Predictive Discovery (ASX:PDI) through its joint venture with Toro Gold Limited has completed a soil sampling program on the Ferkessedougou North permit located in Cote D’Ivoire.
Toro collected 1,637 soil samples, which identified a 17 kilometre long zone of elevated gold-in-soil values reaching up to 598 ppb gold.
The next steps involve infill soil samples being taken from the permit and geological mapping will commence shortly.
Paul Roberts, managing director, commented: “These are the first results from the Ferkessedougou North permit, one of six granted tenements in our Cote D’Ivoire joint venture with Toro Gold.
“These are encouraging first pass soil assays and require a major program of follow-up sampling. There is ample space within this new gold-anomalous zone to discover a large gold deposit.”
Ferkessedougou North permit
This permit is located on the northern extension of the same greenstone belt as the Ferkessedougou permit and abuts the border with Burkina Faso.
Samples were collected 100 metres apart on each line but only every other sample was submitted for analysis, resulting in a reported station spacing of 800 x200 metres.
Peak goldin-soil values of 598, 371 and 352 ppb gold were recorded from the grid
Rock types in the permit are mapped as schists, granite and granodiorite and there are extensive artisanal workings in the permit.
100 metre infill samples from the original 800x100 metre grid adjacent to gold anomalous results are being submitted for gold analysis and an infill soil sampling program on a 400x100 metre grid is being carried out.
Toro joint venture
Predictive is in joint venture with Toro, a UK-based company, on six granted permits and two permit applications in Cote D’Ivoire.
The Toro joint venture operates through a Predictive subsidiary, which Predictive now holds 49%.
Toro is earning a further 14% by spending US$2.5 million, which will lift its equity to 65%.
Predictive plans to contribute 35% of the ongoing expenditure once Toro achieves its 65% equity.
Analysis
Results from the soil sampling are encouraging especially given the 800x200m sample spacing.
Theoretically, a 1 kilometre long gold ore deposit could be represented by a single value anomaly on such a wide spaced grid.
With infill samples being submitted for assays and further infill sampling being carried out, follow-up news from the Ferkessedougou North is expected.