Aton Resources samples 67.5 g/t gold at Abu Marawat, Egypt
Aton Resources Inc. [AAN-TSXV] reported results of recent surface sampling programs at several of its regional target areas, undertaken ahead of the reverse circulation percussion drilling program at the 100%-owned Abu Marawat concession in the Eastern Desert of Egypt.
Highlights: Aton has recently undertaken several sampling and mapping programs in advance of the now started RC drilling program.
A total of 104 selective grab and non-selective surface channel samples were collected from the Semna, Abu Gaharish, Bohlog, Sir Bakis and Massaghat prospects; 25 samples were collected from the Semna prospect, returning assays including 27.6 g/t Au, 24.0 g/t Au and 16.95 g/t Au; 40 samples were collected from the Abu Gaharish prospect, returning assays including 67.5 g/t Au, 23.3 g/t Au and 16.5 g/t Au; 17 samples were collected from the Bohlog prospect, returning assays including 54.9 g/t Au and 48.4 g/t Au; 8 samples were collected from the Sir Bakis prospect, returning assays including 9.62 g/t Au and 6.61 g/t Au; 14 samples were collected from the Massaghat prospect, returning assays including 34.5 g/t Au.
“We are pleased to be able to announce another set of exciting surface sampling results from Abu Marawat, which gives us real confidence for the regional RC drill program that has now started,” said Tonno Vahk, Interim CEO. “This sampling has been undertaken during the last months, as we have been planning up the drilling at our regional targets. The team have been very busy on the ground, preparing for the drilling and we are very happy that it is now underway. As well as the work in the field, we continue to push ahead with our main goal for 2023, which is our application for the mining licence at Abu Marawat. Work on the Rodruin and Hamama West mineral resource estimates is ongoing and the metallurgical testwork programs are now almost completed. The anticipated issuance of the mining licence at Abu Marawat will be a transformational moment for Aton, and we continue to work closely with our partners at the Ministry of Petroleum and the Egyptian Mineral Resources Authority to achieve this shared goal.”
Abu Marawat regional sampling program: The company has undertaken several ad hoc surface sampling programs, as part of its preparation and planning activities for the regional RC exploration drilling program that has now started.
All the company’s main exploration targets have recently been exploited by artisanal miners, predominantly since the company’s suspension of field activities in 2020 as a result of the covid-19 pandemic. This has provided the opportunity to carry out additional sampling and mapping of the known structures, as well as previously unidentified mineralized structures that have been exploited by the artisanal miners. The sampling consisted predominantly of selective grab and chip sampling, with fewer 1-2m long non-selective in situ channel samples across potentially mineralized structures.
Aton Resources is focused on its 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.