PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Further drilling at the Syama gold mine, in Mali, has confirmed a "major" new gold discovery, owner Resolute Mining reported on Thursday.
Additional high-grade intercepts were confirmed from diamond drilling of the Nafolo prospect, with Resolute reporting that the current drilling programme had significantly improved on the initial positive results from previous drill holes.
“The new discovery at Nafolo has the potential to transform our operations at Syama, and is a great vindication of our increased investment in exploration,” said MD and CEO John Welborn.
“These results are particularly significant as they intersect gold mineralisation with similar characteristics, size and tenor as the mineralisation within the eight-million-ounce Syama orebody.”
Welborn noted that the Nafolo discovery had the potential to further mineralisation along strike to the south and down dip and these initial results suggested the Nafolo prospect was likely to add significant resource to the current mine plan at Syama.
“The addition of the Nafolo discovery reinforces Syama’s status as a world class ore system. These new results continue to highlight the exceptional size and quality of the mineralisation. Development of the Syama underground mine is progressing on schedule, and is currently expected to deliver strong margins over more than 12 years of mining.”
The Nafolo discovery is expected to materially increase the Syama underground resource, and has the potential to be accessed early in the current underground mine plan, which will expand future production and further extend the mine life, Welborn said.