AKOBO MINERALS – Announces start of core-drilling campaign and intercepted mineralization at it’s Joru gold target

After the latest drilling at Segele, and receiving a successful maiden resource estimate, the drill rig has now moved to the next exciting target at Joru for some initial drilling.  Joru is very different from Segele, both in mineralogy and also expected gold grade. Joru is a very large area, with expected lower grade gold content. The combination of the Segele and Joru targets is very compelling, especially when considering the potential 15 km strike between the two areas. Joru is not an unknown area, we have been doing exploration work in the area for many years through RC drilling, trenching and soil sampling. What we see gives us good expectations for the area.

Highlights:

  • Disseminated sulphide mineralization and a highly encouraging Silica-Sericite-Carbonate alteration assemblage and has been intersected in all holes.
  • Fine grained visible gold seen at 39.5m depth in hole JODD03.
  • As previously reported, sampling of trenches adjacent to this latest core drilling has resulted in high-grade intercepts in similar rock formations (eg 18g/t over 2m and 12g/t over 1m).
  • Joru is the next priority target after the Inferred Mineral Resource announced for Segele (Inferred Mineral Resource of 78 kilotons at 20,9g/t gold)
  • A total of 600 m of core drilling has been completed at the Joru target. 
  • 376 samples have been delivered to the ALS (Addis Ababa) laboratory for analysis.
Figure 1: Gold targets in the 182km2 Akobo Project License Area.Figure 2: Silicified quartzofeldspathic shist containing fine grained visible gold (39.5m JODD03, gold not visible in photograph)

The Joru gold target has a strike-length of at least 3km and has so far been investigated with wide spaced geological and structural mapping, soil sampling and reverse circulation drilling (fourteen holes totaling 1.375m). The core drilling announced here is milestone for the company as it is the start of detailed understanding of the project leading towards eventual resource estimation.  

Although the mineralization style at Joru is different to Segele, the Joru target has also been exploited by government controlled artisanal mining over many parts of the strike length. Akobo Minerals geologists are well acquainted with the lithologies which are found to contain valuable gold mineralization. The series of quartzofeldspathic shists identified in this core drilling is known to host gold-rich rocks. 

Previous exploration identified excellent gold grades in trenches and the potential for a large-volume low-grade deposit, however core-drilling has been needed to understand the lower grades found in RC drilling. Given the highly encouraging alteration assemblage and visible gold (at 39.5m in hole JODD03), we expect that the assay results from this core drilling campaign will assist us greatly in planning future resource definition drilling.  

Table 1: Significant intercepts from the Joru RC drilling campaign. No upper cut-off used.  

Table 2: Channel sampling significant intervals (See press release, 30th June, 2019). No upper or lower cut-off used. Intersection lengths are apparent widths only.

TrenchIntervalGold gradeComments
JOTR012 – 1769m1.45 g/t 
JOTR01825m3.32 g/tTrench ends in mineralisation

See previous press releases and investor presentations for more details. For further Information visit: www.akobominerals.com.    

For more information contact:  

Jørgen Evjen, CEO   

Mob.: (+47) 92 80 40 14 

Mail: jorgen@akobominerals.com 

Competent Person for Exploration Results 

The Competent Person who has overall responsibility for the exploration results is Dr Matt Jackson BSc PhD MAusIMM. Dr Jackson is a Chartered Professional of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy which is a Recognized Professional Organization (“RPO”) included in a list promulgated by the Australian Securities Exchange (“ASX”) from time to time. He is a full time employee of Akobo Minerals AB and has sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of mineralization and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity being undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the ‘Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves’. Dr Matt Jackson consents to the inclusion in the report of the matters based on his (or her) information in the form and context in which it appears.  

For complete disclosure of technical details, JORC Table 1 can be found at the company website, www.akobominerals.com   

About Akobo Minerals:  

Akobo Minerals, a Norway-based gold exploration company, currently with ongoing exploration in the Akobo region in southwest Ethiopia through its wholly owned Ethiopian subsidiary Etno Mining Plc. The operations were established in 2009 by people with long experience from the public mining sector in Ethiopia and from the Norwegian oil service industry. Akobo Minerals holds an exploration license over key targets in the area. Our team of geologists have worked extensively over the last 11 years to identify several potential primary gold targets. The ongoing drilling program initiated at the end of 2019 has so far shown exceptionally high-grade gold results including the Segele deposit with an Inferred Mineral Resource of 78ktons at 20.9g/t.  

Important information: 

This release is not for publication or distribution, directly or indirectly, in or into Australia, Canada, Japan, the United States or any other jurisdictions where it would be illegal. It is issued for information purposes only and does not constitute or form part of any offer or solicitation to purchase or subscribe for securities, in the United States or in any other jurisdiction. The securities referred to herein have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “U.S. Securities Act”), and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or pursuant to an exemption from registration under the U.S. Securities Act. Akobo Minerals does not intend to register any portion of the offering of the securities in the United States or to conduct a public offering of the securities in the United States. Copies of this publication are not being, and may not be, distributed or sent into Australia, Canada, Japan or the United States.