1,000m Of Diamond Drilling To Be Undertaken In Gabon
Apollo Minerals Limited (ASX:AON) has commenced its maiden drilling campaign at the province-scale Kroussou zinc-lead project in Gabon in Central Africa.
The initial phase comprises 1,000m of diamond drilling targeting shallow, high grade zinc- lead (Zn-Pb) mineralisation at the Dikaki and Bouambo East Prospects.
The drill programme follows extensive on-ground surface exploration work by Apollo Minerals to identify shallow zones of mineralisation building on historical exploration results
The drilling campaign is designed to have multiple phases to enable the broad scale exploration program required to define shallow, open pit Zn-Pb mineralisation over the abundant prospect areas at the Kroussou Project, including the newly discovered Niamabimbou Prospect
Executive Director, Neil Inwood, said the Kroussou Project represents a significant, large scale, near surface Zn-Pb project with more than 80km of prospective strike and multiple opportunities for significant discovery
“This is an exciting time for the company as we commence our drilling programme,” Mr Inwood said.
“The Phase 1 drill programme is expected to support the broader scale drilling and surface exploration programs planned at the Kroussou Project for 2021.
“The Project hosts numerous untested targets across eighteen separate Prospects over more than 80km of strike. To date only four of these Prospects have been drill tested, with all four intersecting zinc-lead mineralisation at shallow depths.”
The Kroussou Project consists of the Prospecting License G4-569 which covers 986.5 sq. km in the Ngounié Province of Western Gabon located approximately 220km southeast of the capital city of Libreville.
The project is easily accessible by the major sealed N1 road from Libreville, and well-maintained provincial roads to towns bordering the Project; and then well- established wide forestry tracks to site.
Historical exploration work at the Kroussou Project identified 150 base metal occurrences along 80km of strike length of prospective geology within the project area. The Zn-Pb mineral occurrences are hosted within exposed channels that offer very shallow, near surface targets close to the basement rocks.
Two of the 18 exposed channels were drill tested in historical work conducted by the French public geological survey group, the Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières (BRGM). Both of the channels drill tested by the BRGM were found to contain significant base metal mineralisation.
A further two near surface targets were drilled Trek Metals Limited (Trek). This drilling also returned significant Zn-Pb intervals, further validating the province scale, base metal potential of the project area.
Apollo Minerals has established a central exploration field camp at Bouambo near the Dikaki Prospect.This camp will act as the base of operations for surrounding exploration efforts during the 2021 field season.
The current Phase 1 diamond drill programme, which comprises approximately 30 holes for 1,000m of diamond drilling, is focussed at the high grade Dikaki Prospect and will also aim to test high grade rock chips and soils at Bouambo East. This initial program is expected to be completed by May 2021 with results expected to be received by June 2021.
