Mako Gold Ltd (ASX:MKG) has confirmed gold mineralisation extends at depth outside the existing 868,000-ounce resource at the Napié Project in Côte d’Ivoire following completion of 837 metres of diamond drilling at the Gogbala South target.
A total of eight diamond holes, five of which were diamond tails to existing reverse circulation (RC) holes, were completed during a recent program.
Increased understanding
“We are pleased to be advancing both our Napié and Korhogo projects simultaneously,” Mako managing director Peter Ledwidge said.
“The structural interpretation delivered by our consultants, combined with our recent diamond drilling, has greatly increased our understanding of the controls on gold mineralisation at the Napié Project.
“Diamond drilling has yielded valuable structural information, which will be used to target further mineralisation in upcoming drilling programs.”
Napié depth extension
Drill hole NARC777DD at Gogbala South returned 5 metres at 1.02 g/t gold and 2 metres at 1.22 g/t silver, confirming mineralisation continues at depth below the previously drilled NARC776 RC hole, which intersected 9 metres at 1.39 g/t gold.
At the Tchaga West target, three diamond tail holes were drilled to deepen pre-existing RC holes to obtain structural information and to confirm the previous interpreted shear.
The holes intersected the shear, which provided valuable orientation data for future drilling since Tchaga’s high-grade mineralisation is associated with shear zones.
Mako is planning more RC drilling at Gogbala South and Tchaga West to set the stage for resource drilling by halving the spacing of drill fences.
Select new (yellow) and previous (white) gold intercepts at Gogbala South.
Manganese discovery update
Meanwhile, at the Korhogo Project, a detailed geological mapping and rock chip sampling is underway at the manganese discovery to identify the areas with greatest potential.
A thorough mapping and sampling of all outcrops along the twin 7-kilometre manganese-enriched zones will be carried out, followed by an induced polarisation (IP) geophysical program upon the receipt of rock chip sample results.
The IP results should outline the manganese deposit at depths of up to 100 metres, highlight the higher-grade areas and provide crucial data on the width and dip direction of the deposit for future drilling.
The company has appointed a consultant to conduct metallurgical testing on 160 kilograms of rock samples to evaluate the economic recovery of coarse manganese for steel production using relatively simple flowsheet options.
Map showing the maiden drill hole at the Ouangolodougou Permit where eight of ten holes intersected manganese.
Next up
Plans are underway to further explore the Tchaga North target after a maiden drill program yielded high-grade gold results of up to 45 g/t.
At Napie’s Komboro prospect, RC drilling returned results including 9 metres at 3.26 g/t gold with six or the seven targets intersecting gold.
Auger drilling will be carried out here to pinpoint targets for further RC drilling.
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