Tigray on the hunt for another Bisha

Recent drilling at Tigray Resources’ (TIG-V) flagship Harvest copper-gold-silver project in northern Ethiopia has returned several new high-grade intercepts, including 21 metres grading 5.7% copper, 1.5 grams gold per tonne, 18 grams silver per tonne and 0.8% zinc.

Tigray’s due diligence drilling in 2010 indicated Harvest “hosts potential for the discovery of a near-surface, gold-enriched polymetallic VMS deposit, similar to [Nevsun’s] Bisha,” and the company is now looking to prove that with a 13,000-metre drill program.

Nevsun‘s (NSU-T, NSU-N) Bisha gold mine, located 150 km north of Harvest in Eritrea but in the same Asmara VMS belt of the Arabian-Nubian shield, produced 379,000 oz. gold in 2011 – its first year of operations. The successful opening of the mine followed 13 years of delays, however, largely the result of a border war with Ethiopia, harsh UN sanctions and a difficult Eritrean government.

Tigray contends Ethiopia is an “excellent jurisdiction” with “favourable government policies.” Nevertheless, the Harvest project is near the border with Eritrea, an area the U.S. State Department warns there is “the possibility of armed conflict between Ethiopian and Eritrean forces.” It notes U.S. government personnel and their families are presently restricted from traveling in the area as much as 60 miles inland from the border.

Tigray’s current drill program is focused on Harvest’s Terakimti concession, one of six sets of claims making up the project. Three drill rigs have completed 11,000 metres to date, with the remainder to be finished by the end of February.

The company released results for seven new holes on Jan. 16 after releasing an initial three holes the month before, with the best intersection from the new holes returning 21 metres grading 5.7% copper, 1.5 grams gold per tonne, 18 grams silver per tonne and 0.8% zinc in hole TD008 from a depth of 39 metres. Two step-out holes collared 50 metres on either side of the hole to the south (hole TD011) and north (hole TD007) showed VMS-style mineralization continues but dips steeply. Hole TD011 to the south returned 15.2 metres grading 2.61% copper, 2.53 grams gold, 43 grams silver and 6.77% zinc starting from a depth of 181 metres, which Tigray says indicates a significant zone of high-grade VMS mineralization at depth. Hole TD007 to the north returned two decent intercepts in the near-surface oxide zone, including 22.5 metres grading 0.05% copper, 1.48 grams gold, 2 grams silver and 0.07% zinc starting at surface, and 18.2 metres grading 1.33 grams gold starting from 31 metres depth.

Several other holes drilled roughly 300 metres to the southwest tested the area surrounding 2010’s best drill hole, 10-03, which intercepted 52 metres of 4.1% copper, 1.55 grams gold, 26 grams silver and 0.13% zinc starting at a depth of 45 metres. In December, step-out drill hole TD004 returned the best intersection to date roughly 50 metres to the east of hole 10-03. Starting at a depth of 57 metres, TD004 intercepted 73.8 metres grading 3.77% copper, 1.31 grams gold, 14 grams silver and 0.7% zinc. However, on Jan. 16 Tigray released assays for another four drill holes to the west, east, north and south of TD004, all of which returned much lower-grade mineralization. TD002 found 4.25 metres grading 0.12%, 0.26 grams gold, 6 grams silver and 4.7% zinc; TD003 intersected 1.3 metres of 1.95% copper, 3.42 grams gold, 22 grams silver and 0.08% zinc; TD006 intersected 3.5 metres of 0.99% copper, 0.62 grams gold, 8 grams silver and 0.16% zinc; and TD010 returned 14.75 metres grading 0.17% copper, 1.29 grams gold, 37 grams silver and 0.00% zinc.

Tigray says the holes form the southern, downdip extension of a massive sulphide lens identified last year. The mineralized system dips steeply south to subvertical, Tigray notes, and plunges 40 degress to the east-northeast.

None of the recently released holes tested the target farther along its previously defined 800-metre strike length, but they did establish mineralization continues slightly to the south and extends up to a depth of 240 metres below surface in areas.

Tigray began trading in late August 2011 after being spun out from Canaco Resources (CAN-V) with $4 million in cash. Following a $5.25-million private placement in September at $1.05 a unit, Tigray had roughly $8 million in December. A private Ethiopian company owns 30% of Harvest.

Shares of the company were down 4¢ to $1.23 at presstime on Jan. 16 following news of the drill results.