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RC drilling intersects 29m @ 0.38% copper and 1.0g/t gold at Gongondy West
Toronto, ON -- March 8, 2010 - Volta Resources Inc. ("Volta" or the "Company") (TSX:VTR) announces significant copper-gold intercepts from its 27 hole, 2,408 meter Reverse Circulation ("RC") drilling program recently completed at the Gongondy deposit, on its 100% owned Gaoua copper-gold porphyry project in southern Burkina Faso, West Africa. Gongondy and Dienemera are two of several copper-gold porphyry targets on the Gaoua Project where sufficient drilling has been undertaken to estimate a maiden NI43-101 compliant resource comprising more than 1 million ounces of gold and 720 million pounds of copper (see Figure 1 and Table 4). The current drilling now extends the mineralization at Gongondy to the south and to the west.
Kevin Bullock, Volta's President & CEO said, "These results demonstrate that Gaoua continues to be an important project for Volta. The extension of the mineralization suggests that this already considerable deposit has large growth potential; however we are especially pleased by the discovery of a new high grade gold zone. We have not yet encountered this type of mineralization and we will continue to pursue its ultimate dimensions"
Highlights from the program include 29m @ 0.38% Cu and 1.0g/t Au, 9m @ 0.35% Cu and 0.31g/t Au, 8m @ 0.49% Cu and 0.4g/t Au. In addition, a significant zone of gold mineralization which is not associated with any significant copper mineralization has been encountered with two intersections grading 5m @ 13.8g/t Au and 5m @ 11.1g/t Au.
The program comprised 3 shallow RC drill fences aimed at testing positive geochemical auger drilling which suggested extensions to the Gongondy copper-gold porphyry deposit beneath transported regolith cover, to both the west and south, (See Volta news releases dated September 28, 2009 and November 30, 2009). These results now confirm that the Gongondy deposit can be traced continuously along its full strike extent of more than 2 kilometers on the western side of a post-mineralization gabbro intrusive, (see Figure 2). In addition, the southern drill fence also confirms that the Gongondy deposit can be extended for a further 200m to the south and still remains open, (see Figure 2). These extensions could considerably increase the size of the existing resource estimated for the Gongondy deposit, (see Table 4).
Table 1: Highlights of copper-gold intersections from the current drill program at Gongondy
HOLE ID |
FROM (m) |
TO (m) |
INTERVAL
(m) |
Cu (%) |
Au (g/t) |
MID (m) |
REMARKS |
GRC8 |
17 |
22 |
5 |
0.33 |
0.58 |
0 |
|
GRC9 |
61 |
90 |
29 |
0.38 |
1.00 |
5 |
Halted in mineralization, includes 3 values top-cut to 1% Cu |
GRC16 |
8 |
17 |
9 |
0.35 |
0.31 |
0 |
|
|
36 |
51 |
15 |
0.22 |
0.59 |
3 |
|
|
72 |
78 |
6 |
0.29 |
0.41 |
1 |
|
GRC17 |
42 |
51 |
9 |
0.25 |
0.24 |
2 |
|
GRC18 |
54 |
67 |
13 |
0.22 |
0.28 |
3 |
|
GRC26 |
23 |
54 |
31 |
0.22 |
0.13 |
5 |
|
GRC27 |
22 |
32 |
10 |
0.20 |
0.20 |
2 |
|
|
40 |
70 |
30 |
0.28 |
0.30 |
2 |
|
|
61 |
66 |
5 |
0.50 |
0.31 |
0 |
|
|
87 |
90 |
3 |
0.23 |
0.17 |
0 |
Halted in mineralization |
GRC29 |
13 |
25 |
12 |
0.23 |
0.19 |
3 |
|
GRC31 |
14 |
22 |
8 |
0.49 |
0.40 |
0 |
|
|
42 |
55 |
13 |
0.22 |
0.23 |
3 |
|
GRC32 |
40 |
60 |
20 |
0.29 |
0.40 |
3 |
|
|
87 |
90 |
3 |
0.30 |
0.22 |
0 |
Halted in mineralization |
NOTES:
1) Intervals are drilled lengths. True width is unknown at this time.
2) Intersections are based on a 0.2% Cu cut-off with no top cut applied except for the intervals 62-63 and 64-66m in GRC9 where values are in excess of 1% Cu and were top-cut to 1%. Internal dilution (less than 0.2% Cu) has been carried to a maximum of 5m. The 0.2% Cu cut-off best expresses the lower-grade envelope.
3) The intersections listed in the table represent sections of at least 3m@ 0.2% Cu.
4) Dry 1m-interval samples were riffle-split to provide 2 kg samples sent to the laboratory. Wet samples were dried in the field, then riffle-split in the same way.
5) Samples were sent to ALS Chemex in Ouagadougou for standard preparation and gold assaying (FA) and to ALS Chemex in Vancouver for Cu assaying by atomic absorption spectrometry.
6) One standard, one blank and one field duplicate were inserted respectively every 15, 30 and 20 samples. The blanks, certified standards and check assays confirm that all assays used to compile the intersections quoted here have passed Volta's rigorous QA/QC checks.
Another feature that has been identified during the current drilling program is relatively gold rich zones, (two intersections of 5m @ >10g/t Au and several intersections of exceeding 0.5g/t Au at between 5m and 26m widths) occurring on the western edges of the Gongondy deposit, where copper values drop off, (see Table 2). These gold rich zones either mark an outer halo of higher gold grades to the porphyry deposit or a later gold-rich event overprinting the copper-gold mineralization. Further drilling will be required to determine which scenario is correct and to assess the extent and continuity of these significant initial intersections.
Table 2: Highlights of gold intersection without significant copper mineralization.
HOLE ID |
FROM
(m) |
TO
(m) |
INTERVAL
(m) |
Au
(g/t) |
Cu
(%) |
MID
(m) |
GRC6 |
48 |
51 |
3 |
1.94 |
<0.1 |
0 |
72 |
77 |
5 |
0.546 |
0.12 |
0 |
GRC8 |
16 |
42 |
26 |
0.55 |
0.17 |
1 |
77 |
87 |
10 |
0.30 |
<0.1 |
2 |
GRC9 |
25 |
30 |
5 |
13.80 |
<0.1 |
0 |
42 |
48 |
6 |
0.31 |
<0.1 |
2 |
GRC10 |
15 |
17 |
2 |
1.41 |
<0.1 |
0 |
62 |
67 |
5 |
11.11 |
<0.1 |
0 |
79 |
87 |
8 |
0.30 |
<0.1 |
2 |
GRC11 |
26 |
29 |
3 |
1.28 |
<0.1 |
0 |
83 |
85 |
2 |
3.69 |
<0.1 |
0 |
GRC13 |
13 |
19 |
6 |
0.54 |
<0.1 |
1 |
GRC16 |
67 |
76 |
9 |
1.56 |
0.24 |
1 |
GRC21 |
79 |
86 |
7 |
0.55 |
<0.1 |
2 |
GRC23 |
61 |
66 |
5 |
0.76 |
<0.1 |
2 |
GRC30 |
30 |
32 |
2 |
11.45 |
0.22 |
0 |
39 |
42 |
3 |
0.42 |
0.16 |
0 |
63 |
69 |
6 |
0.47 |
0.17 |
1 |
GRC31 |
79 |
82 |
3 |
2.34 |
<0.1 |
0 |
NOTES:
1) Intervals are drilled lengths. True width is unknown at this time.
2) Intersections are based on a 0.3g/t Au cut-off with no top cut applied. Internal dilution (less than 0.3g/t Au) has been carried to a maximum of 2m.
3) The intersections listed in the table represent intersections of at least 2m >0,75g/t Au, or 5m >0,3g/t.
4) Dry 1m-interval samples were riffle-split to provide 2 kg samples sent to the laboratory. Wet samples were dried in the field, then riffle-split in the same way.
5) Samples were sent to ALS Chemex in Ouagadougou for standard preparation and gold assaying (FA) and to ALS Chemex in Vancouver for Cu assaying by atomic absorption spectrometry.
6) One standard, one blank and one field duplicate were inserted respectively every 15, 30 and 20 samples. The blanks, certified standards and check assays confirm that all assays used to compile the intersections quoted here have passed Volta's rigorous QA/QC checks.
Table 3: Borehole collar coordinates and orientation parameters
|
HOLE ID |
EASTING* |
NORTHING* |
ELEVATION*
(m) |
AZIMUTH
(°) |
INCLINATION
(°) |
DEPTH
(m) |
GRC6 |
498,775 |
1,140,500 |
314 |
90 |
55 |
90 |
GRC7 |
498,725 |
1,140,500 |
313 |
90 |
55 |
90 |
GRC8 |
498,677 |
1,140,504 |
312 |
90 |
55 |
90 |
GRC9 |
498,627 |
1,140,502 |
311 |
90 |
55 |
90 |
GRC10 |
498,574 |
1,140,502 |
310 |
90 |
55 |
90 |
GRC11 |
498,525 |
1,140,500 |
310 |
90 |
55 |
90 |
GRC12 |
498,475 |
1,140,500 |
310 |
90 |
55 |
90 |
GRC13 |
498,425 |
1,140,500 |
310 |
90 |
55 |
90 |
GRC14 |
498,375 |
1,140,500 |
310 |
90 |
55 |
90 |
GRC15 |
498,325 |
1,140,500 |
310 |
90 |
55 |
90 |
GRC16 |
499,031 |
1,139,999 |
310 |
90 |
55 |
90 |
GRC17 |
498,977 |
1,139,999 |
310 |
90 |
55 |
90 |
GRC18 |
498,924 |
1,140,000 |
310 |
90 |
55 |
90 |
GRC19 |
498,873 |
1,140,002 |
309 |
90 |
55 |
90 |
GRC20 |
498,823 |
1,139,999 |
308 |
90 |
55 |
90 |
GRC21 |
498,772 |
1,140,002 |
308 |
90 |
55 |
90 |
GRC22 |
498,720 |
1,140,005 |
307 |
90 |
55 |
90 |
GRC23 |
498,674 |
1,140,004 |
306 |
90 |
55 |
90 |
GRC24 |
498,622 |
1,140,004 |
306 |
90 |
55 |
90 |
GRC25 |
498,575 |
1,140,000 |
306 |
90 |
55 |
90 |
GRC26 |
499,227 |
1,139,052 |
305 |
90 |
55 |
74 |
GRC27 |
499,172 |
1,139,048 |
305 |
90 |
55 |
90 |
GRC28 |
499,125 |
1,139,053 |
305 |
90 |
55 |
90 |
GRC29 |
499,072 |
1,139,052 |
305 |
90 |
55 |
90 |
GRC30 |
499,027 |
1,139,054 |
305 |
90 |
55 |
84 |
GRC31 |
498,972 |
1,139,052 |
305 |
90 |
55 |
90 |
GRC32 |
498,922 |
1,139,058 |
305 |
90 |
55 |
90 |
On February 5, 2009, the Company announced an independent NI 43-101 compliant inferred resource estimate for the Gongondy and Dienemera deposits on the Gaoua project (See Volta press release dated February 5 2009). The resource estimate was calculated by SRK Consulting (UK) Ltd. At a 0.45% copper equivalent cut-off grade, the Dienemera and Gongondy deposits host an initial Inferred Resource of 82,600,000 tonnes grading 0.40% copper and 0.40 g/t gold for a total of 724,880,000 lbs of copper and 1,072,900 ounces of gold. The individual resource estimate for each deposit is provided in the table below. Copper Equivalent (CuEQ) has been calculated from assumed commodity prices of USD 3,000 per tonne for copper and USD 700 per ounce of gold with metallurgical recovery assumed to be 85% and 70% respectively based on initial QEMSCAN results. Gold grade has been multiplied by 0.6 and added to the copper grade to provide CuEQ grade. The cut off grade further assumes typical costs of US$2 per tonne for mining and US$10 per tonne for processing and general administration costs.
Table 4: Maiden NI43-101 compliant copper-gold resource estimate for the Gaoua Project
DEPOSIT |
Cut-off
Grade |
Tonnage |
Copper |
Gold |
Copper Equivalent |
>(CuEQ %) |
(tonnes) |
% |
lbs |
g/t |
Oz |
% |
lbs |
Dienemera |
0.45 |
23,000,000 |
0.50 |
255,075,000 |
0.21 |
155,300 |
0.63 |
319,009,000 |
Gongondy |
0.45 |
59,600,000 |
0.36 |
469,805,000 |
0.48 |
917,600 |
0.65 |
847,236,000 |
TOTAL |
0.45 |
82,600,000 |
0.40 |
724,880,000 |
0.40 |
1,072,900 |
0.64 |
1,166,245,000 |
Under the guidelines of National Instrument 43-101, the qualified person for the Gaoua copper-gold project is Mr. Guy Franceschi, Vice President, Exploration for the Company. Mr. Franceschi is a member of the European Federation of Geologists and has reviewed and approved the contents of this news release.
Volta is a mineral exploration company primarily focused on becoming a leader in the identification, acquisition and exploration of gold properties in West Africa. The Company is committed to West African exploration and is Canadian-based with its head office in Toronto, Ontario and operations offices in Accra, Ghana and Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
For further information, please refer to our website www.Voltaresources.com or contact:
Kevin Bullock, P.Eng., President & CEO
Tel: (647) 388-1842
Fax: (416) 867-2298
Email: kbullock@voltaresources.com
Forward Looking Information Caution:
This press release presents "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation that involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the future price of gold and other minerals and metals, the estimation of mineral reserves and resources, the realization of mineral reserve estimates, the capital expenditures, costs and timing of the resources, the realization of mineral reserve estimates, the capital expenditures, costs and timing of the development of new deposits, success of exploration activities, permitting time lines, currency exchange rate fluctuations, requirements for additional capital, government regulation of mining operations, environmental risks, unanticipated reclamation expenses, title disputes or claims and limitations on insurance coverage. Generally, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Volta to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward looking statements, including but not limited to: risks related to international operations, risks related to the integration of acquisitions; risks related to joint venture operations; actual results of current exploration activities; actual results of current or future reclamation activities; conclusions of economic evaluations; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; future prices of gold and other minerals and metals; possible variations in ore reserves, grade or recovery rates; failure of equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry; and delays in obtaining governmental approvals or financing or in the completion of development or construction activities. Although the management and officers of Volta believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions and have attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Volta Resources does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that are incorporated by reference herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
Figure 1: Regional setting for copper-gold targets on the Gaoua Project
click to enlarge
Figure 2: Highlights from latest drilling at Gongondy, showing extensions to the deposit
click to enlarge
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