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Independent (non-JORC) Resource Estimate for Kerboulé Gold Project, Burkina Faso and issue of equity
Alecto Minerals plc (LSE:ALO), the AIM quoted mineral exploration company focussed on West and East Africa, has provided an independent (non-JORC) resource estimate for its recently acquired Kerboulé Gold Project in northern Burkina Faso. This resource estimate is based on the results obtained from modelling the historical drilling work conducted by the previous owners of the Project.
In addition, the Company has agreed to issue 12,497,143 new ordinary shares of 0.01 pence each in the capital of Alecto to a consultant to the Company, in lieu of fees.
Highlights:
· Independent assessment of in situ mineralisation (non-JORC) completed by Wardell Armstrong International: 6.2Mt grading at 1.16g/t Au for 230,758 oz Au, at a cut-off grade of 0.5g/t Au
· Implies an initial acquisition cost to Alecto for Kerboulé, prior to any deferred consideration, of approximately US$2.25 per resource ounce of gold – substantially lower than industry-standard exploration cost per ounce
· Mineralised zone starts from surface, with approximately 70% of the mineralisation contained within the oxide and transitional layers
· Provides basis for the next phase of work to establish the continuity of mineralisation between the modelled zones which extend over a strike length of 3km
· Subject to completion of a JORC Mineral Resource estimate for Kerboulé, the Company has the potential to approximately double its existing independent JORC inferred resource estimate when combining it with the inferred JORC resource estimate of 247,000 oz Au at an average grade of 1.14g/t Au for Kossanto East, Mali.
Alecto’s CEO, Mark Jones, commented:
“This initial independent (non-JORC) in situ gold resource assessment demonstrates why we acquired the Project in November. Our technical team has worked diligently to collate and model the data from historical work performed on the Project, and the next step will be to identify new areas of mineralisation and seek to expand on this solid resource base of close to a quarter of a million ounces of gold.
“We are also delighted that we now have the opportunity, subject to completion of a JORC Mineral Resource estimate for Kerboulé, to approximately double the Company’s existing independent JORC inferred resource inventory. This represents a significant step-change for the Company, considering that we had no defined mineralisation 18 months ago.
“Alecto is focused on capitalising on the opportunities that current market conditions provide, and the acquisition of resource ounces at a cost of approximately US$2.25 per ounce demonstrates our capabilities in this regard. The Board believes that growth through third party collaboration on our existing exploration portfolio and further M&A activity will enable the Company to position itself as a producer in the medium term.”
Kerboulé Gold Project
As previously announced, Alecto’s geologists recently completed a thorough review of the historical drilling data received on acquisition of the Project from Kaizen Discovery Inc. in November 2014. The data identified that there were three discrete areas within the Kerboulé prospect that had sufficient drill-hole density and continuity of mineralisation to enable an initial block model to be created. The data was therefore provided to WAI to conduct an independent assessment of the potential in situ global grade estimate for gold mineralisation at Kerboulé, albeit not, at this stage, to an internationally recognised resource standard such as JORC.
