TSX-V-listed gold explorer Aton Resources reports that its ongoing Phase 2 diamond drilling programme at its advanced Rodruin gold exploration project, in Egypt, has returned high-grade mineralisation.

In particular, drill hole ROD-071 returned gold mineralisation of 5.76 g/t, silver grading 42 g/t, copper grading 0.31% and zinc grading 2.4% over an 88.6 m interval.

Rodruin is located in Aton’s fully-owned Abu Marawat concession in the Eastern Desert of Egypt.

Drill holes ROD-074 and ROD-075 were drilled to follow up on the sulphide mineralisation intersected in hole ROD-71.

Drill hole ROD-075 returned a mineralised polymetallic sulphide intersection grading 7.04 g/t gold, 47.2 g/t silver, 0.63% copper and 7.18% zinc over a 36.9 m interval, from 112.1 m downhole. This drill hole also included a particularly high-grade zone of 6.9 m, grading 26.8 g/t gold, 142.4 g/t silver, 1.25% copper and 16.8% zinc.

Drill hole ROD-074 also returned intersections of oxide mineralisation starting from surface, including 2.94 g/t gold, 6.4 g/t silver and 5.14% zinc over 36.85 m; while hole ROD-075 found gold mineralization grading 1.65 g/t, 3.7 g/t silver and 5.29% zinc over 19.25 m.

Aton, in a statement on June 1, states that these latest drillholes continue to indicate the potential for both surface oxide and deeper sulphide mineralisation at Rodruin.

CEO Tonno Vahk says the latest gold-polymetallic intersection follows up on the results Aton reported several weeks ago from hole ROD-071, and has returned even higher grades of both precious and base metals.

“The mineralisation at Rodruin is clearly unusual and is structurally complex, as we have appreciated since its initial discovery, and our exploration team are working to piece it together.”

As at the Hamama and Abu Marawat deposits, the base metals credits are “very significant”, he adds.

Therefore, Aton is assessing various options to see if the copper and zinc may also be viable to recover.

Meanwhile, the explorer is continuing to push ahead with drilling the nearer-surface oxide material, with its efforts focused on the establishment of a maiden mineral resource estimate at Rodruin.

“The Ministry of Petroleum and Egyptian Mineral Resources Authority continue to advance the mining and exploration sector in Egypt, and we are delighted to remain at the vanguard of this process, as we work towards our goal of the development of multiple mines on our Abu Marawat Concession,” says Vahk.