Ghana, West Africa
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  • Resolute Mining (RSG) has received excellent drill results from exploration programs in Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire 
  • Gold grading up to 14.9g/t was intersected at the highly prospective Mako prospect 
  • This has allowed expanding the Mako open pit mineral resource and extends the mine life 
  • The company will spend 2020 undertaking follow-up drilling at all prospects 
  • Resolute has ended the day up 9.57 per cent with shares trading for $1.26 apiece 

Resolute Mining (RSG) has received excellent drill results from exploration programs in Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire.

These projects were acquired by Resolute as a result of the successful Toro Gold transaction.

The most significant results were taken from diamond drilling undertaken at the Mako Gold Mine in Senegal which confirms the potential of a coherent high-grade lode at the north-eastern end of the Mako open pit.

The Mako Gold Mine is a high quality, low-cost open-pit mine with attractive scale and strong growth potential through near-mine exploration activities.

It hosts and mineral resource of 1.24 million ounces grading 1.89g/t gold and an ore reserve of 928,000 ounces grading 2.05g/t gold.

Exploration activities in Senegal in 2019 were focused on the existing Mako open pit to expand mineral resources and thereby expand mine life as well as at nearby satellite prospects.

A total of 7000 metres of diamond drilling have been completed during the year.

This program consisted of follow-up drilling of previously identified high-grade gold mineralisation in the north-east corner of the Mako pit and targeting down-dip extensions of the mineralisation.

This follow-up drilling concentrated on high-grade results from the north-east of the Mako pit to better define ore shoots for future resource modelling and estimation.

These high-grade shoots are located below the base on the 2019 ore reserve pit and have the potential to expand the open pit ore reserves and extend mine life.

A total of 15 holes were completed with excellent results including 6 metres at 14.9g/t gold from 224.7 metres, 8.5 metres at 11.7g/t gold from 74.7 metres, and 6 metres at 8.6g/t gold from 58.2 metres.

These results confirm the potential of a coherent high-grade lode at the north-eastern end of the Mako open pit.

These intersections will be followed up with additional diamond drilling in 2020 to outline the full extent of this zone.

“The Mako Gold Mine has already outperformed for Resolute and positive exploration results are further confirmation of value creation,” Managing Director and CEO John Wellborn commented.

“The drilling results indicate a strong potential to increase open-pit gold inventory at Mako which will extend the life of our new high quality, low-cost operation,” he added.

Resolute’s exploration efforts in Senegal have also included the pursuit of satellite resources within trucking distance to Mako which will provide mill feed for Mako beyond the existing mine life.

Two joint ventures were signed in 2019 one with Ardimines for the Tomboronkoto permit and the other signed with Toro Gold regarding the Sangola permit.

“We are delighted to be operating successfully in Senegal and we are actively seeking to expand our tenement package to include new high-quality exploration prospects,” John said.

Resolute’s prospective landholdings in Côte d’Ivoire were expanded through the acquisition of Toro Gold which held a high-quality portfolio of exploration permits in a joint venture with Predictive Discovery Gold.

Drilling campaigns across this holding have delivered promising results in 2019 and will be a focus exploration area for the company in 2020.

Soil sampling undertaken at the Ferke North prospect identified a 17-kilometre long zone of gold-in-soil anomalies highlighting the Leraba Trend through the centre of the Research Permit.

Follow-up trenching in 2017 and exploration reverse circulation (RC) drilling in 2018 intersected a sheared sedimentary package or argillites (rock type) and sandstones.

Excellent RC results were followed up by a diamond drilling program in 2019 with nine holes, for 1059 metres, completed over central Ouarigué, located within Ferke North.

Results from this program include 4.7 metres at 6.14g/t gold from 134 metres, 39.7 metres at 3.54g/t gold from 51.4 metres, and 45.3 metres at 3.16g/t gold from 45.9 metres.

Following the success in both Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire, Resolute is now finalising plans for an extensive drilling campaign in 2020.

In Senegal, exploration activities will follow-up on the high-grade intersections returned during 2019 from underneath the Mako open pit and test shallow oxide mineralisation identified on adjacent permits.

Deep diamond drilling is planned to begin in the first quarter of 2020 to define the high-grade shoot underneath the north-eastern end of the Mako open pit.

A program of RC drilling is also planned to evaluate the recently joint ventured Tombo prospect.

While in Côte d’Ivoire exploration will be strongly focused and driven by success in defining potential economically exploitable gold deposits over the entirety of Resolute’s permit position.

Following up diamond drilling at the newly identified Ouarigué South prospect will begin in January 2020 to outline the full extent of the mineralised granite intrusion.

Resolute will also pursue an aggressive well-funded exploration program in 2020 with the main focus on Ferke North and Boundiali.

Resolute has ended the day up 9.57 per cent with shares trading for $1.26 apiece in a $1.038 billion market cap. 

RSG by the numbers
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