South Atlantic Gold trenches Pedra Branca project, Brazil
South Atlantic Gold Inc. [SAO-TSXV; JLRRF-OTC] has completed the trenching program of the phase II exploration program at its 100%-owned Pedra Branca project, located in Ceara state, northeastern Brazil. The trenching program assayed over 200 mineralized intersections, including the highest grading intersection at surface identified so far with 3 metres grading 38 g/t gold.
The Relatorio Final de Pesquisa (RFP) report was submitted to the Agencia Nacional de Mineracao (ANM), the Brazilian mining agency, on time and in compliance with the deadline as set by Brazilian mining regulations. In addition, the northern portion of the drone geophysical magnetic survey is on-going and the results of this study should identify exploration targets to support the exploration strategies with the goal of continuously adding mineral resources.
Douglas Meirelles, CEO stated, “The company has successfully completed all trenches for the Phase II exploration program at Pedra Branca. The results have arrived and are being reported as we work to consolidate the data. We have now completed a major milestone and have filed all the final required exploration reports with ANM and expect that these 15 tenements will be approved for the next phases in the process and will be converted from exploration into mining concessions. As shown with the Phase I exploration program, we continue to achieve our objectives on time and on budget.”
The required exploration schedule included a detailed trenching program that outlined 48 trenches totaling 9,880 metres and minimal supportive RC drilling for each tenement. The program was successful in extending the current known mineralized trends south in the Pedra Branca tenement package and supported the previously defined Mineral Resources report (RFP) filed with the Brazilian mining agency, ANM. This work had the objective to convert 15 of the tenements that comprise the Pedra Branca project from exploration to mining concession tenements.
Trenching highlights included 3 metres of 32.63 g/t gold, including 1 metre of 96.04 g/t gold at Barra Nova; 8 metres of 0.94 g/t gold, including 2 metres of 3.3 g/t gold at Cachoeirinha and 6 metres of 0.78 g/t gold, including 2 metres of 1.75 g/t gold at Cachoeirinha, among others.
South Atlantic has successfully submitted the final exploration report of 15 tenements and are advancing it to a PEA stage within ANM. The company also identified high-grade results and several continuously mineralized samples over the entire south portion of the Pedra Branca asset.
The next milestone in the Phase II program will be to conclude the airborne geophysical magnetic survey (drone survey). The magnetic survey results will be compiled with the assay results to provide a more comprehensive database and will be reported accordingly with all new assay results that will be received, including previous pending assay results from Phase I exploration program. Although the rainy weather has presented a constant challenge to the drone survey team, results are expected still within May 2022, and these geophysical results will be paramount in defining the proper Phase III exploration program strategy for Pedra Branca.
South Atlantic Gold’s flagship asset is the Pedra Branca project, located 280 km southwest of Fortaleza, Ceara State, Brazil.