Mali explorer still upbeatProduction and Markets Publishing...

Mali explorer still upbeat
Production and Markets

Publishing Date17 Jan 2014 11:16am GMT
AuthorMichael Quinn

Mali gold explorer Birimian Gold Ltd will be looking forward to an improved 2014 after the second half of last year disappointed in the wake of a promising start.


The ASX-listed junior was looking the goods with the discovery of high-grade shallow mineralisation at the Ntiola prospect near the depleting Morilla mill owned by successful mid-tier gold miner Randgold Resources Ltd. However, as noted by RFC Ambrian, follow up drilling has been relatively disappointing, limiting the size potential at Ntiola and failing to define any other economically mineralised gold prospects elsewhere in the broader Massigui project area.


Still, with Morilla being a world class deposit, Birimian Gold is unsurprisingly unperturbed by the recent lack of success.
Analytical results received this week from two reconnaissance auger programmes are set to be followed by RC drilling in “coming months”.


RFC Ambrian backs the approach.


“The bedrock drilling that was completed at the project under previously defined auger anomalism has shown the effectiveness of this exploration method, so we would expect the surface anomalism to reflect bedrock gold mineralisation,” the brokerage said. “As always, the key issues are: how much and at what grade?


“Previous drill testing of higher-tenor auger anomalism at the project returned variable degrees of bedrock mineralisation, while bedrock drilling beneath high-tenor auger results at Kondji returned relatively discontinuous, low-moderate grade mineralisation that looks unlikely to be economic.

"However, drilling under high-tenor surface mineralisation at Ntiola returned more continuous good grade mineralisation. Regolith processes will likely vary across the Massigui Project, so there is every chance that these lower-tenor (but still positive in general terms) auger results could reflect economic-scale mineralisation in bedrock. Thus, bedrock drilling will provide the answer.”


Cash-wise, Birimian Gold has about A$2 million (US$1.8 million), assuming it spent in the December quarter what had previously been budgeted.

http://www.mining-journal.com/production-and-markets/mali-explorer-still-upbeat