Alexander Nubia plans February drilling in Egypt
James Yates, geologist; Jasser Haroun, drill assistant; Mohamed Raslan, geology assistant, and Danae Voormeij, Exploration Manager, at Hamama gold-rich VMS project in Egypt's Central Eastern Desert. Photo courtesy Alexander Nubia International Inc.
Mark Campbell, CEO, Alexander Nubia International Inc. [AAN-TSXV; ANLBF-OTC], reported drilling will recommence at the start of February at its wholly-owned Hamama gold-rich VMS project in Egypt’s Eastern Desert. Drilling will be concentrated on Hamama West, in particular on the gold-oxide cap and the primary sulphides at depth, where previous drilling intercepted significant mineralization, including 43.5 metres at 2.61 g/t gold, 150 g/t silver, 3.70% zinc and 0.23% copper in drill hole AHA-58 (see news release dated Nov. 2, 2015).
Program summary:
- Twelve drill fences are proposed at 40-metre-by-40-metre drill centres for a total of 3,345 m of diamond core drilling across 32 holes.
- Drilling will be focused on oxide mineralization at surface, the oxide/sulphide transition zone and the primary sulphides at depth.
- Drill hole lengths will range from 40 m to 220 m.
- Ten oxide composite drill core samples from the gold-oxide cap will be shipped to ALS Minerals in Kamloops for metallurgical testing, including mineral identification of copper and zinc species using Qemscan and XRD analysis.
- Capital Drilling has been retained for the drilling program at Hamama, using rigs based in Egypt.
Campbell stated, “We are ramping up our exploration program in Egypt, drilling the Hamama oxide and primary sulphides to a true vertical depth of 150 metres. We have recently met with the Egyptian Mineral Research Authority (EMRA) and are working closely with them to develop Hamama West and additional targets and to discuss the updated mining law that came into effect towards the end of 2015. Concurrent to drilling Hamama, the exploration team is preparing drill targets at the historic gold mine of Abu Zawal, where drilling will commence in April, 2016.”
Hamama gold-rich VMS deposit
Hamama is located within a northeast-trending gold-copper belt that extends for 40 km across the company’s Abu Marawat concession. The main horizon of Hamama has a strike length of 3 km and is divided into three main zones: Hamama West, Hamama Central and Hamama East. Mineralization at Hamama crops out at surface and, at Hamama West, is deeply weathered into a soft and friable oxidized blanket called the gold-oxide cap, which extends over 900 m in strike length and has an average vertical depth of 35 m.
Drill results in oxide at Hamama West include 37 metres at 2.32 g/t gold and 107.1 g/t silver in AHA-15, 32.6 m at 1.37 g/t gold and 56.4 g/t silver in AHA-37, and 19 m at 2.46 g/t gold and 157.3 g/t silver in AHA-46.
Preliminary metallurgical (bottle-roll) test results on the gold-oxide cap returned up to 92.2% gold and 65% silver recovery by cyanide leach from oxide (see Jan. 13, 2015, news release). Primary sulphide mineralization at Hamama West returned such intercepts as 48 m at 1.45 g/t gold and 31.8 g/t silver in AHA-23 and 88 m at 1.11 g/t gold and 118 g/t silver in AHA-31 (see news release dated May 12, 2015). The last drill hole from the 2015 drilling program, AHA-58, was entirely mineralized, from surface to a 210-metre depth, and includes 39 m at 1.64% zinc, 0.25 g/t gold and 25.7 g/t silver (53 m to 92 m), 12.3 m at 2.49% zinc, 0.29% copper, 0.26 g/t gold and 41.4 g/t silver (92 m to 104.3 m), 43.5 m at 3.70% zinc, 0.23% copper, 2.61 g/t gold and 150 g/t silver (112.5 m to 156 m), and 50.7 m at 0.69 g/t gold and 29.7 g/t silver (160 m to 210.7 m).