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MODERN MINING
November 2016
MINING News
Orca Gold Inc, listed on the TSX-V, has
announced the results from the first met-
allurgical core holes drilled at the Galat
Sufar South (GSS) deposit (which has indi-
cated resources of 26,3 Mt grading 1,77 g/t
and inferred resources of 10,0 Mt grad-
ing 1,70 g/t). Intercepts from the drilling
include up to 150 m grading 2,20 g/t.
The holes form part of the work pro-
gramme for the Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS).
The PFS is being managed by Lycopodium
and is scheduled for completion by the
end of Q1 2017.
GSS forms part of Orca’s Block 14 gold
project in Sudan. It is located close to
Sudan’s border with Egypt, 900 km north
of the capital Khartoum. Access to the
project is by sealed road along the eastern
bank of the River Nile to the town of Abu
Hamad and then via a well-used desert
road to the project area.
The PQ and HQ sized diamond drill
holes were drilled within the pit designs
used for the Preliminary Economic
Assessment (PEA) completed in July this
year in the Main and East Zones at GSS,
where the true width of mineralisation is
in excess of 65 m.
Commenting on the results, Richard
Clark, CEO and Director, said, “Whilst the
new holes are infill to provide both met-
allurgical information and infill assay
data for the PFS, they strongly re-iterate
and confirm the scale and width of the
mineralisation at Galat Sufar South. The
distribution of grade within these areas
Orca Gold announces Block 14 drilling results
The camp serving the Block 14 gold project in northern Sudan (photo: Orca Gold).
is remarkably consistent, lending itself to
open-pit mining with a waste: ore ratio of
2:1, defined by the PEA.
“A geotechnical core drilling pro-
gramme has also now been completed
(results pending) and two reverse circu-
lation rigs are now working on an infill
programme to convert inferred resources
within the PEA pits to indicated to enable
us to define a maiden ore reserve as part
of the PFS. We remain very excited by the
developing story at GSS and Block 14.”
Clark is a former President and CEO
of Red Back Mining, which was acquired
by Kinross Gold in late 2010. Other key
executives in Orca have a background
with Red Back. Hugh Stuart, Orca’s
President, was VP Exploration at Red
Back from 2003 and responsible for
the discovery of the Akwaaba Deeps
and Paboase underground deposits at
Chirano in Ghana and the Greenschist
zone at Tasiast in Mauritania, increasing
the company’s resources by plus 18 Moz.
Orca’s COO is Kevin Ross, who fulfilled
the same function at Red Back, where he
directed the development of the Akwaaba
Deeps underground mine, the Chirano
plant expansion, and the Tasiast plant
expansion.
Orca is contemplating a 1,8 Mt/a CIL
operation using contract mining at Block
14 with a gold production of 73 000 oz/a
over a mine life of 16 years. According to
the PEA, initial capex would be approxi-
mately US$123 million.
Giyani plans acquisition of manganese properties
Giyani Gold Corp, listed on the TSX-V, has
entered into a non-binding Letter of Intent
with Arnoldus Brand, director and owner of
Matsamo Gold Corp, Menzi Battery Metals
and Qakaza Diamond Corp, to acquire an
88-95 % interest in various prospecting
licences in Botswana that are highly pro-
spective for manganese. The significant
13 283 km
2
land package includes an appli-
cation for the Kgwakgwe Hill manganese
mine and also surrounds Rio Tinto’s recent
iron ore discovery.
“This acquisition positions Giyani with a
world class manganese project far ahead of
the curve before the global market realises
this product will perform similarly to
lithium with increased demand and price
performance,” comments Duane Parnham,
Giyani’s Executive Chairman.
“The location of this project has virtu-
ally untapped mineral potential within the
Kalahari Manganese Field that fits well with
our corporate strategy of acquiring raw
material to feed the growing battery indus-
try. The regional scale project with proven
historical production and drill cores con-
taining high-grade manganese, all within a
favourable mining jurisdiction, make this an
exceptional target to add and sustain share-
holder value.”