Strong Drill Results Highlight Potential
African Gold has announced significant drill results from its Didievi project in Côte d’Ivoire, with a standout intercept of 33 meters at 2.4 grams per tonne of gold. This discovery comes from the first of six diamond drill holes at the project, located approximately 185 kilometers northwest of Abidjan, the country’s largest city.
Details of the Didievi Project
The drilling program aimed to explore extensions of known gold lodes and to infill previous drilling in the Blaffo Guetto prospect within the Didievi project. The results from the initial hole showed both shallow and wide high-grade gold values, marking a positive start to the campaign.
While the key intercept is notable for its thickness rather than just its gold grade, it holds particular importance because it was found within a newly discovered quartz-porphyry in the southern area of the project. This discovery opens up the potential for more untapped resources in this new host style, especially since similar untested porphyries have been identified in the region.
Importantly, this recent finding is outside the existing gold mineral resource estimates, which currently indicate a total of 4.93 million tonnes containing 452,000 ounces of gold at an average grade of 2.9 grams per tonne. African Gold believes this new result aligns with previous drilling at Blaffo Guetto, suggesting the prospect may be suitable for shallow, high-grade open-pit mining.
Characteristics of the Blaffo Guetto Prospect
The successful drill hole targeted the Domain-SW area of Blaffo Guetto, located about 1,100 meters from the Domain-NE on the same greenstone belt. These domains showcase distinct concentrations of closely spaced and parallel gold lodes.
Domain-SW features approximately 10 mapped lodes over a 700-meter strike, spanning 250 meters across. The lodes are generally spaced 25 meters apart but can be as far apart as 50 meters.
In contrast, Domain-NE contains around 14 mapped lodes across a 575-meter strike and spans about 550 meters. These lodes are spaced 10 to 15 meters apart but can be separated by distances up to 100 meters.
The key intercept in the headline drill hole passed through three known lodes in Domain-SW, positioned within a quartz porphyry host. It is situated 60 meters from two resource areas defined by prior drill holes that reported grades above 1 gram per tonne.
Future Prospects
Evidence suggests that the mineralized porphyry may extend to the surface, potentially linking both resource areas and remaining open at depth. African Gold considers this initial outcome a success for its first drilling program and hopes the results from the remaining five completed holes will provide further confirmation.
Historically, previous drilling at Blaffo Guetto has yielded impressive shallow intercepts, including:
- 10 meters at 123.7 grams per tonne from 66 meters (including 2 meters at 613.1 grams per tonne)
- 83.3 meters at 3.3 grams per tonne from 166.9 meters (including 18 meters at 12 grams per tonne)
- 17.4 meters at 17 grams per tonne from 244 meters (including 1 meter at 216 grams per tonne)
Management has also noted that the Didievi project hosts several other prospects, primarily untested, such as the Kouassi and Akissi prospects to the north of Blaffo Guetto and the 11-kilometer-long Poku gold trend to the southwest. The new quartz porphyry discoveries at Blaffo Guetto suggest potential for additional finds across the project area, supporting the idea that Didievi could evolve into a multi-million-ounce gold deposit.
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