Roxgold drills high grades at Boussoura in Burkina Faso

Toronto-based Roxgold (TSX: ROXG; US-OTC: ROGFF) announced the results from a new exploration program conducted at the company’s Boussoura project, located in the southern part of Burkina Faso, near the border with Côte d’Ivoire.

Staked by the company in 2014, Boussoura is located in the West African Houndé Greenstone belt, which is host to several large-scale operating mines, including Roxgold’s Yaramoko mine and Endeavour Mining’s (TSX: EDV; US-OTC: EDVMF) Houndé and Mana mines.

Boussoura is spread over 250 sq. km and includes the Fofora area in the northern part of the site (the target of the recent drill program) and Galgouli in the south. At least nine sets of shear zones and vein corridors have been identified to date within an active 9 sq. km. artisanal field in the Fofora area. Since drilling resumed in early May, five new vein corridors have been tested that are within 2 km of the main Fofora vein.

Highlights of the exploration program at Fofora include drill hole FFR-040, which returned 5 metres of 26.9 grams gold per tonne starting from 80 metres. This hole included intercepts of 1 metre of 147 grams gold per tonne from 80 metres downhole, with separate intervals of 2 metres of 7.3 grams gold per tonne from 43 metres, 6 metres of 2.5 grams gold per tonne from 58 metres and 9 metres of 2.7 grams gold per tonne from 182 metres.

Another hole, FFR-063, returned 9 metres of 10.7 grams gold from 71 metres, including 1 metre of 84.1 grams gold from 77 metres.

“We have now identified over nine mineralized vein sets over four vein corridors across only a third of the 9 sq. km. active area at Fofora,” Paul Weedon, Roxgold’s vice president of exploration said in a statement, adding that the results underpin the high-grade nature of the veining at the site.

“The exploration success at the Boussoura project continues to build our confidence in the potential for the project to become Roxgold’s third high-value asset,” stated John Dorward, the company’s president and chief executive. Its other two assets are Yaramoko in Burkina Faso and its Séguéla gold project in Cote d’Ivoire.

“We announced the discovery of Boussoura in February of this year,” said Dorward. “And have drilled over 70 holes with consistent assay returns demonstrating broad intersections of mineralization with lower grade halos surrounding higher grade quartz veining at Fofora and high grade veins at Galgouli.”

At press time, Roxgold’s shares were trading at $1.74 within a 52-week range of 56¢ and $1.78. The company has 372 million common shares outstanding and a market capitalization of $648 million.