OSLO, 20 March 2023: Akobo Minerals AB (publ) (Euronext and Frankfurt: AKOBO), the Scandinavian-based Ethiopian gold exploration and boutique mining company, today announced the start of core drilling on a new target at Gindibab. The core drilling at the Gingibil quartz vein swarm in the Gindibab area, lies approximately six kilometres southeast of Akobo Minerals’ Segele gold mine, which will soon be producing the company’s first gold.
Key highlights
Gold bearing quartz vein at Gingibil. A 2mm large gold grain in a hand sample from one of the Gingibil quartz veins.
Jørgen Evjen, CEO of Akobo Minerals, said: “The company has been excited at the prospect of starting this core drilling since our exploration team made the initial discovery of visible gold in this quartz vein just recently.
“The core drilling program will initially focus on defining individual quartz veins and test their depth extensions in order to gather data for evaluation of the target potential. If signs are positive, the next phase of activity will be to extend the drill program to evaluate the potential for a larger scale mining operation, including any open pit potential.”
He concluded: “The company recently stated that we have nine priority gold targets within our license area, but this is by far the most encouraging exploration site we have found to date – and could well be a defining step in our ambition to develop a million-ounce world class deposit.”
The Gingibil quartz vein swarm is a very recent discovery, made by the company’s exploration team towards the end of 2022. The geology is characterised by schistose host rocks – primarily quartz feldspar schist and variously sheared gabbros. Within these rocks a large number of quartz veins – locally up to three metres thick – are hosted. Initial visual indications point towards significant amounts of visible gold. The geology team has identified three different types of quartz veins in the area, ranging from highly mineralised early veins to late-stage barren veins.
To date, the quartz vein swarm has been traced over a strike length exceeding 700 metres, with individual gold-bearing veins close to 100 metres long. Visible gold has been found in several of the major veins along the entire strike length, either by direct observation or by surface sampling and panning.
In addition to the core drilling program the company intends to do bulk sampling to test the gold grades of the various quartz veins to help establish the viability of future mining.
Bulk sampling will be greatly assisted by the abundant loose quartz vein material on surface around the veins where thousands of tonnes of material have been deposited by long term geological processes. Typically, such loose material has a very good potential for easy, low-cost mining.
The discovery of significant amounts of visible gold has justified the public release of this information as it may have important implications for the valuation of the company. The results announced here constitute “Exploration Results” as defined by the JORC code and as such Akobo Minerals does not have sufficient information to determine the true economic value of the Gingibil target. An evaluation of the value of the target will only be possible after drilling, bulk sampling, resource estimation and an assessment of the cost of extraction.
For more information, contact:
Jørgen Evjen, CEO, Akobo Minerals
Mob: (+47) 92 80 40 14
Mail: jorgen@akobominerals.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/akobominerals
About Akobo Minerals
Akobo Minerals is a Scandinavian-based gold exploration and boutique mining company, currently holding an exploration license covering 182 km2 and with an ongoing mine development in the Gambela region and Dima Woreda, Ethiopia. The company has established itself as the leading gold exploration company in Ethiopia through more than 12 years of on-the-ground activity.
Akobo Minerals holds a 16 km2 mining license and is working to start up mining of its very promising Segele target. It has an Inferred and Indicated Mineral Resource of 68.000 ounces yielding a world-class gold grade of 22.7 g/ton, combined with an estimated all-in sustaining cost (AISC) of USD 243 per ounce. Still open to depth, the gold mineralised zone continues to expand and will have a positive impact on future resource estimates and mine-life. The exploration license holds numerous promising exploration resource-building prospects in both the vicinity of Segele and in the wider license area.
Akobo Minerals has an excellent relationship with local communities all the way up to national authorities and we place environment and social governance (ESG) at the heart of our activities – as demonstrated by a planned industry-leading extending shared value program.
Akobo Minerals has built a strong local foothold based upon the principles of sound ethics, transparency, and communication, and is ready to take on new opportunities and ventures as they arise. The company is uniquely positioned to become a major player in the future development of the very promising Ethiopian mining industry.
Akobo Minerals has a clear strategy aimed at building a portfolio of gold resources through high-impact exploration and mining, whilst adhering to a lean business operation. The company is headquartered in Oslo and is listed on the Euronext Growth Oslo Exchange and Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol, AKOBO.
Akobo Minerals fully meets and complies with all parts of the JORC code, 2012. For further information, see https://www.jorc.org/
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 Jackson consents to the inclusion in the report of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.
