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Nyota Minerals Limited (Nyota) is a mineral exploration and development company dual listed on the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange (AIM:NYO.L) and the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX:NYO.AX). We are focused on the exploration and concurrent development of Tulu Kapi, our flagship project in Western Ethiopia. Total Inferred JORC...
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Nyota Minerals set to “add significantly” to the gold in its portfolio
October 11 2011, 1:27pm
Ocean Equities expects East Africa-focused gold miner Nyota Minerals (LON:NTO, ASX:NYO) to “add significantly” to the number of ounces in its portfolio after the firm announced it would soon drill its Guji prospect in Western Ethiopia.
The prospect is located less than three kilometres’ distance from the proposed future plant site for the Tulu Kapi gold project. It will be targeted with a reverse circulation drilling campaign in the upcoming exploration season.
A total of 19 diamond drill holes have been completed at Guji since 2007. Holes have been drilled both over gold-in-soil geochemical anomalies and over geophysical targets, with two styles of gold mineralisation being identified. These are: near-surface saprolite mineralisation, which Nyota will prioritise; and gold associated with both sulphide veins – disseminations and quartz veins in fresh rock at depth.
The evaluation of saprolite mineralisation at Guji will have priority, as Nyota believes the material will require no drilling or blasting and that it is unlikely to require crushing or milling. This means it may provide low-cost easily accessible, additional potential feedstock for the future Tulu Kapi plant.
Nyota’s chief executive Richard Chase said: “Shareholders should expect to see further updates around the proximal target drill outs, aimed at defining additional resources to both extend mine life and provide alternative sources of feed during the upcoming exploration season which will extend through to June 2012."
Nyota will undertake some additional trenching prior to a close-spaced drill programme aimed at defining a new saprolite resource at Guji.
Last month, the company started the definitive feasibility study for the Tulu Kapi project, with the appointment of lead engineers and other key consultants.
It has hired South African firm SENET as lead engineer, while Golder Associates has been hired to undertake the environmental and social impact assessment and to design the tailings storage facility.
Wardell Armstrong International will manage resource estimation as well as mine design and planning.
In a research note published today, Nyota’s house broker Ocean Equities said that Guji could host a resource of roughly nine million tonnes of free-digging ore. “At one gram per tonne of gold, this would equate to approximately 300,000 ounces of gold,” the broker said. “Taking the estimated mining cost of the deposit, development of Guji would give Nyota a good supplemental revenue source even at a lower grade. However, it is clear from the earlier drilling that areas of the deposit host material of much higher grade which would make a real dent in the operating costs at the Tulu Kapi plant.”
Ocean added: “The company is set to provide several updates on its proximal targets in the near term, not least of which from the Chalti target next door to Tulu Kapi. We expect the company to add significantly to the number of ounces in its portfolio in 2012.”
Shares in the firm were down 2.7 per cent at 7.2 pence each at lunchtime today.
