Etruscan exploring 3 zones on Koma Bangou property (September 04, 1995)

Etruscan Enterprises (VSE) is intensifying drilling at its Koma Bangou gold property in Niger, West Africa.

The company is using two diamond drills, one reverse-circulation drill and a truck-mounted auger drill to test three gold zones. In addition, a bottle-roll facility capable of processing 100 samples per day has been mobilized.

The auger rig will be used to drill short holes below the sand and laterite cover to test the geophysical anomalies.

Uncontaminated soil samples will be obtained and submitted to the new lab for geochemical analyses.

Near-surface targets derived from this initial phase of exploration will be tested with the reverse-circulation rig, while deeper targets will be tested by diamond drilling.

A new area of near-surface, porphyry-related gold mineralization has been discovered west of the V-1 South zone. The Central West zone measures 200 by 250 metres and has been drilled on 50-metre centres to a depth of 5 metres.

It remains open to the west and is characterized by a strong gold geochemical anomaly of up to 402 parts per billion gold.

The Central West also lies within 200 metres of a larger, 400-by-500-metre area exhibiting a high gold geochemical anomaly found in termite mounds.

Etruscan thinks there is good potential to find a large-tonnage, low-grade deposit in this area.

Situated 5 km east of the Central area, the Grande zone consists of an 8-km-long gold geochemical anomaly in termite mounds and coincident geophysical trends. Etruscan has completed 160 line km of ground geophysical surveys outlining a 100-to-300-metre-wide magnetic low.

Gold mineralization is believed to be either contact-related or in a stratabound zone within siliceous host rocks.

Last year, drilling on the Grande intersected values of up to 25 grams gold per tonne over 10 metres. Etruscan will complete systematic auger drilling to delineate targets in this area.

Etruscan is also exploring the V-1 South, which covers an 8-sq.-km area.

Reverse-circulation drilling has outlined a favorable, 1-km-long contact between an intrusive porphyry and volcanic-sedimentary rocks.

The V-1 zone lies along the contact and averages 80 metres in width.

Work to date suggests the structure hosts an inferred resource of 15 million tonnes averaging 1.5 grams per tonne, and geophysics indicate the contact extends another 5 km.