Kilo Goldmines Ltd. is pleased to report the results of a BLEG (Bulk Leach Extractable Gold) stream sediment sampling program on its Imbo licence (PE9691) within the Ngayu Greenstone Belt.
HIGHLIGHTS
- BLEG sampling in the eastern half of the Imbo licence area, previously unexplored by Kilo, indicates a south-eastward extension of the Adumbi-Kitenge-Manzako mineralized trend over a strike of 7 km. The presence of gold mineralization is supported by rock chip sampling with values up to 15.1 g/t Au
- Three stream catchments with anomalous gold and arsenic values, occur outside the area of known mineralization in the western part of the licence.
BLEG SAMPLING PROGRAM
Drainage catchments in the Imbo licence were defined using a 5 m colour elevation image and hydrography vector map produced from Landsat data by Photosat in Toronto. In addition, a 2 m topographic contour map, also generated by Photosat, was used where necessary. A total of 166 drainage catchments were defined with a total area of 113 km2, resulting in an average catchment size of 0.68 km2.
At each sampling site, 3 kg of the finest-grained sediment (mud) was collected from the top of the steam bed. A duplicate sample was taken at every fifth site for quality control purposes. The samples were thoroughly dried at the Adumbi base camp, and 1.1 kg of each sample sent to ALS Minerals in Ireland for analysis. Gold was analysed by cyanide leach bottle roll on 1 kg of sample. Arsenic, and a suite of 51 other elements, were determined by aqua regia digestion of 0.5 g of sample followed by ICP-MS and ICP-AES.
QUALITY CONTROL
Analytical quality was assessed by means of randomly inserted standard reference materials and blanks, all of which passed the Company's QC criteria. Sample representivity was assessed by comparing analyses of the original samples and 33 field duplicates; good correlations were obtained (Figure 1) indicating that the sampling technique produced reliable, representative samples with a low nugget effect.
ANALYTICAL RESULTS
BLEG results for gold and arsenic are shown in Figures 2 and 3 respectively, and Figure 4 presents the results of mapping and rock chip sampling to the east of the Imbo River. The following observations can be made:
- There is a close spatial relationship between catchments with higher gold and arsenic values and the known mineralization at the Adumbi, Kitenge, Manzako and Vatican prospects. It is probable that mining during colonial times, followed by intense artisanal activity over several decades, has increased the amount of gold released into the associated drainages.
- To the west of the Imbo River, anomalous values of 108 ppb Au (346 ppm As), 62 ppb Au (790 ppm As), and 324 ppb Au (234 ppm As) were returned for catchments 13, 21 and 48 respectively. These catchments are not covered by the current soil sampling grid, and warrant further investigation.
- To the east of the Imbo River (an area not previously explored on the ground by Kilo) the Au and As data indicate a south-eastern extension of the Adumbi/Kitenge/Manzako mineralized zone, over a strike of about 7 km. Anomalous values in this area range up to 719 ppb Au and 140 ppb As, the highest values occurring in the Esio area where several colonial adits are located (Figure 4).
- Rock chip samples, taken in the Esio area during the BLEG survey, assayed up to 15.1 g/t Au for quartz veins, 7.91 g/t Au for the host quartz-carbonate schist, and 6.39 g/t for altered banded iron formation (BIF) float.