Galileo Resources PLC (AIM:GLR) said it has completed detailed follow-up fieldwork on five initial priority gold and nickel targets generated from the recent review of a 1,108 square kilometre airborne geophysical survey over the Bulawayo gold project in Zimbabwe.
Galileo has a current interest of 29% in the project, held through its interest in BC Ventures, along with an option to earn an additional 51% interest through spending US$1.0mln on exploration and evaluation of the projects by 21 January 2024.
The Bulawayo gold project covers a large 1,300 square kilometre licence area near Bulawayo with extensive Greenstone Belt rock formations that are host to many small to mid-size quartz reef gold mines and deposits in Zimbabwe.
In the vicinity of the Queens mine initial targets have been selected for follow-up of likely gold-bearing structures identified occurring under surface cover extending away from current and historic gold mining activity.
Historic gold in soil analyses ranging from 0.5 to one gram per tonne gold are considered highly anomalous and support this follow-up.
Two sets of gold-bearing structures have been identified west of Queens mine. These are known to host gold mineralisation plunging under a shallow sandstone cover. Ground geophysical surveys are underway. The survey has been completed on the southernmost target revealing structures requiring further investigation. The survey has recently commenced on the northern target.
There is also a six kilometre-long greenstone gold target hosting former producing mines, and a wide-spaced soil survey has commenced over this target area to confirm the continuity of gold mineralisation ahead of a more detailed survey.
Meanwhile, work on the Fingo nickel target also continues. This 1.5 kilometre-long soil geochemical anomaly with up to 1,700 parts per million nickel has been highlighted from historic sampling in the Fingo area with an underlying magnetic signature confirmed by Galileo's airborne survey. Infill and extension soil lines are planned on the prospect.
Another nickel target, Bembeshi, is located east of the Fingo prospect and represents an entirely new potential nickel host that does not appear on the geological maps of Zimbabwe. The underlying geophysical signature is reminiscent of meta-basalt and meta-gabbroic rocks known to host nickel located a few kilometres to the west. Recent soil sampling by the company has returned encouraging nickel results from preliminary handheld XRF analysis.
In parallel with all this ongoing exploration, Galileo has commissioned an external geological contractor to build a small-scale mining database for legally held small mining claims within the larger Bulawayo Licence to assist with exploration in the medium-term.
All work being undertaken is viewed as a precursor to drilling of delineated targets.
"An extraordinary amount of historic small-scale and artisanal mining has taken place in certain areas within our licences clearly reflecting the presence of significant amounts of gold,” said Colin Bird, chairman of Galileo in a statement.
He added: “The majority of the historic mining is associated with easily identifiable structures and host rocks exposed at surface. With the benefit of modern technology, we are the exclusive owners of the first airborne geophysical survey to be flown over the area in more than 50 years.
"With this information we have identified many targets for follow up and this early selection of targets represents a small proportion of the total. The nickel potential within the licences appears to have been overlooked historically and with the current nickel price and escalating demand for the metal, we are excited to include nickel exploration in our wider programme."
"We are now established on the ground with well-drilled exploration teams, and we have recognised the opportunity to start a dialogue with commercial and small-scale miners to share information and if possible, work more closely with groups that have an intimate knowledge of the geology and local mining potential," Bird concluded.