise Mason-Rutherford | Tel: +44 (0)20 7282 2932 |
St Brides Partners Ltd | |
Susie Geliher / Juliet Earl | Tel: +44 (0)20 7236 1177 |
About GoldStone Resources Limited
GoldStone Resources Limited (AIM: GRL) is an AIM quoted exploration company with projects in Ghana, Senegal, and Gabon that range from grassroots to advanced exploration.
The Company is focused on developing the Akrokeri-Homase project in south-western Ghana, which hosts an existing 602,000 oz gold JORC Code compliant resource at an average grade of 1.77g/t, along strike from the Obuasi Gold Mine, one of the world's major gold mines with a total historical and current resource in excess of 70 million ounces of gold. The project holds two former mines, the Akrokeri (Ashanti) Mine Ltd, which in the early 1900's produced 75,000 oz gold at a final recovered average grade of 0.73 ozs/t, equivalent to approximately 24 g/t, and the Homase Pit which AngloGold Ashanti developed in 2002/03 producing 52,000 oz gold @ 2.5g/t. It is the Company's intention to develop the Akrokeri-Homase Project then to build a portfolio of high-quality gold projects in Ghana, with a particular focus on the highly prospective Ashanti Gold Belt.
The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014.