Volta Drilling Extends the Mineralization at its Gongondy Copper-Gold Porphyry Deposit at its Gaoua Project in Southwestern Burkina Faso
By Volta Resources Inc., PRNESunday, March 7, 2010
RC Drilling Intersects 29m @ 0.38% Copper and 1.0g/t Gold at Gongondy West
TORONTO, March 8, 2010 - TSX: VTR
Volta Resources Inc. ("Volta" or the "Company") (TSX:VTR) announces
significant copper-gold intercepts from its 27 hole, 2,408
meter Reverse Circulation ("RC") drilling program recently completed at the
Gongondy deposit, on its 100% owned Gaoua copper-gold porphyry project in
southern Burkina Faso, West Africa. Gongondy and Dienemera are two of several
copper-gold porphyry targets on the Gaoua Project where sufficient drilling
has been undertaken to estimate a maiden NI43-101 compliant resource
comprising more than 1 million ounces of gold and 720 million pounds of
copper (see Figure 1 - files.newswire.ca/407/gaoua-gongondy.pdf and
Table 4). The current drilling now extends the mineralization at Gongondy to
the south and to the west.
Kevin Bullock, Volta's President & CEO said, "These results demonstrate
that Gaoua continues to be an important project for Volta. The extension of
the mineralization suggests that this already considerable deposit has large
growth potential; however we are especially pleased by the discovery of a new
high grade gold zone. We have not yet encountered this type of mineralization
and we will continue to pursue its ultimate dimensions."
Highlights from the program include 29m @ 0.38% Cu and 1.0g/t Au, 9m
@ 0.35% Cu and 0.31g/t Au, 8m @ 0.49% Cu and 0.4g/t Au. In addition, a
significant zone of gold mineralization which is not associated with any
significant copper mineralization has been encountered with two intersections
grading 5m @ 13.8g/t Au and 5m @ 11.1g/t Au.
The program comprised 3 shallow RC drill fences aimed at testing
positive geochemical auger drilling which suggested extensions to the
Gongondy copper-gold porphyry deposit beneath transported regolith cover, to
both the west and south, (See Volta news releases dated September 28, 2009
and November 30, 2009). These results now confirm that the Gongondy deposit
can be traced continuously along its full strike extent of more than 2
kilometers on the western side of a post-mineralization gabbro intrusive,
(see Figure 2 - files.newswire.ca/407/gaoua-gongondy.pdf). In
addition, the southern drill fence also confirms that the Gongondy deposit
can be extended for a further 200m to the south and still remains open, (see
Figure 2). These extensions could considerably increase the size of the
existing resource estimated for the Gongondy deposit, (see Table 4).
Table 1: Highlights of copper-gold intersections from the current drill
program at Gongondy
------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOLE ID FROM TO INTERVAL Cu Au MID REMARKS
(m) (m) (m) (%) (g/t) (m)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GRC8 17 22 5 0.33 0.58 0
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Halted in
mineralization, includes
3 values top-cut to 1%
GRC9 61 90 29 0.38 1.00 5 Cu
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GRC16 8 17 9 0.35 0.31 0
------------------------------------
36 51 15 0.22 0.59 3
------------------------------------
72 78 6 0.29 0.41 1
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GRC17 42 51 9 0.25 0.24 2
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GRC18 54 67 13 0.22 0.28 3
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GRC26 23 54 31 0.22 0.13 5
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GRC27 22 32 10 0.20 0.20 2
------------------------------------
40 70 30 0.28 0.30 2
------------------------------------
61 66 5 0.50 0.31 0
------------------------------------
87 90 3 0.23 0.17 0 Halted in mineralization
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GRC29 13 25 12 0.23 0.19 3
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GRC31 14 22 8 0.49 0.40 0
------------------------------------
42 55 13 0.22 0.23 3
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GRC32 40 60 20 0.29 0.40 3
------------------------------------
87 90 3 0.30 0.22 0 Halted in mineralization
------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTES:
1) Intervals are drilled lengths. True width is unknown at this time.
2) Intersections are based on a 0.2% Cu cut-off with no top cut applied
except for the intervals 62-63 and 64-66m in GRC9 where values are
in excess of 1% Cu and were top-cut to 1%. Internal dilution (less
than 0.2% Cu) has been carried to a maximum of 5m. The 0.2% Cu
cut-off best expresses the lower-grade envelope.
3) The intersections listed in the table represent sections of at least
3m@ 0.2% Cu.
4) Dry 1m-interval samples were riffle-split to provide 2 kg samples
sent to the laboratory. Wet samples were dried in the field, then
riffle-split in the same way.
5) Samples were sent to ALS Chemex in Ouagadougou for standard
preparation and gold assaying (FA) and to ALS Chemex in Vancouver
for Cu assaying by atomic absorption spectrometry.
6) One standard, one blank and one field duplicate were inserted
respectively every 15, 30 and 20 samples. The blanks, certified
standards and check assays confirm that all assays used to compile
the intersections quoted here have passed Volta's rigorous QA/QC
checks.
Another feature that has been identified during the current drilling
program is relatively gold rich zones, (two intersections of 5m @ (greater
than)10g/t Au and several intersections of exceeding 0.5g/t Au at between 5m
and 26m widths) occurring on the western edges of the Gongondy deposit, where
copper values drop off, (see Table 2). These gold rich zones either mark an
outer halo of higher gold grades to the porphyry deposit or a later gold-rich
event overprinting the copper-gold mineralization. Further drilling will be
required to determine which scenario is correct and to assess the extent and
continuity of these significant initial intersections.
Table 2: Highlights of gold intersection without significant copper
mineralization.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOLE ID FROM TO INTERVAL Au Cu MID
(m) (m) (m) (g/t) (%) (m)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
48 51 3 1.94 less than 0.1 0
GRC6 ----------------------------------------------------------------
72 77 5 0.546 0.12 0
------------------------------------------------------------------------
16 42 26 0.55 0.17 1
GRC8 ----------------------------------------------------------------
77 87 10 0.30 less than 0.1 2
------------------------------------------------------------------------
25 30 5 13.80 less than 0.1 0
GRC9 ----------------------------------------------------------------
42 48 6 0.31 less than 0.1 2
------------------------------------------------------------------------
15 17 2 1.41 less than 0.1 0
----------------------------------------------------------------
62 67 5 11.11 less than 0.1 0
GRC10 ----------------------------------------------------------------
79 87 8 0.30 less than 0.1 2
------------------------------------------------------------------------
26 29 3 1.28 less than 0.1 0
GRC11 ----------------------------------------------------------------
83 85 2 3.69 less than 0.1 0
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GRC13 13 19 6 0.54 less than 0.1 1
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GRC16 67 76 9 1.56 0.24 1
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GRC21 79 86 7 0.55 less than 0.1 2
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GRC23 61 66 5 0.76 less than 0.1 2
------------------------------------------------------------------------
30 32 2 11.45 0.22 0
----------------------------------------------------------------
GRC30 39 42 3 0.42 0.16 0
----------------------------------------------------------------
63 69 6 0.47 0.17 1
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GRC31 79 82 3 2.34 less than 0.1 0
------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTES:
1) Intervals are drilled lengths. True width is unknown at this time.
2) Intersections are based on a 0.3g/t Au cut-off with no top cut
applied. Internal dilution (less than 0.3g/t Au) has been carried to
a maximum of 2m.
3) The intersections listed in the table represent intersections of at
least 2m (greater than)0,75g/t Au, or 5m (greater than)0,3g/t.
4) Dry 1m-interval samples were riffle-split to provide 2 kg samples
sent to the laboratory. Wet samples were dried in the field, then
riffle-split in the same way.
5) Samples were sent to ALS Chemex in Ouagadougou for standard
preparation and gold assaying (FA) and to ALS Chemex in Vancouver
for Cu assaying by atomic absorption spectrometry.
6) One standard, one blank and one field duplicate were inserted
respectively every 15, 30 and 20 samples. The blanks, certified
standards and check assays confirm that all assays used to compile
the intersections quoted here have passed Volta's rigorous QA/QC
checks.
Table 3: Borehole collar coordinates and orientation parameters
------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOLE ID EASTING NORTHING ELEVATION AZIMUTH INCLINATION DEPTH
(x) (x) (x)(m) (degrees) (degrees) (m)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GRC6 498,775 1,140,500 314 90 55 90
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GRC7 498,725 1,140,500 313 90 55 90
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GRC8 498,677 1,140,504 312 90 55 90
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GRC9 498,627 1,140,502 311 90 55 90
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GRC10 498,574 1,140,502 310 90 55 90
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GRC11 498,525 1,140,500 310 90 55 90
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GRC12 498,475 1,140,500 310 90 55 90
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GRC13 498,425 1,140,500 310 90 55 90
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GRC14 498,375 1,140,500 310 90 55 90
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GRC15 498,325 1,140,500 310 90 55 90
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GRC16 499,031 1,139,999 310 90 55 90
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GRC17 498,977 1,139,999 310 90 55 90
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GRC18 498,924 1,140,000 310 90 55 90
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GRC19 498,873 1,140,002 309 90 55 90
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GRC20 498,823 1,139,999 308 90 55 90
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GRC21 498,772 1,140,002 308 90 55 90
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GRC22 498,720 1,140,005 307 90 55 90
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GRC23 498,674 1,140,004 306 90 55 90
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GRC24 498,622 1,140,004 306 90 55 90
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GRC25 498,575 1,140,000 306 90 55 90
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GRC26 499,227 1,139,052 305 90 55 74
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GRC27 499,172 1,139,048 305 90 55 90
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GRC28 499,125 1,139,053 305 90 55 90
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GRC29 499,072 1,139,052 305 90 55 90
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GRC30 499,027 1,139,054 305 90 55 84
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GRC31 498,972 1,139,052 305 90 55 90
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GRC32 498,922 1,139,058 305 90 55 90
------------------------------------------------------------------------
On February 5, 2009, the Company announced an independent NI 43-101
compliant inferred resource estimate for the Gongondy and Dienemera deposits
on the Gaoua project (See Volta press release dated February 5 2009). The
resource estimate was calculated by SRK Consulting (UK) Ltd. At a 0.45%
copper equivalent cut-off grade, the Dienemera and Gongondy deposits host an
initial Inferred Resource of 82,600,000 tonnes grading 0.40% copper and 0.40
g/t gold for a total of 724,880,000 lbs of copper and 1,072,900 ounces of
gold. The individual resource estimate for each deposit is provided in the
table below. Copper Equivalent (CuEQ) has been calculated from assumed
commodity prices of USD 3,000 per tonne for copper and USD 700 per ounce of
gold with metallurgical recovery assumed to be 85% and 70% respectively based
on initial QEMSCAN results. Gold grade has been multiplied by 0.6 and added
to the copper grade to provide CuEQ grade. The cut off grade further assumes
typical costs of US$2 per tonne for mining and US$10 per tonne for processing
and general administration costs.
Table 4: Maiden NI43-101 compliant copper-gold resource estimate for the
Gaoua Project
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cut-off
Grade Tonnage Copper Gold
----------------------------------------------------------------
greater
than
DEPOSIT (CuEQ %) (tonnes) % lbs g/t Oz
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dienemera 0.45 23,000,000 0.50 255,075,000 0.21 155,300
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gongondy 0.45 59,600,000 0.36 469,805,000 0.48 917,600
------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL 0.45 82,600,000 0.40 724,880,000 0.40 1,072,900
------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------
Copper Equivalent
-------------------------
DEPOSIT % lbs
---------------------------------
Dienemera 0.63 319,009,000
---------------------------------
Gongondy 0.65 847,236,000
---------------------------------
TOTAL 0.64 1,166,245,000
---------------------------------
Under the guidelines of National Instrument 43-101, the qualified person
for the Gaoua copper-gold project is Mr. Guy Franceschi, Vice President,
Exploration for the Company. Mr. Franceschi is a member of the European
Federation of Geologists and has reviewed and approved the contents of this
news release.
Volta is a mineral exploration company primarily focused on becoming a
leader in the identification, acquisition and exploration of gold properties
in West Africa. The Company is committed to West African exploration and is
Canadian-based with its head office in Toronto, Ontario and operations
offices in Accra, Ghana and Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
Forward Looking Information Caution:
This press release presents "forward-looking statements" within the
meaning of Canadian securities legislation that involve inherent risks and
uncertainties. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to,
statements with respect to the future price of gold and other minerals and
metals, the estimation of mineral reserves and resources, the realization of
mineral reserve estimates, the capital expenditures, costs and timing of the
resources, the realization of mineral reserve estimates, the capital
expenditures, costs and timing of the development of new deposits, success of
exploration activities, permitting time lines, currency exchange rate
fluctuations, requirements for additional capital, government regulation of
mining operations, environmental risks, unanticipated reclamation expenses,
title disputes or claims and limitations on insurance coverage. Generally,
these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward
looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is
expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends",
"anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such
words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may",
"could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved".
Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of
activity, performance or achievements of Volta to be materially different
from those expressed or implied by such forward looking statements, including
but not limited to: risks related to international operations, risks related
to the integration of acquisitions; risks related to joint venture
operations; actual results of current exploration activities; actual results
of current or future reclamation activities; conclusions of economic
evaluations; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined;
future prices of gold and other minerals and metals; possible variations in
ore reserves, grade or recovery rates; failure of equipment or processes to
operate as anticipated; accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the
mining industry; and delays in obtaining governmental approvals or financing
or in the completion of development or construction activities. Although the
management and officers of Volta believe that the expectations reflected in
such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions and
have attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results
to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements,
there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated,
estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will
prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ
materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers
should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Volta
Resources does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that
are incorporated by reference herein, except in accordance with applicable
securities laws.
For further information: please refer to our website
www.Voltaresources.com or contact: Kevin Bullock, P.Eng., President &
CEO, Tel: +1-(647)-388-1842, Fax: +1-(416)-867-2298, Email:
kbullock@voltaresources.com
For further information: please refer to our website www.Voltaresources.com or contact: Kevin Bullock, P.Eng., President & CEO, Tel: +1-(647)-388-1842, Fax: +1-(416)-867-2298, Email: kbullock at voltaresources.com
Tags: canada, March 8, Toronto, Volta Resources Inc.
