West Kenya Project Resource Increases to 1.55 Moz Gold including 221% Increase in Indicated Ounces
Shanta Gold (AIM: SHG), the East Africa-focused gold producer, developer and explorer, is pleased to announce an upgraded mineral resource estimate for the West Kenya Project (“West Kenya”) in Kenya to 1.55 Moz gold, including a 221% increase in Indicated Resource to 378 koz gold grading 11.70 g/t.
Highlights in 2021:
· Total resources at Isulu, Bushiangala, and Ramula deposits increase by 31% to 1.55 Moz;
· Resources of 1.12 Moz grading 10.80 g/t at Isulu and Bushiangala, of which 34% have been upgraded to Indicated category up from Nil at the start of 2021;
· 221% increase in Indicated ounces (“oz”) to 377,840 grading 11.70 g/t, exceeding internal expectations for 2021;
Summary 1 | Indicated | Inferred | Total | |||
Deposit | Grade (Au g/t) | Ounces (k) | Grade (Au g/t) | Ounces (k) | Grade (Au g/t) | Ounces (k) |
Bushiangala | 7.86 | 109 | 6.59 | 134 | 7.10 | 243 |
Isulu | 14.59 | 269 | 11.92 | 605 | 12.63 | 874 |
Liranda Region | 11.70 | 378 | 10.39 | 739 | 10.80 | 1,117 |
Ramula 2 | – | – | 2.08 | 434 | 2.08 | 434 |
West Kenya Project | 11.70 | 378 | 5.36 | 1,173 | 6.18 | 1,551 |
1. Tonnages reported in the detailed Mineral Resource Estimate table below
2. The Ramula Region, located 35 km from the Liranda Region, currently hosts 7 targets including the Ramula deposit
Table above excludes the Bumbo polymetallic JORC compliant resource in the Liranda Region
· Current oxides in the Indicated category contain 67,070 oz grading 15.84 g/t, providing potential excellent high margin cash flow during future construction ramp-up;
· Approximately 700,000 oz of additional Inferred resources being targeted during 2022 for potential conversion to Indicated category; and
· A JORC 2012 compliant Mineral Resource Estimate at the Bumbo deposit within the Liranda Region is now declared totaling 2.49 Mt at 2.7% Zn, 1.21% Cu, 32.12g/t Ag, 0.28% Pb, and 0.76 g/t Au.
Eric Zurrin, Chief Executive Officer, commented:
“We are delighted to announce that the Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) at the West Kenya Project has increased by 31% to 1.55 Moz and Indicated Resources have increased by 221% to 378 Koz grading 11.70 g/t at the end of 2021. The increase in the MRE is further confirmation that the West Kenya Project is itself hugely exciting, with our geologists confident that up to an additional 700 Koz of Inferred Resources can be converted to Indicated in 2022. In addition, new early-stage targets will be explored this year with the aim of converting them to the Inferred resource stages. Our West Kenya Project is located in the high-potential and underexplored greenstone belt within the Lake Victoria Goldfields, which already hosts world class gold mines owned by Barrick and AngloGold Ashanti.
We now have compliant resources at four separate deposits — Isulu, Bushiangala, Ramula, and the re-introduction of the historic Bumbo deposit — confirming the widespread geological prospectivity of the West Kenya project. Future exploration of many additional highly prospective targets has the potential to lead to a multi-million ounce gold region.
We currently have three drill rigs operational and Feasibility Study work begins in May 2022. Excellent visual intersections have been observed in drilling results since the start of 2022 with multiple occurrences of visible gold. Assay results from these holes are due in April/May.”