MINING IN AFRICA SPECIAL — St. Genevieve acquires gold

Montreal-based St. Genevieve Resources (TSE) has acquired the Jean-Gobele gold property in Guinea, West Africa.

The transaction appears to be a coup for the junior as the property already hosts a potentially open-pit reserve estimated at 1.9 million tons grading 0.08 oz. gold per ton within one of several target areas.

The property was acquired directly from the Guinean government through the issuance of an exploration permit valid for two years, and renewable thereafter under certain conditions.

Two private companies were paid a finder’s fee of US$100,000 cash, and a further US$150,000 in stock of St. Genevieve will be issued. The acquisition is still subject to regulatory approval.

Situated in the northeastern part of Guinea, near the town of Kouroussa, the property has a total surface area of 380 sq. miles.

It is underlain by metasedimentary rocks of the Birimian system, a well-known mineral belt hosting the large gold deposits of the West African Shield. It is also believed to cover the strike extension of the Syama gold mine in neighboring Mali.

The Jean-Gobele property was explored between 1949 and 1953 by several French government organizations. Both surface and underground exploration was carried out.

A recent study established that drilled and trenched oxide reserves of 1.9 million tons of 0.08 oz. can be readily mined by open-cut methods. These reserves are in only one of three target areas, within a 12-mile-long, gold-bearing structure.

The second target area, the Mankan geochemical anomaly, covers a surface area of 8,200 by 1,640 ft. And based on geochemical gold analysis as high as 0.03 oz., St. Genevieve notes that the Guinean mine and geology department has estimated this anomaly could contain more than 1 million oz. gold. Guinea is part of former French West Africa, and French is still widely spoken. The country covers a land area of 245,852 sq. km, and its population is about 7 million.

Mining contributes significantly to the country’s export earnings. The primary commodities are bauxite, alumina, diamonds, gold and iron ore. Guinea also has other mineral prospects, which are not well-exploited. These include chrome, cobalt, copper, lead, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, platinum, titanium, uranium, zinc, chalk, graphite and granite.