Alpha Exploration drills 15.33 g/t gold over 18 metres at Aburna, Eritrea

Alpha Exploration Ltd. [TSXV-ALEX] reported further drilling results from a 10,000-metre drill program underway on its Aburna Gold Prospect on the 100%-owned, 771 km² Kerkasha Project located in Eritrea. Drilling consists of both reverse-circulation (RC) drilling and diamond core (DC) drilling.

Highlights: 18m at 15.33 g/t Au from RC-DC hole ABD012 (Hill 52); 49m at 2.75 g/t Au (including 7m at 14.90g/t Au) from RC-DC hole ABD013 (Hill 52).

This is the highest grade mineralization intersected to data across the Aburna project. Drilling extends wide, high-grade zone to over 200 metres at Hill 52. Shallow plunging geometry of gold mineralization now confirmed at Central Area and Hill 52

Assays have been received from a further 16 holes completed over the Hill 52, Central and Northeast Area prospects on Aburna. Hole ABD012 intersected 15.33 g/t Au over 18m and was drilled as a step out along strike from existing high-grade mineralization that included holes ABD001 (20m at 7.70 g/t Au). ABD013, a step-out from ABD012, intersected 49m at 2.75 g/t Au and included two separate higher-grade zones of 7m at 14.90 g/t Au and 2m at 6.19 g/t Au at shallow depths (<70m from surface).

In combination, holes ABD012 and ABD013 have significantly extended a wide, high-grade zone of mineralization that was originally defined in 2022 by the Company and reported in drill holes ABR005 (15m @ 5.85 g/t Au), ABR018 (8m @ 5.47 g/t Au) and ABD001 (20m @ 7.70 g/t Au) – see Figure 2, below.

Additional new results include hole ABR114 (6m at 4.5 g/t Au and 2m at 11.91 g/t Au ), that has further defined a separate mineralized structure within Hill 52.

Aburna is a major, district scale orogenic gold prospect covering an area of at least 7km long and 2km wide and is one of the three significant discoveries made by Alpha on the Kerkasha licence in the last three years. Exploration to date by Alpha on the project has defined six primary areas of interest, and has established significant high-grade gold mineralized systems at Central Area, Hill 52 and Northeast Area.

Michael Hopley, Alpha President & CEO said, “We are very pleased to report these spectacular results from the ongoing drill program at Aburna. In particular, holes ABD012 and ABD013 have exceeded all of our expectations by extending to over 200m a high-grade shoot originally identified in 2022. ABD012 (15.33 g/t Au over 18 metres) and translating to >275 gram metres is the highest grade result we have reported on the Aburna project.

“The identification of shallow, plunging high-grade mineralization at Hill 52 following similar confirmation at Central Area last month, is testament to the strength of our technical team and the work completed to date. The team is already preparing additional drill targets to extend this zone further which remains open down dip and down plunge, with drilling expected to restart in the next few weeks.

“We look forward to reporting further assay results on the project as data is released as well as the imminent start of the second phase of the 10,000 metre drill program at Aburna.”

A further 19 drillholes have been completed at Aburna and these have principally been completed at the Hill 52 prospect (11 holes), 3 drillholes at the Central Area with a further 5 drillholes at Northeast Area. Of the 11 holes completed at Hill 52, five (ABD116,-118,-120,-121 and -122) are partially reported and are awaiting assays from the diamond core ‘tail’ of drillholes which are expected shortly.

The company commenced the current drill program in December 2023. To date, 33 drillholes for 6,033 metres have been drilled at Central Area (13 drillholes), Hill 52 (11 drillholes) and Northeast Area (9 drillholes). Further assay results have been received from 16 of these 33 drillholes. Shallow plunging gold mineralization confirmed at Hill 52 and Central Areas, Aburna

Further to the company’s press releases dated November 15, 2023, December 8, 2023, January 2, 2024 and February 7, 2024, Alpha announced that the TSX Venture Exchange has agreed to extend the closing of the second tranche of its previously announced non-brokered private placement of units in the capital of the corporation of up to $5,000,000.00 at a purchase price of $0.70 per Unit until March 31, 2024. The first tranche of the Offering closed after market close on December 7, 2023, for total aggregate gross proceeds of $4,180,001.00 as previously announced by the corporation. The principal use of the proceeds of the Offering will be for funding ongoing exploration work on the Kerkasha Project in Eritrea, operating and administrative expenses, working capital and general corporate purposes.