{kanada_flagge}Make do, not spill, was unmistakably the motto for Desert Gold (TSXV: DAU; FRA: QXR2) in this year’s exploration program at its 440 km² SMSZ gold project in gold belt of western Mali. The company spent US$3.5 million on exploration this year alone: A total of 18,200 meters of RC, air core and diamond drilling was completed, as well as 23,000 meters of short auger drilling into the bedrock with the objective of the auger to test for gold under covered areas of the property. In addition, 90 line kilometers of induced polarization surveys and more than 8,000 soil geochemical samples were completed.
A few days ago, Desert Gold released the first third of the results (approximately 7,000 meters of drilling) focused on two targets: Manakoto to the north and the Barani area to the east (see Figure 1). Essentially, the objective was to extend open gold zones from previous drill results and to very some historic drilling. The quality of the results now presented should contribute to Desert Gold’s resource estimate planned to be released later this year. This resource may well include part of the recently acquired Kolomba license to the south of Barani, which again includes a substantial 32,000 meters of historical drilling and contains two historic gold zones with some of the best results seen anywhere on the SMSZ project.
Figure 1: The red dots indicate drill holes that have just been released: 42 drill holes from Manakoto and 52 drill holes from Barani East and Barani Gap, respectively. The majority of the completed drill holes (highlighted in yellow) will be released in the coming weeks.
Figure 2: The regional map shows the large-scale SMSZ project in the context of the 250 km Senegal-Mali-Shear zone. To the north, south and west (on the Senegalese side) are producing gold mines from prominent operators such as Barrick and others.
Desert Gold presents data from 94 drill holes totaling 7,073 meters in detail in its press release. Specifically, 69 air core (AC) drill holes totaling 3,581 meters, 23 RC drill holes totaling 3,007 meters and 2 RCD drill holes totaling 486 meters. The Manakoto area returned compelling results, with drilling intersecting at least eight well-altered shear zones that returned strong to strongly anomalous gold values along mineralized trends. Together, these anomalous structures comprise 6,650 meters of gold-bearing exploration targets. The majority of the drill holes in the Barani area were designed to test geochemical and geophysical IP chargeability anomalies. This work led to the discovery of new mineralization at Barani West, where a drill hole testing a soil anomaly of 204 ppb gold returned 1.51 g/t gold over 5 metres, and at Keniegoulou South, where an 820 metre step-out testing a soil anomaly of 5,610 ppb gold returned 1.05 g/t gold over 7 metres. Further drilling is required in these two areas.
Best drill results from Manakoto, Barani East and Barani Gap include the following:
Manakoto
o 1.68 g/t gold over 6.0 metres in hole DJ-21-AC-042 – MZ1 Zone
o 1.65 g/t gold over 21 metres in hole DJ-21-AC-058 – MZ2 Zone
Barani East
o 12.1 g/t gold over 1.0 metres in hole BERCD0017
o 0.82 g/t gold over 2.5 metres in hole BERCD008
o 10.5 g/t gold over 1.4 metres in hole BERCD009
Barani Gap
o 0.54 g/t gold over 6 metres in hole FA-21-RC-002 – Barani East Zone Extension
o 0.62 g/t gold over 6 meters in hole FA-21-RC-003 – Barani East Zone Extension
Jared Scharf, President and CEO of Desert Gold, stated. “Initial exploration results at Manakoto show several broad zones of gold enrichment that demonstrate the potential for a large gold deposit with further work to come. Gold mineralization in the Barani East zone has now been traced for over 2.5 kilometers. Further drill holes will be required to truly understand the exploration potential of these extensive areas.”
Conclusion: The SMZS project with its 440 km² is huge. Given its exposed location along the prolific shear zone between Mali and Senegal, there is a strong case that the project could host one or even multiple large gold deposits. Finding it is likely a function of time and money. Desert Gold this year ventured a sum large for a junior to get the monster talking. Early results are encouraging. But about two-thirds of the results are yet to come. If all goes according to plan, the work will culminate in the release of a first resource later this year. A “Maiden Resource” is always a moment of truth for an explorer. We are already looking forward to it. For sure, our producing neighbors will also be watching this event closely. With (growing) resources, Desert Gold should be taken more seriously as a conversation partner than in the past.
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