Marvel Gold finds new parallel gold lode at Tabakorole northwest zone
Marvel Gold expects to reveal a “meaningful” increase to Tabakorole’s gold resource estimate later this month.
Drilling at Marvel Gold’s (ASX: MVL) Tabakorole gold project in southern Mali has confirmed a new parallel lode of mineralisation outside of the existing mineral resource.
The lode was identified from results received for the final eight diamond holes drilled for a total 1,296 metres from the northwest zone as part of a larger resource expansion program.
Targets in the northwest zone aimed to follow up on reverse circulation (RC) results from earlier in the year including 16m at 2 grams per tonne gold from 75m and 6m at 5.8g/t gold from 61m.
Of the latest results, the best intercept adding continuity to the existing mineral resource was 17m at 3.6g/t gold from surface.
In addition, a new, shallow parallel lode of higher-grade mineralisation was confirmed over at least 120m of strike, with drilling encountering 24m at 2.4g/t gold from 35m and 21m at 1.5g/t gold from 26m, up dip from the previously reported RC intercept.
Marvel managing director Phil Hoskins said the drilling campaign has confirmed the brownfields resource growth potential at Tabakorole.
“Our 2020-21 resource expansion drill program has delivered strike extensions to the northwest and southeast, improved the grade in both the central and northwest zones and defined shallow, high-grade mineralisation outside of the existing resource.”
“We believe that this will result in a meaningful increase to the mineral resource which is expected to be reported in September,” he added.
Mineral resource upgrade
A total of 4,140m of diamond drilling and 5,400m of RC drilling competed during the 2021 field season will feed into an upgraded mineral resource estimate expected this month.
Marvel said it expected to see enhancements in both volume and grade of the resource, given an increase in strike length to both the southeast and northwest, and the intersection of shallow, high-grade mineralisation in the central zone.
Tabakorole has an existing mineral resource estimate totalling 23.9 million tonnes at 1.2g/t gold for 910,000 ounces of gold.
Marvel currently holds a 51% interest in the project in joint venture with UK-listed Altus Strategies but is nearing a 70% stake following recently completed work programs.