Pelangio Exploration Inc. (TSX VENTURE:PX)(OTCBB:PGXPF) has announced results from three additional diamond drill holes totaling 487 metres at Nfante West on the Manfo Property in Ghana.
Highlights of the drill results reported today include:
- 1.20 grams per tonne (g/t) gold over 12 metres in SFDD-095, starting from 12 metres down-hole in oxidized bedrock, or saprolite;
- 1.11 g/t gold over 43 metres in SFDD-096, starting from 64 metres down-hole in unoxidized bedrock, or sulphide, directly beneath the mineralization intersected in SFDD-095;
- SFDD-095 and -096 confirm extension of mineralization intersected in -079 (1.5 g/t gold over 61 metres) by over 100 metres along strike with potential for 180 metre extension of total strike to hole -082 (0.91 g/t gold over 40 metres) (see press release dated September 7, 2010), with the target remaining open along strike to the northeast and at depth;
- Assays pending on further seven holes from Nfante West with second phase drilling ongoing at Pokukrom East.
"Today's results further support the potential for a near-surface bulk tonnage deposit at Nfante West," stated Warren Bates, Senior Vice President Exploration. "We are particularly encouraged to encounter very continuous gold mineralization in sulphide, 100 metres along strike from our previous intersections on the target. The target remains open at depth and to the northeast, where assays are pending from a further seven holes. Meanwhile, our second phase drilling program continues at the Pokukrom East target, as we continue to build on the Manfo Property's potential to host multiple near-surface deposits."
Geological Setting
SFDD-096 was a 55 metre step back from -095 and both holes were 100 metre step-outs southwest along strike from previously reported SFDD-079, which intersected 1.5 g/t gold over 61 metres. Holes -095 and -096 are also approximately 80 metres northeast along strike from SFDD-082, which intersected 0.91 g/t gold over 40 metres. SFDD-095 and -096 both returned intersections confirming significant mineralization along strike from -079 and may also be related along strike to the mineralization encountered in -082. SFDD-095 collared in mineralization and returned two near surface intersections in saprolite of 1.20 g/t gold over 12 metres and 1.10 g/t gold over five metres. SFDD-096 encountered the down dip extension of the mineralized zone in consistently mineralized sulphide from 64 to 107 metres down-hole, intersecting 1.11 g/t gold over 43 metres, including 2.65 g/t over seven metres. The mineralization is hosted in an altered sericite-carbonate metagranodiorite with fine fracture-bound pyrite that has been brecciated and fractured.
Hole SFDD-097 was a 75 metre step out southwest along strike from -095 and -096 and intersected 0.62 g/t gold over nine metres from 135 metres down-hole. The mineralization is hosted in an altered sericite-carbonate metagranodiorite with fine fracture bound pyrite, which has also been strongly fractured, producing a cataclastic texture containing quartz stockworks.
Each of the intersections reported today was intensely altered and indicative of significant structural events, which likely produced the channels for the movement of gold-bearing hydrothermal fluids. This structural and geologic setting is similar to Kinross' Chirano mine, which comprises 11 fault-controlled gold deposits hosted in altered granitoid intrusives.
Drilling Progress and Exploration Outlook
Including the three holes totaling 487 metres reported today, Pelangio has completed 10 drill holes totaling 1,706 metres at Nfante West, with assays pending on a further seven drill holes totaling 1,219 metres. The Company is currently drilling at Pokukrom East, where three holes totaling 419 metres have been completed of a planned 12 holes totaling 1,670 metres. The ongoing second phase diamond drilling program on the Manfo Property is expected to total well in excess of 5,000 metres and should be completed by late January. The Company will release further assay results as they are received.
The Company has commenced geochemical surveying southeast and northwest of the approximately 10 square kilometre area containing the four previously announced discoveries at Nfante West and East and Pokukrom West and East and the strong geochemical anomalies identified 3.5 kilometres north of this area at Sika North. Trenching is also progressing on targets to the north of Pokukrom East and West and south of Sika North. Pelangio has interpreted a 10 kilometre trend of anomalies at wide, 800 metre spacing from geochemical and geophysical surveying in the northwestern portion of the Manfo Property, but the southeastern portion of the Manfo Property has not yet been evaluated geochemically.
The Company has also received preliminary results from the airborne geophysical survey of the Manfo Property completed in early November 2010 by Geotech Airborne Limited, with final results expected in early 2011. This preliminary geophysical information has identified areas requiring surface exploration work adjacent to known mineralization and northwest of the identified trend.
Pelangio's exploration focus on the Manfo Property is to identify near-surface drill ready targets through geochemical sampling and to extend such targets with drilling and geophysical data. The Company's near term aim is to discover and delineate as many gold mineralized zones on the Manfo Property as possible prior to evaluating such zones within the constraints of a global resource estimation.
Quality Assurance/Quality Control and Qualified Person
The drill holes reported in this press release were drilled using HQ (63.5 mm) and NQ (47.6 mm) sized diamond drill bits. Company security is provided at the drill site. Contractors working for Pelangio conducted all logging and sampling. The core was logged, marked up for sampling using standard lengths of one metre, then split into equal halves using a diamond saw. One half of the core was left in the original core box and stored in a secure location at the Pelangio compound in Tepa, Ghana. The other half was sampled, placed into sealed bags and securely stored at the site until it was shipped to the ALS Chemex laboratory in Kumasi, Ghana. The core was dried and crushed by ALS Chemex and a 150 gram pulp was prepared from the coarse crushed material. ALS Chemex conducted routine gold analysis using a 50 gram charge and fire assaying with atomic absorption finish. Quality control procedures included the systematic insertion of blanks, duplicates and sample standards into the sample stream at the rate of one per every 20 samples. In addition, ALS Chemex inserted one preparation blank and certified reference material for every 20 samples, and ran one duplicate analysis every 20 samples.
In respect of SFDD-079 (previously reported), every sample returning more than 100 parts per billion gold was subsequently sent for follow-up metallic screening analysis, in which a 1000 gram pulp was analyzed. The screening of samples produced two size fractions – less than 75 micrometres (um) and greater than 75 um. These fractions were then analyzed independently by fire assay and atomic absorption.
The exploration program at the Manfo Property is overseen by Warren Bates, P. Geo. (Ontario), a Qualified Person within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Bates has verified and approved the data disclosed in this release, including the sampling, analytical and test data underlying the information.
Source: Pelangio Exploration Inc.