Glistening gold in the DRC
Is gold exploration in the DRC hot right now? Yes it is. Is gold a hot commodity right now? Yes again. This confirms that the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is a red hot gold mining destination.
Loncor Resources has announced that the third core hole of a 7 000 m drilling program at its Adumbi deposit has intersected significant gold intersections of 28.00 m grading 3.26 g/t gold and 20.30 metres grading 2.83 g/t Au at its 84.68% owned Imbo Project in the eastern part of the Ngayu greenstone belt in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Borehole LADD004 had an inclination of minus 70 degrees and azimuth of 220 degrees at the start of hole and regular measurements of inclination and azimuth were taken at 30 m intervals down the hole.
All core was orientated and it is estimated that the true widths of the mineralised sections are 81% of the intersected width. All intercepted grades are uncut. LADD004 intersected the mineralized zone at a shallower depth than planned due to upward deflection of the borehole.
Commenting on these latest drilling results, Loncor President Peter Cowley says:
“We are very encouraged by the results of the first three core holes of our 7,000 m drilling program at Adumbi. All these boreholes have intersected significant widths and grades and should increase the current inferred mineral resource of 2.19 Moz (28.97 Moz grading 2.35 g/t gold) at Adumbi, both within the current open pit and at depth below the pit.”
The gold mineralization at Adumbi is associated with a thick package (up to 130 metres) of interbedded banded ironstone and quartz carbonate and chlorite schist with higher grade sections being found in a strongly altered siliceous unit termed “Replaced Rock” (RP) where structural deformation and alteration has completely destroyed the primary host lithological fabric.
Disseminated sulphide assemblages include pyrite, pyrrhotite and arsenopyrite which can attain up to 20% of the total rock in places.
The objective of the current drilling program at Adumbi is to outline additional mineral resources to the current inferred mineral resource of 2.5 million ounces of gold on Loncor’s 84.68%-owned Imbo Project which contains the Adumbi, Kitenge and Manzako deposits (inferred mineral resources of 30.65 million tonnes grading 2.54 g/t Au).
