DIAMOND DRILLING AT THE ABU MARAWAT DEPOSIT DELIVERS RESULTS
PROJECTS AND EXPLORATION • board director Kátia Epalanga said , “ We are seeking more than 400 000 bpd in refining capacity by 2027 . The three new refineries underway will help us reach this capacity .”
For international service companies such as SLB , Angola is ripe with opportunity . According to SLB ’ s managing director – Central , East and Southern Africa , Miguel Baptista , “ In 2024 , we celebrated 55 years of operations in Angola . We continue to see a lot of activity happening across the life of the oilfield . With this , there is good opportunity for the industry to push the boundaries of technology .”
Angola also represents an exciting market for independents . Afentra , for example , which entered the market three years ago , is “ focusing on growth in Angola : growth on the Kwanza Basin , growth on Block 3 / 05 and growth with regard to new deals ,” according to the company ’ s COO Ian Cloke . Cloke considers Angola to be “ a fantastic market to be in .”
The same can be said for AA & R Investment , which has not yet entered the Angolan market . Abdullahi Bashir , Haske Group , the company ’ s managing director , explained that “ Angola is the right place to be and we are looking for opportunity there . We are looking at onshore and offshore blocks and we are looking at participating in the bid round .”
Source : supplied by African Energy Chamber
These are very encouraging first results from our new diamond drilling programme – the first new drilling that Aton has carried out at Abu Marawat since 2011 .
Highlights :
• To date 35 diamond drill holes have been drilled at Abu Marawat , for a total of 3 381m . All holes have been drilled horizontally or at shallow angles to test previously undrilled near-surface mineralisation in an area of steep and mountainous terrain that is hard to access for conventional drilling rigs ; º Results for the first 14 holes of the programme ( AMD-101 to AMD-114 ) are now available , with significant high grade polymetallic mineralised intersections including : º 8.98g / t Au , 185g / t Ag , 11.16g / t AuEq , 0.43 % Cu , 0.23 % Pb and 6.12 % Zn over a 3.90m interval , from 82.10m downhole depth , from hole AMD-110 ; º 9.57g / t Au , 92.9g / t Ag , 10.66g / t AuEq and 0.52 % Cu over a 3.90m interval , from 24.20m downhole depth ( hole AMD-107 ); º 6.24g / t Au , 203g / t Ag , 8.63g / t AuEq , 0.30 % Cu , 0.10 % Pb and 4.81 % Zn over a 2.60m interval , from 97.20m downhole depth ( hole AMD-111 ); º 3.15g / t Au , 172g / t Ag , 5.17g / t AuEq , 0.50 % Cu , 0.23 % Pb and 4.69 % Zn over a 3.15m interval , from 82.50m downhole depth ( hole AMD-112 ).
DIAMOND DRILLING AT THE ABU MARAWAT DEPOSIT DELIVERS RESULTS
Location : Egypt Phase : Exploration Resource : Gold-silver-copper-zinc
On 7 November last year , Aton Resources Inc ( AAN : TSX-V ) updated investors on the results of the ongoing drilling at the Abu Marawat gold-silver-copper-zinc deposit , located within the retained exploration areas of the company ’ s Abu Marawat Concession in the Eastern Desert of Egypt .
The deposit is found 35km northeast of the Hamama West deposit and 10km north-northeast of the Semna gold mine project and is accessed via a well maintained desert track from the Qena-Safaga highway , approximately 25km to the North .
“ I am pleased to announce these very encouraging first results from our new diamond drilling programme – the first new drilling that Aton has carried out at Abu Marawat since 2011 ,” said Tonno Vahk , CEO .
Vahk explained , “ This new drilling programme has been designed to test areas of previously undrilled mineralisation at Abu Marawat that lie outside or on the southern margins of the 2012 maiden resource . The primary objective of the new drilling programme is to upgrade the mineral resources at the Abu Marawat deposit to indicated category . This is an integral part of the longer term plan to bring the retained exploration areas into the exploitation lease , and ultimately leading to the development of multiple gold mining operations on the concession including the Hamama West , Rodruin and Semna deposits , as well as Abu Marawat . In Egypt , we continue to make steady progress with our partners the Egyptian Mineral Resources Authority towards the initial development of the Hamama West mine .” •
Source : supplied by Aton Resources Inc .
All holes have been drilled horizontally or at shallow angles to test previously undrilled nearsurface mineralisation in an area of steep and mountainous terrain that is hard to access for conventional drilling rigs .
www . africanmining . co . za African Mining Publication African Mining African Mining • February 2025 • 13