Mako Gold Ltd (ASX:MKG) has recommenced drilling at the Napie Gold Project in Cote d’lvoire, West Africa, with a 3,600-metre reverse circulation (RC) program.
This drilling is designed to test the strike extent of the broad zones of gold mineralisation identified to date.
A recent geophysical reinterpretation identified a more than 17-kilometre-long shear zone coincident with a gold soil geochemical trend.
Positive drilling results received to date from the Tchaga and Gogbala prospects are along this interpreted shear and gold soil trend.
Mako’s managing director Peter Ledwidge said the company was pleased to be drilling again at the project.
“The current drilling campaign aims to extend mineralisation to 1.4 kilometres on the Tchaga prospect, which we view as the next step to progress towards a resource,” he said.
“It also aims to highlight the ‘blue sky’ along 9 kilometres of the 17-kilometre interpreted shear, demonstrating the potential for one or more large gold deposits along the shear.”
The planned drilling program will concentrate on areas near the mineralised shear on the Tchaga prospect as well as regionally test the undrilled areas along the interpreted shear between the Tchaga and Gogbala prospects.
Multiple wide gold zones were intersected on the Tchaga prospect in previous drilling by Mako along a 500-metre strike length.
The best drill results, which returned substantial widths and grades of gold mineralisation, are close to a dilational jog in the new 17-kilometre shear zone.
These intersections include:
- 8 metres at 8.53 g/t gold from 31 metres;
- 25 metres at 3.43 g/t from 53 metres;
- 17 metres at 2.43 g/t from 86 metres; and
- 28 metres at 4.86 g/t from 83 metres.
The purpose of the drilling program on Tchaga is to extend gold mineralisation over a strike length of 1.4 kilometres by targeting the dilational jog.
Best intersections on the Gogbala prospect to date include:
- 17 metres at 1.67 g/t from 45 metres;
- 6 metres at 2.67 g/t from 42 metres;
- 12 metres at 5.39 g/t from 11 metres; and
- 7 metres at 2.73 g/t from 77 metres.
It now appears that gold mineralisation intersected at Tchaga and Gogbala are part of the same system and both lie along the newly interpreted shear zone.
The drilling program is planned to drill test this mineralised shear with wide-spaced drill fences between Tchaga and Gogbala.
About 900 metres of regional RC drilling is planned.