Mako Gold secures two rigs for drilling at Napié project
The second rig is being mobilised to Mako’s Tchaga prospect to continue extensional diamond drilling.
Australian explorer Mako Gold (ASX: MKG) has secured a second drill rig to accelerate exploration at its Tchaga and Gogbala prospects within the flagship Napié project in Côte d’Ivoire.
The prospects are located on a 23-kilometre soil geochemical anomaly along the 30km-long Napié Fault.
The rig is being mobilised to Tchaga to continue extensional diamond drilling which has been ongoing since the end of West Africa’s wet season.
Work will target mineralised zone extensions to the southwest and at depth, as well as new zones south of the seasonal watercourse.
Mako is hoping any significant mineralisation intersected will add ounces to an upcoming maiden mineral resource estimate for Tchaga.
Undrilled zones
At Gogbala, the company is aiming to target large undrilled zones along strike of recent and previous shallow, wide and high-grade intercepts.
The immediate focus is south of a section which previously returned 35 metres at 1.72 grams per tonne gold and 20m at 1.92g/t gold, and coincident anomalies have validated and further prioritised the target.
Highlights from previous drilling at Gogbala include 20m at 3.41g/t gold from 19m; 12m at 5.39g/t gold from 11m; 7m at 6.7g/t gold from 6m; and 23m at 1.81g/t gold from 19m.
New discoveries
Mako managing director Peter Ledwidge said two drill rigs at Napié will provide flexibility to test numerous regional targets with the aim of making new discoveries for future resource drilling.
“Having two drill rigs will allow us to focus on drilling Gogbala while completing extensional drilling at Tchaga as we move towards a maiden resource estimate in the first half of next year,” he said.
“The second rig will add optionality to test regional targets with a view to discovering new zones for future additional resource definition.”
He said the company aims to target a “multi-million-ounce project-scale resource” along the Napié Fault.
Project farm-in
In 2017, Mako entered into a farm-in and joint venture agreement on the Napié permit with Occidental Gold SARL, a subsidiary of Perseus Mining (ASX: PRU).
That deal gave Mako the ability to boost its 51% equity to 75% through the delivery of a feasibility study.
In June, Mako entered into a new agreement with Perseus to consolidate its interest from 51% to 90%.