African Mining and Exploration plc ('AME' or the 'Company')
Exploration Update
African Mining & Exploration plc ("AME"), the AIM listed mining company with exploration licences in Mali, West Africa, is pleased to provide shareholders with an exploration update on the Company's Karan exploration licence ("the Licence").
Highlights
· Drill targets generated following completion of 472 line km of ground magnetic geophysics
· Evidence of a structural corridor covering an area of 100km2
· Evidence of radiometric potassium enriched anomalies often indicative of gold mineralisation in this part of Mali
· A revision of the pending drill programme from 3,500m combined reverse circulation and diamond drilling to an estimate of 12,400m of RC (reverse circulation) drilling
· Signing of a new Confidentiality Agreement with Newmont to review joint exploration data on the Karan Licence
New targets
The recently completed 472 line km ground magnetic survey has achieved the following:
- confirmation of a north - south major shear structure that extends the length of the Licence;
- evidence of a number of structures within the corridor which may be the focus of gold mineralisation; and
- thick lateritic horizons are now believed to mask/cover further shear hosted hard rock gold mineralisation targets along an 8km long feature.
Structural corridor
All known structures and mineralisation, to date, appear to be confined within a significant structural corridor that extends the full length of the Licence over an area of approximately 100km2. This represents a larger target area than previously anticipated by AME. The Company has now planned a series of inclined RC holes which will focus initially on four priority targets all located within the corridor, Fintakourouni, Mana, Koukouroula and Kouroudjin. Depending on positive assay results from the Phase 1 drill programme, further infill drilling will be required to create bulk tonnage and grade models and to drill test other structures that have been broadly defined. Re-interpretation of radiometric regional survey data has identified a number of potassium enriched anomalies representative of alteration which may or may not be associated with gold mineralisation. These new targets occur within the structural corridor and will be investigated in due course as part of a campaign style exploration programme driven by positive drill intercepts.
The 12,400m RC programme comprises 8,600m of priority 1 holes and a further 3,800m of second order holes. The first phase of priority 1 holes will take approximately 3 months to complete. The first assay results from the RC drill programme are provisionally expected before the end of April this year with the balance being received during the following 3 months.
The current best date estimate for the mobilisation of the allocated drill rig to the Karan property is the third week of February.
Newmont Confidentiality Agreement
AME permitted Newmont to undertake a regional BLEG (Bulk Leach Extractible Gold) sampling programme over the Licence last year. Newmont has reported encouraging results and will provide AME with the data once it has been properly processed. In the interim however, Newmont has entered into a new Confidentiality Agreement to allow Newmont to review all of the Company's historical and new exploration data over the Licence.
Mark Jones, Chief Executive Officer of AME commented : "We have made excellent progress in a very short space of time and in less than 3 months since listing on AIM we have generated a number of targets for evaluation and should commence our first drill programme in February. The apparent scale of the structural corridor within the Karan Licence has required the Company to review the exploration and as a result we have significantly expanded the RC drilling programme. Our initial objective remains to confirm any presence of gold mineralisation and develop a resource by focussing on targets where we have proven the presence of typical gold bearing structures. Thereafter we will open up exploration to incorporate more of the Licence with a view to determining the possible scale of mineralisation".
Enquiries:
African Mining & Exploration plc 44 (0)207 499 4059
Mark Jones (Chief Executive Officer)
Singer Capital Markets Limited (Nomad and Broker) 44 (0)20 3205 7500
James Maxwell / Jenny Wyllie
Farm Street Communications
Simon Robinson 44 (0)7593340107
44 (0)2031764249
Notes:
The technical information contained in this announcement has been reviewed and approved by Mr. RN Chapman. Mr. Chapman has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity to 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 and as a qualified person under the AIM Note for Mining, Oil and Gas Companies. Mr. Chapman is an employee of Mineral Exploration Management Limited, an independent geological consultancy established in 2005 and is a member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and metallurgy (Aus.I.M.M).
This information is provided by RNS