Gold exploration Company Castle Minerals (ASX:CDT) has announced that reverse circulation drilling completed in December 2009 has discovered a significant extension to the Akoko North deposit and a new high grade east lode.
Gold mineralisation for both these zones remains completely open to the south and at depth.
Wide spaced reconnaissance RC drilling was completed on 200m spaced lines south along strike of the existing Akoko North resource (1.4Mt @ 1.7g/t gold) and returned significant results, including 6m @ 4.94 g/t gold from 13m, 4m @ 29.2 g/t gold from 26m, 2m @ 5.89 g/t gold from 38m, 5m @ 3.52 g/t gold from 13m and 1m @ 47.8 g/t gold from 94m.
The geometry and geological setting of the mineralisation appears consistent with Akoko North with drill defined gold mineralisation now continuous over 1,500m of strike. Strong gold geochemical anomalies extend a further 800m south of the current limit of drilling and remain to be tested.
It is considered probable that further gold mineralisation will be discovered as this zone is drill tested.
Previous drilling by Castle at Akoko North reported a primary intercept of 1m @ 84.5g/t gold from 40m on the then south eastern limit of drilling. A deeper hole beneath this intercept returned 1m @ 47.8 g/t gold from 94m down hole and like the earlier intercept was also hosted within a zone of silica/pyrite alteration.
This new zone requires drill testing at depth and along strike to determine the continuity and extent of this very high grade mineralisation.
Castle Managing Director Mike Ivey said the results were very encouraging and should ultimately lead to a significantly increased resource.
"The mineralised horizons are high grade and very shallow making them ideally suited to open pit extraction, in addition we appear to have discovered a high grade lode system 60m to the east of the main zone that has excellent potential to add high value ounces," Mr Ivey said.
RC drilling has recommenced onsite to follow up these results and test the Akoko South prospect and Akoko West soil anomaly 12km to the south.
The Akoko Project is located 25km south of Tarkwa in south west Ghana in the prolific gold producing Ashanti belt. Gold mineralisation was first discovered on this greenfields project by Castle in late 2007.
Since that time Castle has undertaken six RC drill programs and defined substantial oxide gold mineralisation at the Akoko North and Akoko South prospects.
Castle Minerals is the largest landholder in Ghana with 7 Projects covering more than 11,000km2.