Awalé Resources (TSXV: ARIC; US-OTC: AWLRF) has drilled a broad gold interval outside the current resource at the Charger deposit on its Odienné property in Côte d’Ivoire, strengthening the case for an expansion.
Hole CHDD-68 cut 57 metres at 10.6 grams gold per tonne from 148 metres depth, including 20 metres at 19.6 grams from 183 metres. It sits 210 metres southwest of the discovery holes, the company said Wednesday.
“We believe Charger has room to grow beyond the current [mineral resource estimate],” CEO Andrew Chubb said.
Charger contains 231,000 oz. of gold in the resource issued in May. Finding similar mineralization beyond its boundaries could enlarge the deposit, although further drilling and resource work are needed to establish how much additional gold it contains.
Linked zones
Awalé now interprets Charger’s two previously separate zones as one system extending about 300 metres along strike and 400 metres vertically.
Other holes cut 28 metres at 3.5 grams gold from 146 metres depth and 18 metres at 3.0 grams from 211 metres. Results from another 27 Charger holes are pending.
The intervals are drill lengths. True width remains unknown in the area previously called Charger 2, which includes CHDD-68.
Awalé shares dropped 3.8% to 79¢ Thursday morning on the TSX Venture Exchange, valuing the company at about C$110 million ($79 million). The stock has ranged between 53¢ and C$1.18 in the past year.
Resource growth
The resource issued in May, effective April 1, includes 1.6 million inferred tonnes at 4.62 grams gold and 0.02% copper at Charger, containing 231,000 oz. of gold and 380 tonnes of copper.
Across Charger, BBM and Empire, the Odienné project holds 32.4 million inferred tonnes at 1.33 grams gold, containing 1.39 million oz. of gold.
Odienné lies about 600 km northwest of Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire’s commercial capital. Charger is on the Awalé–Newmont joint venture ground, where Awalé manages exploration.
Outside that joint venture, Awalé controls about 1,542 sq. km of wholly owned ground. A separate $12-million, 71,500-metre exploration program targets that land, supported by financing completed earlier this year, the company said Nov. 2.
Source: www.northernminer.com — article syndicated from the publisher’s feed; all rights remain with the original publisher.
