Avnel (AVK.TO) in Mali: 24 meters@11.14 grams/ton gold
Avnel finds 24 metres with 11.14 g/t Au at Kalana
2006-04-19 10:33 ET - News Release
Mr. Roy Meade reports
AVNEL CONFIRMS AND EXTENDS ZONE OF SIGNIFICANT GOLD MINERALISATION IN A DIAMOND CORE DRILL PROGRAMME AT THE KALANA PROPERTY, SOUTH MALI
Avnel Gold Mining Ltd. has confirmed that a follow-up diamond drill program at the Djirila Main zone, Grid 8 area, of the Kalana exploitation permit in South Mali, West Africa, has confirmed and extended the mineralized zone discovered in 2005 (see Stockwatch on Aug. 8, 2005). Results include 11.1 grams per tonne gold over 24 metres (68 metres to 92 metres) in hole DDH-02 and 12.5 g/t Au over 19 metres (80 metres to 99 metres) in hole DDH-11. The significant intersections from the current drill campaign are given in table 1.
Gold mineralization is hosted within a sequence of altered Birimian volcanoclastic and sedimentary rocks (such as lithic-crystal tuff, lapilli tuff, shale). Some of the mineralized intersections are clearly related to quartz veins while other parts of the mineralized zones are related to silicified and sulphide-rich sedimentary rocks that contain abundant pyrite and arsenopyrite.
Diamond core holes DDH-01 to DDH-06 and DDH-11 to DDH-14 were designed to test the strike and continuity of mineralization found in a rotary air blast and reverse circulation drill program with previous results reported in Stockwatch on Aug. 8, 2005. Most of the holes were drilled at minus-50 degrees to N270 degrees while two holes (DDH-04 and DDH-05) were drilled at minus-50 degrees to N090 degrees as scissor holes to check strike and dip orientations. DDH-07 and DDH-08 were drilled as scissor holes to verify mineralization found previously in RAB-118 and DDH-09 was drilled to test anomalous results in RAB-090. DDH-10 was designed to test a possible northeast strike of mineralization. DDH-15 was drilled minus-50 degrees to N270 degrees and was designed to test a zone of artisanal workings to the north-northeast of the Djirila Main zone.
The gold mineralization in the Djirila Main zone is best developed in DDH-02 (11.14 g/t Au over 24 metres from 68 metres to 92 metres and 4.81 g/t Au over 10 metres from 136 metres to 146 metres), in DDH-06 (14.57 g/t Au over three metres from 98 metres to 101 metres), in DDH-11 (19.3 g/t Au over two metres from 46 metres to 48 metres, 12.55 g/t Au over 19 metres from 80 metres to 99 metres and 5.72 g/t Au over two metres from 120 metres to 122 metres), in DDH-12 (3.04 g/t Au over seven metres from 92 metres to 99 metres), in DDH-13 (3.74 g/t Au over 14 metres from 98 metres to 112 metres) and in DDH-14 (3.14 g/t Au over three metres from 113 metres to 116 metres). This mineralized zone has now been traced by diamond core drilling along a north-northeast strike for more than 225 metres where it has been found to have a vertical to steep easterly dip. The width of the mineralized zone varies from three metres to 50 metres and appears to be associated with a north-northeast-trending corridor of faulting and silica-sulphide emplacement. The zone of artisanal workings stretches another 150 metres beyond the present drill program. The results from the diamond drill holes, designed to verify the anomalous RAB intersections in the Djirila South zone reported in Stockwatch on Aug. 8, 2005, did not reproduce the same significant results.
A ground geophysical survey (IP) conducted over the Djirila Hill area has outlined a linear zone marked by both resistivity and chargeability anomalies parallel to the Djirila Main zone verifying the presence of the quartz vein network and anomalous sulphides that have been found in the core drill program. The continuation of the geophysical anomalies to the north and south of the present DDH locations indicates that the Djirila Main zone may have additional significant strike length. In addition, a parallel zone of combined resistivity and chargeability geophysical anomalies has been identified 450 metres to the east of the Djirila Main zone, which requires follow-up investigation.
TABLE 1
SIGNIFICANT RESULTS FROM THE RECENT
DIAMOND DRILL PROGRAM AT GRID-8
Hole ID From To Interval Au
(m) (m) (m) (g/t)
DDH-01 57 59 2 1.10
and 92 98 6 2.82
and 111 112 1 4.22
and 126 127 1 1.11
DDH-02 68 92 24 11.14
and 97 100 3 2.49
and 116 118 2 1.24
and 136 146 10 4.81
DDH-03 - 1 1 3.21
DDH-04 - 11 11 1.10
and 23 26 3 1.10
and 59 66 7 1.72
and 72 74 2 3.04
and 80 81 1 1.73
and 95 99 4 1.47
DDH-05 168 169 1 1.92
DDH-06 33 36 3 1.52
and 44 46 2 3.71
and 58 60 2 1.22
and 84 85 1 2.01
and 98 101 3 14.57
DDH-09 12 13 1 1.09
and 20 21 1 1.91
DDH-11 46 48 2 19.29
and 70 72 2 3.05
and 80 99 19 12.55
and 120 122 2 5.72
DDH-12 92 99 7 3.04
and 101 104 3 2.10
and 111 112 1 1.79
DDH-13 37 43 6 2.63
and 60 61 1 1.42
and 89 90 1 1.74
and 98 112 14 3.75
DDH-14 5 7 2 1.06
and 47 48 1 1.78
and 49 52 3 1.06
and 113 116 3 3.14
The high-grade gold intersections, combined with the plus-100-metre saprolite development in the area, bode well for a future open extraction mining method.
Sample protocol entailed the splitting of the HQ3 and HQ core by diamond core saw at Avnel Gold Mining's exploration preparation lab at the Kalana mine site, with half the sample preserved at the Kalana mine site and the other half separated by the metre and dispatched to the Abilab analytical facilities in Bamako, a well-recognized assay lab in West Africa, where each metre sample was again dried, then crushed and a two-kilogram subsample pulverized and analyzed for gold (50-gram fire assay).
Quality assurance-quality control entailed adding control samples at the level of 12 per cent of the number of samples, comprising standards (4 per cent), blanks (4 per cent) and duplicates (4 per cent). Six different certified reference material (CRM) standards were used. The QA-QC program for the sample preparation and data was conducted by Michel Mercier and observed in the field by Graham Greenway of Snowden Mining Industry Consultants (Pty.) Ltd.
Avnel is very encouraged by the results of the recent diamond core drill program and is currently interpreting the results. A technical report will be available by the end of April, 2006. A follow-on reverse circulation program is currently in the planning and budgeting stages. The emphasis of the next drill program will be to continue to build a mineral resource base at the new gold discovery in the Grid 8 zone and to test several of the nearby, kilometre-scale soil anomalies that have yet to receive drill investigation.
The technical information in this news release has been prepared in accordance with Canadian regulatory requirements set out in National Instrument 43-101 and reviewed by the company's qualified person, Michel Mercier, PGeo, Avnel's exploration manager.
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