Alicanto Minerals Ltd (ASX: AQI) has announced a highly encouraging update from the diamond drilling programme at its Arakaka Gold Project in northwest Guyana.
The company reported that 10,478m shallow diamond drilling for 51 holes were completed on the Arakaka Main Trend. AQI said that three shallow stacked, sub-parallel, low dipping mineralised gold zones across 1.4km of strike were defined through 100m x 100m spaced reconnaissance drilling.
Significant initial assay results include 19.05m @ 7.43g/t gold from 260.75m including 0.5m @ 202.4g/t gold from 263.8m; 6.0m @ 11.15g/t gold from 69m including 0.5m @ 111.89g/t gold from 71.5m; 0.54m @ 160.13g/t gold from 239.8m; 6.5m @ 5.44g/t gold from 142.2m including 0.6m @ 47.44g/t gold from 143.5m; 0.55m @ 21.44g/t gold from 93.45m; and 0.75m @ 10.17g/t gold from 92.67m.
The company reported that a shallowly north plunging high-grade gold shoot component was identified within the low angle dipping, stacked mineralised structures.
AQI said that planning is underway on phase two drilling at Arakaka in 2020.
Arakaka gold project
The Arakaka Gold Project comprises more than 300km2 of permits in Guyana’s under-explored Northwest Mining District.
The Company is currently focused on well-defined target areas with near to medium term resource potential, especially the Xenopsaris target area, Gomes area, Eyelash area, and Purple Heart and Concorde Prospects (Arakaka main trend).
Arakaka Mineralised Main trend is northwest dipping and hosts multiple saprolite pits on hill slopes over more than 12km of strike adjacent to extensive alluvial workings in the Arakaka valley which have produced >1Moz of gold over more than 100 years of operation.
Drilling at Arakaka main trend
Alicanto announced that it had completed 51 diamond drill holes for 10,478m over 1.4km of strike around the Purple Heart prospect area along the Arakaka Main Trend.
This drilling was fully funded through Alicanto’s Joint Venture with Nord Gold SE.
Earn-In-Agreement with Nord Gold SE
The agreement states that if Nordgold funds US$3.0m in aggregate expenditures prior to 18 June 2020, Nordgold can elect to make a payment to Alicanto of US$5.0m (AUD$7.21m) to exercise the option under the Funding and Option Agreement (Earn-in Agreement) and acquire a 100% interest in the Arakaka Gold Project for a total contribution of US$8.0m.
High-grade results
The company said that assay results have now been partially returned from the diamond drilling programme. AQI has now reported high-grade gold results from the program.
Highlights include 19.05m @ 7.43g/t gold from 260.75m in ARDD309 including 0.5m @202.4g/t gold from 263.8m; 6.0m @ 11.15g/t gold from 69m in ARDD316 including 0.5m @111.89 g/t gold from 71.5m; 0.54m @ 160.13g/t gold from 239.8m in ARDD329; 6.5m @ 5.44 g/t gold from 142.2m in ARDD306 including 0.6m @47.44g/t gold from 143.5m; 2.9m @ 3.36g/t gold from 89m in ARDD281; 5.85m @ 1.98g/t gold from 190.33m in ARDD282; 0.55m @ 21.44g/t gold from 93.45m in ARDD323; 3.5m @ 2.39g/t gold from Surface in ARDD299; 0.75m @ 10.17g/t gold from Surface in ARDD303; 4.6m @ 2.32g/t gold from 163.4m in ARDD304; and 5.45m @ 2.71g/t gold from 54m in ARDD319.
AQI said that these results confirm the potential of the Purple Heart area to host a bulk tonnage gold deposit and support historical drilling.
It may be noted that the limited reconnaissance drilling in 2015 had returned best results of 13.5m @ 7.36g/t gold from 87m – PHD0801; 1.9m @ 30.66g/t gold from 86m – PHD0802; 10.8m @ 1.66g/t gold from 17m – PHD0805; 10m @ 3.10 g/t gold from surface – ARD04; 48m @ 1.84g/t gold from surface – ARD05; and 20.5m @ 1.43g/t gold from 65m – ROD0803.
Gold zones defined
Alicanto reported that multiple, shallowly north-west dipping mineralised structures have now been identified through drilling within the Purple Heart prospect area over more than 1.4km of strike extent within the 12km long Arakaka Main trend.
The company said that these structures show good continuity throughout the drill area and are frequently associated with the high-strain zones partitioned to the contacts of diorite and porphyry intrusive bodies.
AQI said that the recent drilling has also identified a previously unrecognised high-grade shoot component to mineralisation associated with flexures in the trace of the principal structures in the area, the Purple Heart and Central structures.
The company said that the recently returned assays indicate the dimensions of these high-grade shoots to be of significant scale to lead to the potential development of significant gold resources. The high-grade shoots appear stacked and have an apparent, shallow northerly plunge that has now been traced down plunge over 500m and remaining open.
Given the very shallow plunge of the mineralised structures and high-grade gold shoots the structures have been drilled to 450m down-dip but intercepts are still within 150m of surface.
The company said that the drilling spaced approximately 100m apart has defined two sub-parallel, shallowly plunging, high-grade shoots in the vicinity of the Purple Heart Pit.
AQI said that the drill hole ARDD309’s significant intercept of 19.05m @ 7.43g/t gold from 260.75m represents the deepest drilling on the lower shoot whilst the significant intercept of 0.54m @ 160.13g/t gold in ARDD329 represents the deepest drilling on the upper shoot. Both high-grade shoots remain open at depth.
Next steps
Alicanto reported that it is anticipating further assays of the recently completed 10,478m diamond drilling program in the coming weeks.
The company said that it will complete a 3D interpretation of the geology and setting of observed, significant, high-grade gold mineralisation to better plan Phase 2 diamond drilling.
Management statements
Alicanto’s CEO Peter George said: “Our drilling at Arakaka in Guyana represents the first time there has been targeted diamond drilling on the prolific gold-producing Arakaka Main Trend.
Alicanto has completed an initial 10,478m of diamond drilling over only 1.4km of the main trend fully funded through the Earn-In-Agreement with Nordgold.
These initial encouraging high-grade results not only demonstrate the continuity of mineralisation throughout the area but also indicate that multiple high-grade gold shoots exist within the shallowly dipping, stacked mineralised structures.
These high-grade shoots have an apparent, shallow, north plunge which will be the focus of further drilling following the geological integration of the current drilling.
I am very pleased for the team to have discovered what we always firmly believed was in the ground at Guyana. This success, combined with intersecting high-grade massive sulphides in our maiden drilling program in Sweden, caps off a fantastic year for the Alicanto team and I am looking forward to what we will achieve in 2020.”