From: Biniam Haile \(SWE\) (eritrea.lave@comhem.se)
Date: Thu Oct 01 2009 - 02:12:18 EDT
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Chalice Gold » Zara Gold
Project Overview
The Zara Gold Project consists of six contiguous granted licences
covering an area totalling 615 km2 situated in northern Eritrea,
approximately 160 km northwest of the country’s capital, Asmara.
A significant high grade gold deposit has been defined at the Koka
deposit, with a JORC Indicated and Inferred resource of 5.04 million
tonnes at 5.8 grams per tonne gold for 944,000 ounces of contained gold.
Geology and Mineralisation
The Zara Gold Project lies within the south-western part of the Late
Proterozoic Arabian–Nubian Shield, an emerging gold and base metal
province that hosts the ~13 million ounce Sukari gold deposit in Egypt,
the ~2 million ounce Ariab/Hassaï gold and base metal deposit in Sudan
and the ~1 million ounce Bisha gold and base metal deposit in Eritrea
(Figure 1).
Figure 1: The Upper Proterozoic Arabian-Nubian Shield (ANS) and major
gold deposits. <http://chalicegold.com/?id=271>
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The properties straddle the thrusted contact between two geological
terranes where it shows a flexure from northeast to north-northeast
(Figure 2). Gold mineralisation is associated with this terrane boundary
along its length, with the main prospect identified to date, the Koka
deposit, being the focus of past exploration by Sub-Sahara.
The Koka deposit’s mineralised zone has a total strike length of more
than 700 metres and is developed principally within an elongate,
lensoidal body of microgranite intruded along the sheared and altered
contact between a sequence of sedimentary and basaltic rocks to the west
(footwall) and a volcanic and volcaniclastic sequence to the east
(hanging wall) (Figures 3 and 4).
There is a considerable competency contrast between the microgranite and
the sedimentary and volcanic rocks across this contact and this has
resulted in the steeply dipping western contact of the microgranite
being strongly brecciated, quartz stockwork veined and altered over a
width averaging around 20 metres (Figures 5 and 6). Gold is present in
the quartz veins mostly as inclusions in pyrite, but also as discrete
grains in galena, quartz and carbonate (Figure 7). Preliminary
metallurgical test-work by Ammtec Ltd indicates high gold recoveries by
gravity (>40%) with total gravity plus cyanide recoveries exceeding 95%
over 24 hours leach time and with low reagent consumptions.
Figure 2: Regional geology of the Zara Gold Project showing known
artisanal gold sites and BLEG drainage anomalies
Resource Estimate
The independent resource estimate and report was prepared by Coffey
Mining Pty Ltd (Coffey) in accordance with the guidelines of the
Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral
Resources and Ore Reserves (the JORC Code; 2004). Mineralised zones were
defined using both geological and assay data. Multiple Indicator Kriging
(MIK) was used as the estimation method.
The Mineral Resource Statement as of February 2009 for in-situ Koka gold
mineralisation using a 60 g/t Au upper cut is tabulated in Table 1
below:
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