West African Resources commences deep diamond drilling targeting high-grade primary zone with +400m holes

Transcription

1 ACN Principal Office: Unit 14, 531 Hay Street Subiaco WA 6008 Western Australia Phone: Fax: info@westafricanresources.com Web: A SX ANNOUNCEMENT T u e s d a y 2 n d O c t o b e r West African Resources commences deep diamond drilling targeting high-grade primary zone with +400m holes Deep diamond drilling commences at Sartenga Discovery Geodrill Ltd contracted for deep diamond core and rapid aircore drilling programs Continuous diamond drilling and aircore program commences with Company-owned rigs Four drill rigs on site accelerating drill-out of Sartenga Discovery Sample preparation completed in-country, pulverised samples airfreighted to Perth for analysis, fast-tracking results New 600m core capacity diamond rig ordered, delivery expected December 2012, bringing drill fleet to seven rigs News-flow from current drill program expected in late October $7m cash at bank to fast-track Sartenga to resource status by end of 2012, and fund aggressive field season Page: 1

2 West African Resources Limited (ASX: WAF) is pleased to report that drilling has recommenced at its 100%-owned Sartenga copper-gold discovery, part of the Boulsa Project, Burkina Faso. West African Managing Director Richard Hyde said: We are very excited to be restarting work so early at Sartenga. We have four drill rigs on site which will accelerate the drill out. Initially we are stepping back and drilling a very deep 400m diamond hole, 150m beneath the +100m zone recently reported in SDH004, targeting primary sulphide mineralisation between 200m to 350m. Initially, drilling will focus on deep diamond holes testing the primary system at depth along the central 1km strike. Aircore drilling will close down the drill spacing to 100m in the central portion of the project area, and will also complete testing the +3km high tenor portion of the auger anomaly which remains open to the west, southwest and northeast. Deep diamond drilling will start on discovery Section 7 drilling 150m beneath SDH004 which returned 39m at 0.9g/t Au, 0.4% Cu and 148ppm Mo from 62m and 12.5m at 0.9g/t Au and 85ppm Mo from 28m, within a 113m zone of mineralisation grading 0.5g/t Au, 0.2% Cu and 85ppm Mo through the oxide, transition into fresh rock (Figure 1). The aim of the first hole is to intercept this zone of mineralisation between 200m and 350m entirely within the primary sulphide zone. Following holes will be drilled on 200m step outs to the northeast and southwest, drilling beneath broad +150m oxide results with significant results on consecutive sections including:- SAC m at 0.6 g/t Au and 0.3 % Cu (Section 5) SAC m at 0.5 g/t Au, 0.2 % Cu (Section 6) SAC m at 2.0 g/t Au, 0.2 % Cu (Section 6) - including 4m at 6.9 g/t Au, 0.3% Cu SAC m at 0.4 g/t Au and 0.4 % Cu (Section 8) - including 4m at 0.3 g/t Au and 0.8 % Cu SAC m at 0.2 g/t Au and 0.6 % Cu (Section 9) - including 16m at 0.2 g/t Au and 1.0 % Cu WAF-owned drill rigs commenced work last week, while Geodrill Ltd rigs mobilised to site on the weekend and commenced drilling yesterday (1/10/12). WAF has secured the use of an independent sample prep lab in Burkina Faso, and will airfreight 100g pulverised samples to Perth for gold, copper and molybdenum analysis. We are also pleased to report that an order has been placed for a new higher capacity diamond drill rig, capable of drilling 600m NQ, and 200m HQ. This rig will complement the current fleet of six rigs and further accelerate the development of our prospects and reduce the exploration cost for the Company. Construction of the drill rig is underway and we expect to take delivery in late December. WAF s exploration team has been back in Burkina Faso since mid-september preparing for the field season. All field supplies for this season were purchased during the June Quarter and shipped to site in July. Construction of an exploration camp at Sartenga is also in progress. The Company is looking forward to a busy and exciting exploration season and expect to report initial results from the current drill program towards the end of October. Page: 2

3 Figure 1: Sartenga Discovery Section 7 (showing hole in progress) Figure 2: Sartenga Discovery Drill Plan Page: 3

4 West African Resources Limited Photo 1: Site preparation at Sartenga (WAF-owned JCB) Photo 2: Camp construction at Sartenga Page: 4

5 About West African Resources and the Boulsa Gold Project The Boulsa Project in Burkina Faso covers 6,370km² and 200km of strike length of early Proterozoic Birimian greenstone belts which are highly prospective for gold mineralisation. Significant results have already been returned from the project, which is located immediately along strike from Orezone Gold Corp s 5.2Moz Au Bomboré Deposit. West African made a major Au-Cu-Mo discovery at the Sartenga Prospect in West African Resources Ltd is focused on cost-effective gold exploration, by keeping our administration and corporate costs to a minimum and exploring as expeditiously as possible. We own and operate a fleet of six drill rigs which are working continuously on the Boulsa Gold Project. Our drill fleet includes three auger rigs, one RAB rig and two multi-purpose RC-diamond rigs. In Burkina Faso we have a local exploration, drilling and support team of more than 50 people. West African Resources is committed to the training and development of our local workforce. West African will keep the market informed as results are received. The Company is targeting its first resource estimate in late Further information is available at For further information contact: Richard Hyde Nathan Ryan Managing Director Investor Relations Ph: Ph: info@westafricanresources.com Page: 5

6 Competent Person s Statement Information in this announcement that relates to exploration results or mineral resources is based on information compiled by Mr Richard Hyde, a Director, who is a Member of The Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Mr Hyde has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2004 Edition of the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (the JORC Code). Mr Hyde consents to the inclusion in this announcement of the statements based on his information in the form and context in which they appear. Statements regarding West African Resources plans with respect to its mineral properties are forwardlooking statements. There can be no assurance that West African Resources plans for development of its mineral properties will proceed as currently expected. There can also be no assurance that West African Resources will be able to confirm the presence of additional mineral deposits, that any mineralisation will prove to be economic or that a mine will successfully be developed on any of West African Resources mineral properties. Gold Equivalent Calculation The gold equivalent calculation represents total metal value for each metal, summed and expressed in equivalent gold grams per tonne. These results are exploration results only. No assumptions have been made for potential metal recoveries, however it is the Company s opinion that metals considered here have a reasonable potential to be recovered as evidenced in similar Au-Cu-Mo porphyry related mineralisation elsewhere in the world. At the time of reporting gold equivalent results have only been reported for fresh material. The Company is investigating the potential to recover both gold and copper from oxide material, and for the moment will continue to report gold and copper as individual metals for oxide intercepts until preliminary testwork has been completed. Gold equivalent conversion factors and long-term price assumptions used are as follows: Gold Equivalent Formula= Au g/t + Cu % x Mo ppm x Price Assumptions- Au (US$1555/oz) Cu (US$7500/t) Mo (US$28,000) Notes on assaying and compositing All samples reported in this announcement have been assayed using the Fire Assay method (50g) for Au, and by Aqua Regia method for Cu at BIGS laboratories in Ouagadougou. Values for molybdenum (Mo) are determined by XRF analysis of pulverised and homogenised sample. All results are based on 4m riffle-split composites at 0.5g/t Aueq and 1.0 g/t Aueq lower cut offs, and not more than 4m of internal dilution, unless otherwise stated. For oxide intercepts Aueq has only been used as a guide for compositing results. WAF employs strict QAQC protocols, including regularly inserting blank, field duplicate and reference material into the sample sequence. For the data contained in this release, all QAQC results have reported within acceptable limits for the assay methods used. Page: 6

7 Technical Terms Aircore Drilling Au Aueq Cu Mo Auger Drilling g/t ppb ppm Reverse Circulation drilling method, using a blade bit. A drilling method in which the sample is brought to the surface inside the drill rods using compressed air, reducing contamination. Chemical symbol for gold. Gold equivalent. See gold equivalent notes. Chemical symbol for copper. Chemical symbol for molybdenum. A drilling method in which the sample is brought to the surface via a helical or spiral rods. grams per tonne. parts per billion, e.g ppb Au equals 1 ppm Au, or 1 g/t Au. parts per million, equivalent to g/t. Diamond Drilling (DD) A rotary drilling method with diamond impregnated bits to produce a solid, continuous core sample of the rock. RAB Drilling RC Drilling XRF Rotary Air Blast drilling. A drilling method in which the sample is brought to the surface outside of the drill rods using compressed air. Reverse Circulation drilling. A drilling method in which the sample is brought to the surface inside the drill rods using compressed air, reducing contamination. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) is the emission of characteristic "secondary" (or fluorescent) X-rays from a material that has been excited by bombarding with high-energy X-rays or gamma rays. The phenomenon is widely used for chemical analysis. Page: 7