Semafo tables Wona resource evaluation (October 23, 2001)

Montreal-based Semafo (SMF-T) has estimated indicated resources at the newly discovered Wona zone on the Mana gold property in Burkina Faso, West Africa, at about 3.5 million tonnes grading 2.38 grams gold per tonne, based on a cutoff grade of 0.5 grams gold.

Of the total resource, 1.8 million tonnes of oxide ore run 2.45 grams gold and 1.7 million tonnes of sulphide ore average 2.31 grams gold.

Wona was discovered in March of this year after the company sank 18 holes late last year to follow up on trenching completed last summer. The trenching targeted stream-sediment anomalies on the property.

A total of 22 trenches and 2851 meters of reverse circulation (RC) drilling in 35 holes have been completed to date. Nineteen trenches cut into the main TW-4 structure on 100 to 200 metre centres, and RC drilling has identified the TW-4 structure over a strike length of 2 km. The oxide resource has an average depth of 60 metres.

Better results from trenching include 9 metres averaging 6.3 grams and 29 metres averaging 3.14 grams. Highlighting recent RC holes are:

• hole WRC-23 22 metres (from 18 metres below surface) grading 2.73 grams gold;
• hole WRC29 14 metres (from 20 m) of 4.21 grams gold; and
• hole WRC-30 24 metres (from 24 m) of 2.9 grams gold.

Mineralization at Wona appears to be hosted by three structures of highly deformed acidic tuffs. Silification and quartz-veining occur locally.

Preliminary bottle roll test on RC cuttings from Wona returned an average recovery of 90% for oxide material above 50 metres. Test work continues on other gold-bearing formations.

The Wona zone lies about 7 km north of the Nyafe deposit, where 1 million tonnes grading 8.5 grams gold per tonne have been outlined. Both zones remain open in all directions

Semafo plans to look for northeastern strike extension to the structure on the recently acquired adjoining Kona concession.

Elsewhere, an induced-polarization survey detected anomalies extending from Wona, as well as a separate anomaly to the east. A total of seven anomalies were identified.

Three trenches that tested a conductive corridor 200 metres east of the TW-4 structure failed to cut significant mineralization. Eighteen sub-vertical rotary air blast holes returned similar results. The company says drilling may not have sunk far enough to hit the planned targets.

The Mana concession is 75%-owned by Semafo and lies about 200 km west of the capital Ouagadougou.