Marvel Gold Ltd (ASX:MVL)'s multi-element soil geochemistry program carried out at the Yanfolila Gold Project in southern Mali has yielded positive results.
During 2021, the company collected around 2,160 soil samples as part of its maiden exploration program at Yanfolila, a joint venture project with Oklo Resources Ltd (ASX:OKU), in which Marvel holds an 80% interest.
Presence of large, discrete targets
The main objective of the program was to verify the results of historical soil sampling using modern low-detection, multi-element analysis.
Soil geochemistry verified the historical soil results and confirmed the presence of several large, discrete targets exhibiting gold and multi-element anomalism.
The work pinpointed known mineralisation at the Solona Main prospect, where historical drilling conducted in 2012 intersected 9 metres at 20.1 g/t gold from 43 metres, ending in mineralisation, and 16 metres at 2.1 g/t gold from surface.
Where there’s arsenic and copper, there’s gold
Sampling picked up a “strong target” immediately northwest of known mineralisation at the Solona Main zone.
Several coherent gold anomalies with multi-element support are clustered along shears running parallel to the north-east trending Siékerolé shear zone, which controls mineralisation on this belt.
The targets exhibit a typical Birimian geochemical signature, being anomalous in gold, copper and arsenic.
Arsenic and copper are known to occur with gold in some of the largest ore deposits in Mali, including the Morila and Kalana deposits.
Results confirm Yanfolila prospectivity
In addition, the soils appear to highlight one zone to the northwest of Solona that is untested by drilling and located between Solona Main zone and Solona northwest.
Managing director Chris van Wijk commented: “These soils results have outlined several strong targets with coincident gold and pathfinder anomalism that are coincident with the regional shears evident in the airborne magnetic data.
“These results confirm our view of the prospectivity of Yanfolila. The soils results and the airborne magnetics have been used to define a number of targets which will be tested by a maiden auger drilling program that has already commenced.”
Low-cost auger drilling
The targets generated from the soil geochemistry at Yanfolila are being followed up with an auger drilling program.
Auger drilling is a low-cost geochemical drilling technique designed to sample the interface between the overlying soil and the underlying bedrock.
The method is an important first-pass screening tool, resulting in an enhanced geochemical response and tighter geochemical anomalies which can be used to guide follow up work.
This program is underway and is expected to be completed towards the end of the second quarter of 2022.