Exploration
West Africa
Endeavour increases Ity shares
Location:
Côte d’Ivoire
Resource: Gold
Canadian gold mining company Endeavour Mining has increased its
ownership stake in the Ity gold mine in Côte d’Ivoire, from 80% to 85%.
Following this transaction, Endeavour owns 85% of the Ity Mine, with the
Government of Côte d’Ivoire owning 10% and SODEMI (a government-
owned mining company) owning the remaining 5%. b
Endeavour Mining has increased its shareholding in the Ity
gold mine in Côte d’Ivoire.
In exchange for the additional 5% interest in the Ity Mine (relating to
the Société des Mines d'Ity and Société des Mines de Daapleu entities),
Endeavour granted DYD International Holding, a company owned by
the soccer star Didier Drogba, more than one million common shares
amounting to a total consideration of approximately USD15-million
(CAD20-million), based on the signing reference share price of CAD18.50.
East Africa
Altus discovers silver in Ethiopia
Location: Ethiopia
Resource: Silver
According to Steven Poulten, CEO at Altus, geological mapping
and stream sampling indicate the potential strike length of the
Simret prospect to be about 2.8km, and 0.5km in width. “The
prospect is located approximately 3km south of our existing Teklil
prospect. At Teklil, we have mapped copper oxide mineralisation
and discontinuous gossanous outcrop for over 900m in strike
length. Coincident with this field programme, we have engaged
remote sensing consultancy Geosense from the Netherlands to
complete a multi-spectral remote sensing analysis of the Daro
licence using Sentinel satellite data. This work has generated
numerous iron oxide occurrences across the Daro licence, which
may represent key VMS markers. Our exploration team is already
following up on these further targets,” says Poulten.
The programme of exploration at the Simret prospect included the
collection of 31 rock chip samples. Taken together, these results
suggest the potential for a VMS system. Following up on visible
copper seen during prospecting, the company has excavated and
sampled a 16.3m-long reconnaissance trench. Visible copper oxide has
been identified in the trench and assay results are currently pending.
The Simret prospect was discovered following a licence wide-
stream sediment sampling programme covering 320km 2 ,
www.africanmining.co.za
African-focused Altus Strategies recently announced that the company
has discovered a significant silver deposit in the Tigray region of
northern Ethiopia. The discovery was made at the company’s 100%
owned 412km 2 Daro Cu-Au-Ag Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide
(VMS) project. Daro is part of the company’s Simret prospect.
Figure 1: Location of the Daro licence on the Arabian-Nubian Shield,
Northern Ethiopia.
which was undertaken by the company earlier this year. This
survey defined an area of anomalous copper, lead, and zinc,
a geochemical signature which can be indicative of a VMS
system. Follow-up stream sediment sampling on second-order
and third-order streams has refined the anomaly to a priority
area of approximately 2.80km by 0.50km. Geological mapping
at the Simret prospect has discovered a mafic volcanic pile and
sheeted dyke complex, which together with the Au-Ag-Cu-Pb-
Zn bearing quartz veins and gossanous float samples, further
indicates to the company that the observed mineralisation may
be VMS derived.
The Daro exploration licence is held by Altau Resources, Altus’s
100% owned Ethiopia-focused subsidiary. The licence is located in
northern Ethiopia, 95km west of the company’s Tigray-Afar Cu-Ag
project, 100km north-west of the Tigray state capital of Mekele,
and 570km north of Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa. Mekele has a
regional airport and year-round access to the licence area is provided
by a network of maintained surfaced and graded roads. b
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