Aton Resources drills 4.28 g/t AuEq over 20.78 metres at Abu Marawat, Egypt
Aton Resources Inc. [AAN-TSXV] reported the final assay results from the recent diamond drilling program at Hamama, located in the 100%-owned Abu Marawat concession in the Eastern Desert of Egypt.
Highlights: A total of 545.8 metres was drilled from 15 shallow holes at the Crocs Nose zone (CNZ) at Hamama West, completing the short Hamama 2023 diamond drilling program. The program was designed to test for potential near-surface oxide gold-silver mineralization that had been previously intersected in a limited number of holes;
Results from the program included the following mineralized intersections: 1.57 g/t gold (Au), 230.6 g/t silver (Ag) and 4.28 g/t gold equivalent (AuEq) over an interval of 20.78 metres from 12.66 metres downhole depth (HAD-054); 1.84 g/t Au, 62.2 g/t Ag and 2.57 g/t AuEq over an interval of 24.55 metres from 6.45 metres downhole depth (HAD-052); 1.37 g/t Au, 52.81 g/t Ag and 1.99 g/t AuEq over an interval of 34.8 metres from two metres downhole depth (HAD-042); 1.63 g/t Au, 7.01 g/t Ag and 1.71 g/t AuEq over an interval of 16.3 metres from surface (HAD-049); and 1.23 g/t Au, 41.01 g/t Ag and 1.72 g/t AuEq over an interval of 18.9 metres from 0.8 metres downhole depth (HAD-045).
Preparations are well under way for the upcoming RC (reverse circulation) exploration drilling program, with drilling expected to commence within the first fortnight of May at West Garida.
“These final results from the Crocs Nose exceeded expectations, and we are very pleased with them.” said Tonno Vahk, Interim CEO. “The Crocs Nose Zone represents a structural offset of the main mineralized zone at Hamama West and was not included in the 2017 mineral resource estimate. The grades intersected in this program are notably higher than the overall grade of the Hamama West oxide resource, and this zone should be a nice sweetener to the planned starter open pit mining operation at Hamama. We are also pleased to have now signed the RC drilling contract with Geodrill and look forward to starting the drilling at West Garida in May. We believe there is good potential to rapidly add significant near-surface ounces from the high-grade quartz veins we drilled at West Garida last summer to the overall resource base at Hamama.”
Diamond drilling re-commenced at Hamama in mid-January 2023, and was completed on March 11, 2023, with a total of 1,612.7 metres drilled. The mineralization at Hamama is hosted in a stratiform silica-carbonate horizon (SCMH) that outcrops over an approximately 3.2km strike length, and is variable in thickness. At Hamama West the SCMH is greater than 60 metres in thickness in places, and is typically iron oxide-rich and gossanous at surface and throughout the oxide zone.
Aton Resources is focused on its 100% owned Abu Marawat Concession, located in Egypt’s Arabian-Nubian Shield, approximately 200 km north of Centamin’s world-class Sukari gold mine. Aton has identified numerous gold and base metal exploration targets at Abu Marawat, including the Hamama deposit in the west, the Abu Marawat deposit in the northeast, and the advanced Rodruin exploration prospect in the south of the Concession.
Two historic British gold mines are also located on the Concession at Sir Bakis and Semna. Aton has identified several distinct geological trends within Abu Marawat, which display potential for the development of a variety of styles of precious and base metal mineralization. Abu Marawat is 447.7 km2 in size and is located in an area of excellent infrastructure; a four-lane highway, a 220kV power line, and a water pipeline are in close proximity, as are the international airports at Hurghada and Luxor.