Samax discovers more gold at Kukuluma in Tanzania

Samax Gold (SMX-T) has discovered a third gold deposit at its wholly owned Kukuluma property in the Geita region of northern Tanzania.

The new deposit, called Matandani, lies in a previously unexplored area 600 metres northwest of, and along strike from, Samax’s 1.2-million oz.

Kukuluma Hill deposit and 1.8 km northwest of Samax’s 312,000-oz. 3 West deposit. All three deposits are open along strike and there has been no drilling between them.

So far, 21 reverse-circulation holes have been drilled into Matandani, where Samax has identified gold mineralization over a strike length of 300 metres and to a vertical depth of 140 metres. Three parallel mineralized horizons 30 to 80 metres apart have been recognized.

Highlights from the northern horizon include: 75 metres grading 4.76 grams gold per tonne in hole A44; 63 metres of 5.62 grams gold in hole A45; 60 metres of 1.97 grams gold in hole M15; and 55 metres of 2.04 grams gold in hole A43.

In the central horizon, which has only been intersected below 50 metres depth, hole M15 cut 60 metres of 3.39 grams gold.

In the southern horizon, hole A48 intersected 13 metres of 4.78 grams gold while hole A42 hit 13 metres of 1.81 grams gold.

Mineralization, which has a true thickness in the northern zone of up to 40 metres, is contained within shear zones cutting iron formation, phyllite and tuff. Oxidation extends to a depth of about 50 metres.

Samax’s interpretation of a magnetic survey indicates that Matandani occurs within the same shear as the Kukuluma deposit and may be continuous with Kukuluma beneath thicker cover. Because this new discovery is similar to Kukuluma Hill in grade, width and size, Samax believes that substantial resource increases are likely.

Overall, an oxidized zone of gold mineralization has now been delineated along a strike length of at least 2.5 km, with the targeted areas having been defined by localized highs within the western third of a continuous 8-km-long gold-in-soil anomaly. Drilling has established that gold mineralization extends beyond these anomalies, typically into areas with deeper soil cover.

Drilling is ongoing using three rigs, with one key objective being to test the intervening areas, as well as a target 400 metres northwest of Matandani, where a chip sample grading 2 grams gold was recently recovered.

A feasibility study now under way at the Kukuluma Hill deposit is to be extended to include the Matandani deposit and the definition of the larger resource. Australian consulting firm Resource Services Group, which also worked on Samax’s Golden Pride project, has already conducted an audit of all data-handling and assay procedures and made recommendations as to how the feasibility study should be conducted. Environmental, social, metallurgical and geotechnical studies are also getting under way.