Highlights: A total of 545.8 metres was drilled from 15 shallow holes at the
Results from the programme included the following mineralised intersections: 1.57 g/t Au, 230.6 g/t Ag, and 4.28 g/t Au equivalent ('AuEq'), over an interval of 20.78m from 12.66m downhole depth (HAD-054); 1.84 g/t Au, 62.20 g/t Ag, and 2.57 g/t AuEq, over an interval of 24.55m from 6.45m downhole depth (HAD-052); 1.37 g/t Au, 52.81 g/t Ag, and 1.99 g/t AuEq, over an interval of 34.80m from 2.00m downhole depth (HAD-042); 1.63 g/t Au, 7.01 g/t Ag, and 1.71 g/t AuEq, over an interval of 16.30m from surface (HAD-049), and; 1.23 g/t Au, 41.01 g/t Ag, and 1.72 g/t AuEq, over an interval of 18.90m from 0.80m downhole depth (HAD-045); Preparations are well underway for the upcoming RC exploration drilling programme, with drilling expected to commence within the first fortnight of May at West Garida.
These final results from the Crocs Nose exceeded expectations, and we are very pleased with them' said Tonno Vahk, Interim CEO. 'The Crocs Nose Zone represents a structural offset of the main mineralised zone at Hamama West and was not included in the 2017 mineral resource estimate. The grades intersected in this programme are notably higher than the overall grade of the Hamama West oxide resource, and this zone should be a nice sweetener to the planned starter open pit mining operation at Hamama. We are also pleased to have now signed the RC drilling contract with Geodrill and look forward to starting the drilling at West Garida in May. We believe there is good potential to rapidly add significant near-surface ounces from the high-grade quartz veins we drilled at West Garida last summer to the overall resource base at Hamama.'
2023 Hamama diamond drilling programme
Diamond drilling re-commenced at Hamama in
The mineralisation at the CNZ appears to be located in a faulted offset of the main mineralised zone at Hamama West. The SCMH appears to have been sinistrally offset approximately 150m to the south along a shallow west-dipping fault, which terminates the outcropping mineralisation to the west. At the CNZ this fault represents the underlying footwall of the mineralised block, while at Hamama West the mineralisation continues along strike to the west beneath this structure, and has recently returned intersections including 1.57 g/t Au, 29.99 g/t Ag and 1.92 AuEq over a 47m interval, from 26m depth (hole HAP-192, see news release dated
SCMH-hosted mineralisation at the CNZ outcrops at surface on both the northern and western flanks of the Cretaceous Nubian Sandstone ('NS') outlier, which unconformably overlies the Neoproterozoic rocks hosting the mineralisation at Hamama. Surface trenching of the unconformity has clearly shown that the mineralisation continues under and immediately beneath the NS outlier.
Mineralisation at the CNZ is apparently associated with the SCMH, but is quite variable in nature. The mineralisation is hosted in a variety of rock types from hard, dense haematite gossan, to kaolinitic apparently altered felsic rocks and typically pink to yellowish jarositic clays. In places it is very rubbly and heavily fractured, resulting in significant core loss from several holes. Poor core recovery was typically associated with zones of higher grade mineralisation. Where core loss has been recorded, these zones of core loss were allocated zero grade, so it is likely that the reported intersection grades actually underestimate the true grade of the mineralised intervals. The mineralisation is typically base metal poor, but in places carries significantly elevated Pb values, and to a lesser extent Zn and Cu. Silver grades vary from being very low (eg. hole HAD-049) to very high, in the order of hundreds of ppm. Zones of high grade silver are frequently associated with the jarositic clays, and are spatially discrete within the overall SCMH unit. As at the main zone of
Sample processing and analytical procedures
Drill core was logged by Aton geologists, and marked up for cutting and sampling at the Hamama core farm. Samples were typically selected over nominal 1m intervals, but as determined by the logged lithologies. The core was half-cut by Aton staff at the onsite Hamama sample preparation facility.
The split half-core samples were collected and bagged up in cloth bags, weighed and crushed to -4mm onsite, and split to a nominal c. 250-500g sample size. The coarse crushed reject samples are retained onsite at the Hamama sample prep facility.
QAQC samples are inserted at a rate of approximately 1 certified reference material (or 'standard' sample) every 30 samples, 1 blank sample every 15 samples, and 1 duplicate split sample every 15 samples.
The c. 250-500g dried, crushed and split samples were shipped to ALS Minerals sample preparation laboratory at Marsa Alam,
Samples were analysed for gold by fire assay with an atomic absorption spectroscopy ('AAS') finish (analytical code Au-AA23), and for silver, copper, lead and zinc using an aqua regia digest followed by an AAS finish (analytical code AA45). Any high grade gold samples (>10 g/t Au) were re-analysed using analytical code Au-GRA21 (also fire assay, but with a gravimetric finish). Any high grade Ag and base metal samples (Ag >100 g/t, and Cu, Pb and Zn >10,000ppm or >1%) were re-analysed using the ore grade technique AA46 (also an aqua regia digest followed by an AAS finish).
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