Asante Gold has announced a significant gold discovery at the Aboduabo prospect along the Bibiani-Chirano corridor in the Sefwi greenstone belt of the Western-North Region, where sections of rock with gold have a grade and width that makes it suitable for open-pit mining.
It said results from its ongoing exploration drilling programme showed that all the holes drilled in the area intersected gold mineralisation, an indication of the precious yellow metal’s presence.
The company disclosed this in a statement to investors, and revealed one of the new drill intercepts showed 43.10 metres of rock that contained gold. The gold in this section of rock was estimated to be 3.07 grammes per tonne of rock, with a section of 9.95 meeers having a higher concentration of gold at 6.85 grammes per tonne.
(* Previously reported result.)
The statement highlighted that several mineralised intercepts, containing sections of rock with gold, have a grade and width which make them suitable for open pit mining.
The company indicated that the footprint, or the area in which gold is found, was confirmed to be over 1 kilometre in length and remains open – meaning there is still potential for more gold to be found.
Dave Anthony, President and Chief Executive Officer of Asante stated: “These results highlight the potential of this deposit, which is close to the surface and mineralised over an area up to 130m wide x 1km long. The drill programme to advance the target to resource definition has been accelerated. These results demonstrate the significant exploration potential that remains along the Bibiani-Chirano corridor”.
The Sefwi Greenstone Belt is home to historically significant gold mining operations, including the Bibiani and Chirano mines which have produced over 8 million ounces of gold to date from shear faults and veins.
Asante Gold controls a 53km-long by up to 5km-wide corridor that is bisected by both the Bibiani and Chirano shear zones. The Aboduabo prospect is located approximately 5km north of the Chirano process plant and 10km south of the Bibiani process plant. The mineralisation remains open along strike and to depth, with the drilling programme having been accelerated and new intercepts confirming near-surface, high-grade mineralisation with increased widths.
The company is exploring the Bibiani-Chirano corridor for new discoveries to grow its mine and near-mine resources and increase the life of mine at both operations. Asante operates the Bibiani and Chirano Gold Mines, with combined forecast production of approximately 400,000 ounces of gold for 2023.
It is also exploring its Keyhole, Fahiakoba and Betenase projects for new discoveries, all adjoining or along strike of major gold mines near the centre of Ghana’s Golden Triangle.
The company, headquartered in Vancouver-Canada, announced initial exploration results on January 17, 2023. To date, 19 holes totalling 4,300m have been completed. The drilling campaign has been accelerated and new intercepts confirm near-surface, high-grade mineralisation with increased widths. The gold mineralisation remains open along strike and to depth.
Asante said additional drilling is currently underway to follow-up on these results and explore the area further.
FIN
