 |
|
|
|
| | |
| | 
Kevin Bullock (center),President and CEO of Volta Resources, along with Athanase Nare (right)
Chief Geologist for Burkina Faso, on a site visit to the Kampti property.
On behalf of our new Board and Management team, I am pleased to be unveiling our new Volta Resources Inc. website following the successful merger of Goldcrest Resources and Birim Goldfields. We hope you will find it user friendly and useful for obtaining current information about Volta, its exploration activities and corporate progress.
Volta stands well positioned for growth and now has the financial strength and flexibility to aggressively advance its highly potential property portfolio. The merger has created a fortified quality management and exploration team with complementary skills to ensure systematic progress on the combined properties. At the same time, the team's extensive African experience will enable us to identify and secure new acquisition and consolidation opportunities in the region. Further, our stronger corporate structure and increased share trading liquidity should be attractive to a wider range of investors than that offered by the individual companies.
Volta boasts an extensive property portfolio covering 25 properties in Ghana and Burkina Faso. All of these properties are located on highly prospective Birimian gold belts, similar to those that have delivered several world-class gold mines in West Africa over the last 15 years. Within the properties there are multiple first class exploration targets, including a project with a recently defined NI43-101 compliant resource, six advanced drill prospects, nine drill-ready targets and more than 40 first class anomalies with the potential to be advanced to the drill-ready stage.
The merged entity brings together people, properties and funding that will provide the basis for a more substantial company capable of playing an exciting and leading exploration role in the West African region, where relatively recent successes have led to the development of a number of significant gold mines.
Ghana
In Ghana, Volta will be focused on advancing the Tinga, Cluster, Chenchu and Parabu properties in 2008, as well as carrying out the necessary work to move ahead the other projects in its pipeline. The Company holds 18 properties in Ghana, as well as a royalty position on Golden Star's Dunkwa property on the Ashanti Belt.
On the Tinga property, independent geological consultants, Coffey Mining (previously RSG Global) were engaged to provide a NI 43-101 compliant resource estimate for the Tinga Far East deposit. A global resource (Indicated and Inferred categories) of 232,000 ounces of gold (Au) at a grade of 3.51 grams per tonne (g/t) has been defined within the area drilled to date and representing the first NI43-101 compliant resource to be defined within the Bui belt. There is good potential to grow these resources, as the deposit remains open in both directions on strike and at depth, down dip. In addition, trenching and soil sampling is underway at the Tinga B and Tinga C prospects where the initial scout drilling indicated mineralized structures within 2 kilometres (km) of the Tinga Far East prospect. A drilling program is underway to further test these two proximal prospects as well as extend the Far East mineralized zone.
Soil sampling, rock chip sampling and trenching have been carried out on the Cluster property, resulting in the southward extension of the Chert Ridge prospect by another 3 km onto the adjacent Krachikrom property. The Chert Ridge prospect has now been defined over 12 km along strike. Another node of higher-grade anomalism, similar to Areas 1, 2 and 3, has been identified on this extension of the prospect. A drill program to further define Area 2 and follow up initial positive scout drilling results at Area 1 is scheduled for the coming quarter.
The Tombe prospect lies in the centre of the Chenchu property and is aligned with the major northeast-oriented Tombe-Parabu shear zone. Volta's geological team has traced the gold-anomalous geochemical signature of this zone for over 40 km along the shear zone.
The Tombe prospect exhibits all the characteristics associated with a very significant mineralized system. Drilling on the Central anomaly returned an average grade of approximately 0.4 g/t Au over 300 meters (m), including intersections of 3.2 m @ 15.6 g/t, 4 m @ 4.5 g/t and 4 m @ 6.3 g/t. Subsequent drilling at the Tombe North area returned intersections of up to 17 m @ 4.47 g/t Au and 17 m @ 9.67 g/t, which potentially represent plunging higher grade shoots. The geometry and extent of these higher-grade shoots will be the focus of future examination on the license.
Volta will carry out structural mapping of the Tombe Prospect, especially in the vicinity of the "Central" and "Tombe North" Zones. This information will provide three- dimensional (3D) visualization of existing drill intercepts and their extrapolation to surface and down plunge. This will be followed by trenching and oriented reverse circulation (RC) and core drilling to intersect mineralized shoots down plunge.
The Parabu property encapsulates two important and highly prospective geological aspects. Firstly, it contains the southwestern strike continuation of the 40-km-long Tombe-Parabu gold-in-soil anomaly. Secondly, it contains the Chenchu Mountain Prospect.
Recent 3D modeling of the existing drill and trench data at Chenchu Mountain has revealed the potential for a sub-horizontal mineralized shoot that plunges to the south-southwest. Drill testing of this theory may unlock the structural controls to the prospect's mineralization and open the way for a larger resource drill-out.
Newmont has a 49% equity interest in Volta's Banda Ahenkro Property on the Sefwi Belt. They have the right to earn another 21% (up to 70%) by spending US$1,500,000 on exploration over four years and another (up to 80%) by completing a feasibility study on the property. This is very positive for Volta as we now have the world's second largest gold producer and a major producer in Ghana as a partner at Banda Ahenkro. We will undoubtedly benefit from Newmont's proven technical expertise, which, in about five years, has enabled them to grow the overall gold resources for their nearby Ahafo Mine from around 7 million ounces to just over 18 million ounces.
Burkina Faso
In 2008, Volta will be focused on advancing three of its six properties in Burkina Faso, the Gaoua, Kampti and Sangolo properties.
The Gaoua copper-gold porphyry project in southern Burkina Faso is 750 km² in 3 concessions including a 15-km corridor with identified copper-gold porphyry systems and a prospective gold-only target. A total of 41 diamond drill holes totaling 12,626 m were completed on the porphyry mineralized area (21 at Gongondy, 16 at Dienemera and 4 at Mt. Biri) with drill highlights at Gongondy of 106 m @ 0.66% copper (Cu) & 0.49 g/t Au, 131m @ 0.38% Cu & 0.80 g/t Au and 99m @ 0.42% Cu & 0.85 g/t Au and at Dienemera of 173m @ 0.42% Cu & 0.25 g/t Au, 122m @ 0.56% Cu & 0.25 g/t Au and 224m @ 0.52% Cu & 0.19 g/t Au (Down-Dip). Commencing in May, Volta plans to drill another 10,000 m, followed by an initial resource calculation.
Freeport-McMoRan Exploration Corporation (FMEC) is earning into the Gaoua copper-gold project by financing the exploration program. Under the terms of the agreement, FMEC could earn up to a 70% interest in the project.
Volta's 100% owned Kampti gold project is situated some 70 km west of Gaoua, where the Company has identified several gold zones, with extensive artisanal mining at the Maména prospect. More than 65 gold-bearing quartz veins and mineralized systems covered by more than 1,000 individual artisanal pits, trenches and shafts have been surveyed in the area. The identified anomalies have the potential to host sizeable mineralization. Volta will be carrying out a 3,000 m RC drill program at Maména, commencing in April.
We are encouraged by the results we received from the initial drilling phase comprising 24 RC holes for 1,592 meters on two prospects (Baobab and Acacia) on Volta's 223 km² Sangolo property. The drilling confirmed the intense alteration signatures associated with the structures drilled in proximity to extensive artisanal workings at both prospects. Further drilling is required to assess both prospects along the full extent of the kaolinite alteration that typify the mineralized zones.
Volta is a well-funded company, with no debt, a committed and proven technical team providing strong infrastructure, field expertise and local support. As at April 1, 2008, Volta has 53,247,852 shares issued and outstanding. With our exceptional property portfolio and first class targets, we look forward to updating shareholders with a steady flow of news delineating our progress.
We wish to thank you for your continued support and look forward to an exciting 2008.
Kevin Bullock
President & CEO
April 2008 |
| |
|
|
