Akora Resources’ final stage of drilling confirms iron mineralisation at Bekisopa project
Eight out of 10 holes drilled in Akora’s Madagascan project have intersected iron mineralisation.
A third and final stage of drilling at Akora Resources’ (ASX: AKO) flagship Bekisopa project in Madagascar has confirmed encouraging iron mineralisation intercepts from surface to a depth of 67m and along at least 5km of strike.
The final seven shallow diamond drill holes were completed over 581m, taking the total campaign to 30 holes for 1,976m.
All seven holes intercepted “excellent” iron mineralisation at surface to 67m, with a second layer at a depth of 94m and still in mineralisation when drilling stopped at 100.3m.
Akora said the holes contained high-grade, weathered, massive mineralisation near surface as well as extensive thicknesses of massive, coarse and fine disseminated mineralisation at depth.
Onsite logging and magnetic susceptibility readings suggest the results contain high iron contents similar to those reported by Akora in a 2020 drilling program and the expectation is for similar quality-high iron product grades.
Central zone drilling
Infill drilling in the central zone confirmed the continuity of iron mineralisation across and along the magnetic anomaly and strike length.
Drilling was spaced at 200m and showed continuity of iron mineralisation along the north-south strike of over 450m.
One of the holes showed the mineralisation to have a width of some 250m, estimated true thickness of more than 100m and a depth of at least to 100m downhole.
“These final seven drill holes, like the previous 23 holes, continue to be very encouraging in confirming iron mineralisation present in the central zone, at depth and across the drill grid,” Akora said.
“This is all favourable for the development of a significant resource tonnage at Bekisopa and initial low stripping ratio mining.”
Next phase
The next phase of drilling will comprise deeper holes in the south and north parts of Bekisopa, potentially adding volume and tonnage to the project.
The campaign will move to a 24-hour roster with the arrival of a larger drill rig to ensure completion of work by end October.
The cycle of drilling, logging, preparation and dispatch to ALS laboratories in Perth continues on schedule, giving Akora confidence that it could produce a JORC compliant resource estimate by year end.