Endeavour Mining Corporation (TSX:EDV)(OTCQX:EDVMF) has announced a new discovery at its Ity gold mine in Côte d’Ivoire, called Colline Sud, situated 2.5 kilometers from the current processing plant.
The oxide mineralisation encountered at Colline Sud could serve as a satellite deposit to potentially extend the current heap leach operation.
The Colline Sud mineralisation occurs at or very near the surface and in two distinct areas referred to as the South East and North West sectors, with respective strike lengths of 500 meters and 350 meters.
The mineralisation in both sectors remains open at depth and in the North West sector also along strike.
Similar to other targets identified on the Ity property, Colline Sud is a historical gold in soil anomaly. A short shallow drilling campaign was first conducted to confirm mineralisation which was then followed-up with the recently completed 116-hole reverse-circulation (RC) and diamond-drilling (DD) programme totalling 11,955 meters.
Patrick Bouisset, Executive Vice-President Exploration and Growth of Endeavour, commented: “This new discovery – the second announced at Ity since September – along with the other targets outlined by historic geochemistry and our recent auger drilling program, demonstrates the prolific geological context of this district. Though smaller than the recently announced Bakatouo discovery, we believe Colline Sud provides the potential to extend the current heap leach operation. As we increase our exploration activity, we are excited to pursue and expand our ongoing exploration program to other identified targets.”
Some of the selected best intercepts include (estimated true widths):
– S1909: 6.7m @ 10.02 g/t Au including 1.0m @ 29.87 g/t Au
– CS15-008: 13.1m @ 12.34 g/t Au including 1.1m @ 33.65 g/t and 0.5m @ 102.36 g/t Au
– CS15-008: 4.4m @ 33.31 g/t Au including 1.1m @ 93.14 g/t Au – CS15-020: 8.5m @ 3.05 g/t Au
– CS15-020: 13.9m @ 2.83 g/t Au – CS15-027: 7.7m @ 5.76 g/t Au including 0.8m @ 48.78 g/t Au
– CS15-033: 5.0m @ 24.77 g/t Au including 1.1m @ 61.07 g/t Au
– CS16-076: 6.7m @ 6.08 g/t Au including 1.4m @ 25.03 g/t Au
– CS16-085: 18.4m @ 15.89 g/t Au including 1.0m @ @69.44g/t Au and 1.0m @ 85.37 g/t Au
– CS16-097: 15.5m @ 4.61 g/t including Au 1.0m @ 40.60 g/t Au – CS16-097: 18.4m @ 4.45 g/t including Au 1.0m @ 27.07 g/t Au
The Colline Sud mineralisation is mainly hosted by surficial oxidised clays. In the South East sector it is oriented at N45 azimuth along strike and dipping on average at 55 degrees to the NW. It sits above some enhanced dissolution areas located at the contact between marbles and volcanosediments. Mineralization is also hosted in volcanosediment and skarnoide marble at depth. The contact between carbonate and volcanosediments could represent a possible shearing zone, which may have favoured posterior circulation of fluids linked with neighbouring intrusives. Skarns facies are also present, although less developed than in Mount Ity or in the recently announced Bakatouo discovery. Ore bodies in Colline Sud are also thinner and less developed than at Bakatouo.
Next Steps
A maiden resource is expected to be published during the fourth quarter of 2016 for both Colline Sud and the previously announced Bakatouo discovery. Endeavour intends to resume exploration in and around the Ity mine after the end of the rainy season in November, with up to six drill rigs expected to be operational. A follow-up 3,700 meter RC and DD drilling program is planned on Colline Sud to test the extensions and conduct infill drilling. In addition, an 8,000 meter DD drilling campaign is also planned on Bakatouo. Other nearby targets are also being explored, as shown in Figure 1 of the appendix. The CIL Feasibility Study for the Ity mine is on-track for completion in the fourth quarter of 2016.
Assays and Quality Assurance/Quality Control
The Colline Sud drilling results, according to Endeavour, have been prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Drill core (HQ and NQ) and RC samples were crushed and pulverised on site at the exploration mechanical preparation facility. The pulverized samples (pulps) were analysed using a standard 50-gram gold fire assay with an Atomic Absorption finish at Bureau Veritas Laboratories in Abidjan (independent lab). Sampling and assay data were monitored through a quality assurance/quality control program designed to follow NI 43-101 and industry best practice.
About Endeavour Mining Corporation
Endeavour Mining is a TSX-listed intermediate gold producer, focused on developing a portfolio of high quality mines in the prolific West-African region, where it has established a solid operational and construction track record. Endeavour is ideally positioned as the major pure West-African multi-operation gold mining company, operating 5 mines in Côte d’Ivoire (Agbaou and Ity), Burkina Faso (Karma), Mali (Tabakoto), and Ghana (Nzema). In 2016, it expects to produce between 575koz and 610koz at an AISC of US$870 to US$920/oz. Endeavour is currently building its Houndé project in Burkina Faso, which is expected to commence production in Q4-2017 and to become its flagship low-cost mine with an average annual production of 190koz at an AISC of US$709/oz over an initial 10-year mine life based on reserves. The development of the Houndé project is expected to lift Endeavour’s group production 900kozpa and decrease its average AISC to circa $800/oz by 2018, while exploration aims to extend all mine lives to 10 years.
Source: Ghana/AccraFM.com
