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Predictive Discovery power auger drilling reveals large gold target at Kaninko in Guinea

Published: 11:21 26 Feb 2020 AEDT

Predictive Discovery Ltd - Predictive Discovery power auger drilling reveals large gold target at Kaninko in Guinea
The company intends to begin drilling North-East Bankan prospect next month

Predictive Discovery Ltd (ASX:PDI) has used power auger drilling to outline a new large high-tenor gold anomaly with peak values of up to 8 g/t gold at the Kaninko project in Guinea, West Africa.

The anomaly of around 460 metres in length and up to 300 metres wide covers more than 12 hectares.

This work focused on the North-East Bankan and Bankan Creek prospects, two large gold-anomalous zones identified through previous extensive soil, laterite and saprolite sampling programs.

Drilling plans

Predictive plans to begin a combined reverse circulation (RC) and aircore drilling program in mid-March with at least 2,500 metres across North-East Bankan and Bankan Creek prospects as well as targets on the Kankan permit.

Predictive Discovery managing director Paul Roberts said: “Building on the earlier soil sampling and rock chip sampling programs, the power auger results from North-East Bankan have exceeded our expectations and confirmed the quality of the first of our planned drill targets.

“The anomalous gold samples were collected at depth beneath the lateritic cover and are interpreted to be from deeply weathered bedrock.”

Two prospects targeted

There were 3,178 metres of shallow power auger drilling completed at North-East Bankan and Bankan Creek in January-February as part of the company’s 2020 exploration program.

Results from 81 shallow power auger holes totalling 1,550 metres at the former have outlined the NNE trending gold zone covering over 12 hectares and that is open to the north and south.

North-East Bankan prospect with power auger locations and results.

Within this area saprolite gold values exceeding 0.25 g/t gold have been indicated and some of the better values in composite samples are 7.83 g/t, 4.84 g/t, 2.27 g/t and 1.69 g/t.

"Higher than surface samples”

Roberts said: “Contrary to the previous (west-north-west) interpretation, we now know that the mineralised zone is north-north-east trending and therefore untested along strike to the north and south, providing excellent potential to enlarge the zone.

“Also, the power auger results are much higher than surface samples in places, indicating that the mineralised zone may extend under cover beneath low surface soil values.”

The company holds about 500 square kilometres of prospective landholdings in Guinea across five projects all containing artisanal gold workings.

Predictive Discovery’s Guinea projects.

Four of the projects are within the Siguiri Basin which hosts AngloGold Ashanti Limited’s (NYSE:AU) (JSE:ANG) Siguiri Mine of more than 10 million ounces.

Bankan Creek results due

Assay results from 118 vertical power auger holes totalling 1,628 metres at Bankan Creek are expected in the next three weeks while a trenching program is also in progress at this prospect.

At Kankan, Predictive has started drill target preparation with a ground magnetics and an Induced Polarisation (IP) survey underway.

This work will assist with the planned mixed RC/aircore drilling program to begin next month.

Results “illustrate potential”

Roberts said: “The examples provided by the operating large and profitable mines within the Siguiri Basin of Guinea illustrate the potential of the Kaninko project.

“Deep weathering in most areas of the Siguiri Basin means that soft saprolite can extend to 100 metres.

“Also, the metasediment-hosted gold mineralisation can form in very wide zones with low stripping ratios resulting in easy to mine deposits.

“Both the Siguiri Mine and the Lefa Mine (Nordgold, +5 million ounces) have been operating with average head grades of around 1 g/t gold or even less.

“Given that these very encouraging initial auger saprolite assays from North-East Bankan suggest a broad mineralised zone, this is the type of deposit we are targeting at Kaninko.

“We are looking forward to releasing power auger and trenching results from the nearby Bankan Creek Prospect in the next few weeks, which will complete the data we need to target the planned aircore and RC drilling on Kaninko.”

The Guinea projects were identified by Predictive during its terrain-scale assessment of the Siguiri Basin in late 2018 using the company’s PredictoreTM gold targeting system.

In only 12 months, the company has completed numerous early-stage exploration programs including soil geochemical sampling, BLEG stream sediment sampling, ground magnetics, rock-chip sampling and mapping across the Kankan, Nonta, Kaninko and Boroto projects.

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on 12/4/23