Desert Metals (ASX: DM1) has commenced its first drilling program at the King Kong prospect in the northeastern area of the Adzope gold project, Côte d’Ivoire.
The programme will comprise a minimum of eight diamond drill holes ranging in length from 180m to 220m, for a total programme of 1,500m. The drill programme has been designed to test interpreted zones of gold mineralisation mined by artisanal workers in a series of pits trending southwest from the extensive alluvial gold workings, known as “the Beach”, in the northeast corner of the Adzope gold permit. It is the first time this area has ever been drill-tested. Drilling is expected to take three to four weeks to complete.
“We are delighted to commence our first drilling program at the King Kong prospect, which is part of the highly prospective Adzope gold project,” Managing Director, Stephen Ross, said.
“This northeast corner of the Adzope project, now known as ‘the Beach’, is covered with numerous artisanal gold pits and extensive alluvial gold workings, so it is the obvious location for the first drilling program on this permit.
“Recent ground geophysics over the Beach area and the mapping of the artisanal pit walls have helped us plan holes into the zones we believe have recently been mined for gold.
“We are using a low-impact portable diamond drill rig that is easily mobilised between holes and pit areas, thus enabling us to plan further holes as the programme evolves. We look forward to updating the market as the drill program progresses.”
Local drilling company, Easy Drilling SARL, is completing the program using a man-portable hydraulic Rock-800 diamond drill rig.
Desert Metals recently completed a ground geophysics survey of Gradient Array Induced Polarisation (GAIP) and ground magnetics (GMAG) over 55.45-line kilometres covering an area of 5.5 km2 over the Beach area. The survey was conducted on 100m-spaced north-south oriented lines, with readings taken every 25m.
The GAIP and GMAG survey assisted in defining the initial drill targets by (i) mapping out rock types and major structures; (ii) defining chargeable zones that indicate sulphides that could host gold mineralisation; and (iii) defining resistive zones that indicate silicification and quartz veining.
Utilising the ground geophysics results and mapping of the artisanal pit walls, drilling will focus on three recently mined artisanal gold pits next to the Beach area in the northeast section of the Adzope gold permit.