Aton Resources Inc. has provided an update on its Hamama West gold-silver project in the Eastern Desert of Egypt, which is located in the Company’s 100%-owned Abu Marawat Concession.
Geology plan of the Abu Marawat Concession, showing the location of the Hamama West project. Image Credit: Aton Resources Inc.
Highlights
- On May 25th, 2022, RC drilling began at Hamama West. It is predicted that the program would take roughly 2–3 months to finish.
We are happy to announce the start of the RC drilling program at Hamama West. This new drilling program forms an important part of our plans for Hamama West, as we push the project forwards to its development as what we expect to be the second operating gold mine in Egypt.
Tonno Vahk, Interim CEO, Aton Resources Inc.
Vahk added, “We are still drilling at Rodruin, and are continuing to return some really pleasing results. We intend to advance Rodruin and Hamama together in tandem as we work towards a phased development plan for the entire Abu Marawat Concession, with our partners at the Egyptian Mineral Resources Authority.”
Hamama West RC Drilling Programme
The planned reverse circulation percussion (“RC”) drilling campaign at the Hamama West gold-silver project has officially begun. The Hamama West project has an indicated gold equivalent (gold and silver) resource of 137,000 ounces and an inferred resource of 341,000 ounces.
Aton intends to first develop the deposit’s outcropping oxide gold cap, which is mineralized immediately from the surface, as a low-capex/low-opex starter open-pit mining operation with a heap leach processing plant that will provide early cash flow.
The 5,000 m drilling campaign was planned in part to enhance the inferred mineral resource at Hamama West, ahead of the final starting pit mine design. Capital Limited is drilling with its new Epiroc Explorac 100 rig.
For geochemical analysis, samples will be transported to ALS Minerals in Rosia Montana, Romania, with results being reported regularly.
Sterilization drilling is also expected to be carried out for proposed mining infrastructure facilities. The Company also plans to drill the West Garida potential for the first time, which is only 3 km east of Hamama West and has yielded values of up to 99.6 g/t Au from surface samples.