Artisanals helping African Gold Group in Ghana

Miners have long been divided about having artisanal miners on their concessions. While the activity can at times lead to conflict, artisanals are widely credited with providing free — if inadvertently so — geological work.

Such is the case with African Gold Group (AGG-V) at its Manso Atwere concession in Ghana.

Heavy artisanal activity at the site exposed a footwall that African Gold took 52 channel samples from and returned strong results.

Highlights from sampling include 2.36 grams gold per tonne over 22 metres; 2.73 grams per tonne over 12 metres; and 1.14 grams gold over 8 metres.

African Gold also says that two grab samples taken from the artisanal miner’s stock pile of ore, returned assay values of 10.2 grams gold and 20.9 grams gold.

In all 60 samples were taken and analyzed by the SGS Laboratory in Ghana.

The companys president, Michael Nikiforuk, says artisanals on the property understand the rule of law and have not presented any difficulties. He credits African Golds chairman Benjamin O. Adoo, a citizen of Ghana and the countrys former president of the chamber of mines, with having a deep understanding of how to best deal with artisanals.

Adoo was recently at the site and said meetings with migrant artisanals and local leaders were progressing well.

The title for Manso Atwere had been caught up in a four year court battle but was recently resolved.

African Gold says the long legal battle drew attention to the concession which underwent a dramatic increase in local artisanal mining activity.

Manso Atwere is the southern extension of the African Golds 456.2 sq. km Asankrangwa holdings an area with five concessions that collectively contain a gold-in-soil anomaly that measures 24 linear kilometers in strike length.

The north western flank Asankrangwa is contiguous and immediately on strike with Keegan Resource’s recently discovered Esaase gold deposit, which has generated buzz with its proving up a resource of 1.4 million oz. in just 12 months.

Midday in Toronto on Nov. 7 the day the news was released the companys shares were up nearly 5% or 5 $1.10 on 19,000 shares traded. The Toronto-based company has roughly 32 million shares outstanding and its share price has traded between $2.15 and 80 over the past year.