All Expectations Exceeded!
Sranan Gold (CSE: SRAN; FSE: P84) found gold in all 25 grab samples taken at the beginning of its exploration campaign on the Tapanahony Gold Project in Suriname! The highest measured grades were 108 grams per tonne (g/t) and 84 g/t gold. Moreover: 15 of the 25 samples yielded values of more than 1 g/t gold.
The highest-grade gold samples come from the area of locally operated small open-pit mines, which are distributed at short intervals along the known Poeketi-Randy gold trend over a strike length of about 400 meters. The entire known Poeketi-Randy gold trend extends over a length of 4.5 kilometers and is still little explored. In addition, as recently reported, Sranan Gold’s geologists have discovered two parallel gold trends west and east of the Poeketi-Randy gold trend through Lidar surveys, which are also several kilometers long.
Active mining by members of the local community is taking place on several mines in the Poeketi-Randy gold trend. The Poeketi mines were discovered in 2020 after a resident found gold nuggets while working in the field (!). The initial mining was done at the surface, where coarse visible gold was found. Currently, local miners are conducting underground mining via two active shafts at depths of 22 and 80 meters. They are expanding development to the northwest, where there is a thicker cover of weathered material (see Figure 1).
These Results Have Exceeded Expectations
Dr. Dennis LaPoint, EVP Exploration and Corporate Development of Sranan Gold, commented: “These results have exceeded our expectations. The high-grade mineralization and complex structural setting indicate a potentially significant mineralization system. These grab sample results, along with recent mapping, improve our understanding of the mineralization as well as the lithological and structural controls that will be critical for our upcoming drilling program and expansion of the Poeketi trend into laterite-covered areas.”
Figure 1: View looking northwest along strike showing underground mining operations along the Poeketi structural zone.
Figure 2: High-grade grab samples of vein material being mined by small-scale miners.
In the Poeketi mines, gold occurs in association with multi-stage shearing and recrystallizations within a large fault system. Several fault-fill veins, sheared and transposed extension veins have been mapped and sampled within basaltic to volcaniclastic units near a granitic contact that extends across the entire property and may have similar conditions to the Oko West gold discovery in northwestern Guyana.
Simultaneously, teams are working on constructing the drill core camp using local materials. The technical team will continue mapping and sampling the Poeketi mine extension to properly plan the upcoming drilling program. This work will continue along the 4.5-kilometer-long Poeketi-Randy trend and its extensions.
The samples were sent to the Filab laboratory in Suriname. All samples >2 g/t were re-analyzed with 50 g and subjected to gravimetric analysis. Standard QA/QC procedures were applied, showing satisfactory reproducibility. The grab samples provide promising indications of high-grade gold. Channel samples, trenches, and drilling are intended to determine the average grade and thickness.
Conclusion: Sranan Gold could not have wished for a better start to its first exploration campaign on the Tapanahony Gold Project in Suriname. The results now measured exceed all expectations. Chief geologist Dennis LaPoint, who after all discovered the Merian Mine (300,000 ounces p.a.) in Suriname still operated by Newmont today, speaks of a “potentially significant mineralization system” in view of the results. Currently, the team is preparing for drilling along the 4.5-kilometer-long Poeketi-Randy gold trend. The two in-house drill rigs are expected to be delivered by the end of the month. There will be no shortage of news. We look forward to it.
