Fairstar releases results from Amantin

A first phase of diamond drilling on the Benso concession in Ghana has identified a gold-bearing shear zone underlying the Amantin prospect.

Fairstar Explorations (FFR-M) conducted the 5-hole, 1,800-metre program in order to test a 1-km-long, gold-in-saprolite anomaly previously identified by a soil and geophysical survey.

The latest results indicate the anomaly is underlain by a shear zone up to 200 metres wide and open at depth, with anomalous gold values throughout.

Gold values ranged from 0.1 up to 19.14 grams per tonne, with the highest value being obtained in hole 1 over a length of 0.88 metre (from 136.5 to 137.38 metres). The longest intersection came from hole 3, which returned 9.6 metres (from 124.8 to 134.4 metres) grading 0.42 gram gold.

The Amantin prospect represents one of three gold prospects found on the Benso concession. The junior will shortly begin testing the second prospect, Subriso, in a 4,000-to-5,000-metre program of diamond drilling. The program will test a 2.5-km-long, induced-polarization anomaly having coincident gold and copper soil geochemical anomalies. Upon completion of this program, Fairstar will begin testing the remaining Chichiwelli prospect.

The Benso property lies on the southeastern side of the Ashanti gold belt.

The drill programs are part of an ongoing US$2.8-million exploration program expected to be completed in July 1997.

Meanwhile, on the Fenelon prospect in the Casa Berardi area of northwestern Quebec, Fairstar has begun a $2-million, 12,000-to-14,000-metre program of diamond drilling.

Initially, short holes will be drilled over the

250-metre-long-by-200-metre-deep Main zone, with the aim of confirming the current gold inventory potentially amenable to open-pit mining. Previous drilling identified several high-grade intersections in the zone, including 5.64 metres (from 51.30 to 56.94 metres) of 89.62 grams gold. Further drilling will test other targets within the immediate vicinity of the Main zone, as well as several targets found through the property.

Fairstar has a 45% interest in the Fenelon property, with the remaining interest being held by operator Cyprus Canada, a subsidiary of Cyprus Amax Minerals (CYM-N). Currently three drill rigs are on site, and drilling is expected to continue until late March.