Gold Exploration in West Africa

[FL]

Mineweb on: Cluff Gold (CLF on London AIM)

Growing African gold Resources
By: Rhona O'Connell
Posted: '11-MAR-05 05:05' GMT © Mineweb 1997-2004
http://www.mineweb.net/columns/african_renaissance/423560.htm

LONDON (Mineweb.com) -- Cluff Gold’s mission is to identify, acquire and develop gold mineral deposits in Africa that are amenable to open-pit mining and low-cost processing techniques and Cluff has assembled a portfolio of mineral interests at various stages of development in Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, Cote d'Ivoire and Zimbabwe. The company was listed on AIM in mid-December 2004 and is currently capitalised at £10.96 million or $21 million. In January, Cluff Gold completed the acquisition of the entire issued share capital of both Cluff Mining (West Africa) Limited (a subsidiary of which has a 78% interest in the Kalsaka Gold project in Burkina Faso) and Cluff Mining (Zimbabwe) Holdings Limited from the Ridge Mining Group.

Cluff is actively developing its portfolio of properties and has recently published two announcement outlining progress in Africa.

On the Ivory Coast, Cluff has purchased exploration data covering the Mt. Yaoure licence in the central Cote d’Ivoire, including drill assay results from drilling around the Angovia mine, which was closed in 2003 after producing up to 40,000 ounces of gold per annum. Cluff purchased the Mt Yaoure licence in August 2004 and has now purchased the exploration data from COMINOR, a subsidiary of French uranium mining group COGEMA. The purchased information includes drill results what have identified satellite gold deposits. Cluff is looking to reactivate the mine in the near future; Chairman Algy Cluff has said that “We are actively mobilising the necessary resources in order to move the project to the next stage with a view to recommence production as soon as possible. The Mt Yaoure permit presents to us a potential cash flow within a short period of time and at low capital expenditure given the existing infrastructure on the Angovia Mine.”

Based on drilling done to the end of 2001, COMINOR had reported a resource of 900,000 tons at a gold grade of 3.7g/t, along with encouraging of gold intersections in four neighbouring prospects. Additional reverse circulation drilling totaling 3,500m was completed in 2002 and Cluff is to review all the drill data including the 2002 results. The company believes that there is the potential to develop the deposits using a centrally located plant. Some of the more important intersections include 12.3 metres at 2.3 g/t gold from 65.95 metres; 14 metres at 11.8g/t from 27 metres down, and 21 metres at 6.05g/t from 35 metres down. The government recently exercised its pre-emptive rights on the equipment on the property and Cluff has agreed in principal to acquire most of the oxide processing plant on site.

Meanwhile Cluff Gold has two contiguous licences in Sierra Leone, the Baomahun and the Victoria, which between them cover 138 square kilometres. Sierra Leone received the Country Award at the recent Mines and Money World Congress in London, for the country that had shown the most improvement, in terms of attractiveness to mineral investors, during the previous twelve months (the other finalists in this category were Canada, Mongolia, Senegal, Thailand and Zambia).

Cluff Gold has now announced its first set of drill results from the Baomahun Gold prospect. The first two completed core holes, from a programme of up to 5,000 metres over a four month programme and these are encouraging, tending to confirm the company’s belief that, in the words of Chairman Algy Cluff. “Baomahun could be a significant gold project. We are happy with the progress made so far and look forward to announcing further drilling results in the near future.”

Baomahun is located about 180 kilometres east of the capital, Freetown, in the Southern Province of Sierra Leone and the geological setting is similar to the Lake Victoria goldfields in Tanzania. Cluff Gold has an agreement with the owner of Baomahun, Winston Mines Limited, giving the Company the right to own up to a 60%. interest by funding the project to the completion of a bankable feasibility study or to a maximum of US$5 million.

The drill holes interpreted to date have confirmed down dip extension of the mineralisation that was interested as far back as the 1970s. The hole originally intersected 34.23 metres of gold grading 7.56g/t, extending from 42.58 metres down dip and the first two holes of the Cluff programme have intersected this mineralisation at vertical depths of 90 metres and 130 metres. The first hole intersected 30 metres of gold mineralisation at 4.68g/t (from 106 metres down) including 13 metres at 9.57g/t and two metres at 29.75g/t; the second hole interested 20 metres of gold mineralisation at 2.72g/t (from 75 metres down) including eight metres at 5.67g/t.

It is still very early days for this latter project, but the company is looking at encouraging mineralisation in its property portfolio and is potentially another worth keeping an eye on.

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