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Afema Gold Project

Afema Gold Project Overview

The Afema Project is located in southeast Cote d’Ivoire on the Ghanian border 120kms east of Abidjan and is serviced by a new bituminised major highway that is nearing completion, connecting Abidjan to Ghana. Two of Cote d’Ivoire’s major hydro-power schemes are located adjacent to the northern part of the Afema Project area.

The Afema Project is on a granted mining permit supported by a Mining Convention between permit owner, Afema Gold SA, and the State of Cote d’Ivoire.

The Mining Permit covers an area of 227km2 and has been subject to past exploration and drilling. The Mining Permit was granted in December 2013 and is valid until December 2033, with a 20-year renewal option thereafter. Turaco has lodged four exploration permit applications over a further 1,040km2 of contiguous exploration ground, providing a total project area of 1,267km2.

Historic small-scale mining was undertaken along the Afema Shear during the 1990’s and it is reported that 125,000 ounces of gold were produced before ceasing in 1998 when the gold price was ~US$300/ounce. A significant amount of drilling has since delineated gold mineralisation along this +25km Afema Shear within the Mining Permit area.

The most recent work undertaken was by Teranga Gold Corporation (‘Teranga’) which had entered into a joint venture with Sodim in 2018. Teranga was acquired by Endeavour in February 2021 and no drilling has been carried out since.

The vast majority of work undertaken by Teranga was focussed at Woulo Woulo where initial drilling led to a significant new discovery and was immediately followed up with resource definition drilling. In total Teranga drilled 39,000m of DD core across 283 holes and 20,300m of RC drilling across 347 holes. In addition, Teranga collected 23,200 soil samples across portions of the Exploration permit Application area which defined several high tenor coherent anomalies that remain untested.

Prior to work undertaken by Teranga, an unlisted company Taurus Gold Ltd, undertook 78,500m of drilling (combined RC and DD for 1,200 holes to average depth 65m) along the Afema Shear.

Afema Project Regional Geological Setting

Afema Project Location

New Highway Under Construction and High Voltage Transmission Lines (southern Mining Permit boundary)

Afema Core Yard

Afema Project Geology

The Afema Project covers several gold mineralised structures on extensions from prolific gold belts in Ghana.

The majority of gold deposits in Ghana are located in or adjacent to the Sefwi-Bibiani, Asankragwa and Ashanti Gold Belts.

The current drilled deposits within the Afema Project are hosted in meta sediments of the Kumasi-Afema basin on the eastern margin of Sefwi-Bibiani gold belt. This is the same gold belt that hosts Bibiani, Ahafo, Chirano and Enchi deposits in Ghana. The Asankragwa belt that hosts Essase and the Obotan deposits in Ghana also extend into the Afema Project area and have not seen any past drilling despite compelling geochemical anomalies.

The Afema Project area remains substantially underexplored, with several high priority geochemical and geophysical anomalies yet to be tested by drilling. The Company considers there to be tremendous potential for new discoveries and extensions to known drilled areas of mineralisation.

At the project level multiple gold trends, each 5-25km have been identified from a range of geologic and structural settings. These include the Afema (Toilessso-Jonction-Anuiri) and Nianemlessa-Affienou shear corridors, the Woulo Woulo splay and anomalism associated with mafic/ intrusive contacts such as Ayame and Koffikro

Afema Project Permit Area Geology

Woulo Woulo

The Woulo Woulo structure is located on a north-northeast trending splay off the main Afema Shear. During 2018, Teranga drilled 137 DD holes and 23 RC holes totalling more than 22,000 metres at Woulo Woulo, which was defined by anomalous soil geochemistry and trenching. Drilling was completed on 40m spacing and has delineated consistent broad widths of gold mineralisation from surface and open at depth across the entire drilled strike extent of 2.9km. Mineralisation also remains open along strike.

Results include:

  • 25m @ 4.44g/t fr 112m (20WOUDD0094)
  • 66m @ 1.58g/t fr 48m (20WOUDD0084)
  • 59.5m @ 1.58g/t fr 48.5m (20WOUDD007)
  • 83m @ 1.10g/t fr 10m (20WOURC0001)
  • 40m @ 2.01g/t fr 119m (20WOUDD0005)
  • 50.2m @ 1.17g/t fr 37.7m (20WOUDD0001)
  • 9m @ 4.30g/t fr 238m (21WOUDD0153)
  • 82m @ 0.97g/t fr 209m (21WOUDD0157)
  • 58m @ 1.30g/t fr 58m (20WOUDD0074)
  • 45m @ 1.67g/t fr 146m (20WOUDD0071)
  • 72m @ 1.03g/t fr 0m (20WOURC0009)
  • 67m @ 1.06g/t fr 31m (20WOUDD0067)
  • 58m @ 1.11g/t fr 99m (20WOUDD0004)

Woulo Woulo Long Section

Woulo Woulo Cross Sections

Mineralisation is hosted in a completely altered clastic sediment unit within a mixed sedimentary and mafic volcanic sequence. Two distinct types of alteration have been observed, one dominated by albite and the second dominated by sericite. Both display similar brittle shear fracturing, occasionally brecciated, and multiple oriented fracture-controlled quartz veining with minor pyrite. On many sections, the width of the mineralized unit appears to be increasing with depth.

Some of the highest grades are reported in the deepest holes. Hole 20WOUDD0094 returned 25m @ 4.44g/t from 112m. Hole 21WOUDD00153 intersected 9m @ 4.30g/t from 238m.

Woulo Woulo is a large mineralized system with potential to grow substantially and warrants further exploration and drilling. Turaco plan to immediately undertake JORC Resource modelling and estimation of Woulo Woulo whilst commencing step-out exploration drilling along strike and on parallel trends.

Preliminary bottles rolls have shown the Woulo Woulo mineralisation to be ‘free milling’ across both oxide and fresh mineralisation. Bottle roll cyanide leach tests (P80 ~75 micron) were carried out on 24 drill core samples (13 designed as oxide/saprock and 11 designated as fresh samples) at an average head grade of 1.42g/t gold result in an average gold extraction of 91.2% (94.6% from oxide/saprock and 88.7% from fresh samples).

Afema Shear

The Afema Shear represents the extension of the prolific Sefwi-Bibiani Gold Belt (Ahafo-Bibiani-Chirano deposits) of Ghana into Cote d’Ivoire. In excess of 25kms of strike of the Afema Shear is located within the Mining Permit area.

The geology is dominated by an east dipping thrust contact between the metavolcanic Sefwi-Bibiani Gold Belt and the metasedimentary Kumasi Basin. Over 250,000 metres of historical drilling and trenching along the Afema Shear delineated substantial oxide mineralisation from surface and sulphide mineralisation across multiple deposits.

Most of the drilling was shallow targeting oxide resources. There is significant scope to define further oxide mineralisation from step out drilling and regional drilling.

Sulphide mineralisation is considered to be ‘refractory’ however test work is limited with little testing of finer grind sizes (i.e. UFG) and reagent optimisation across individual deposits. Only two of more than fifteen known deposits along the Afema Shear have been subject to deeper drilling; Jonction and Anuiri.

Jonction

Jonction is located on the northern extension of the Afema Shear. The deposit has a strike length of 400m and is hosted within a northeast trending steeply east dipping structure. The deposit has been drilled to ~500m below the surface. The drilling has defined a continuous high-grade shoot plunging steeply to the south. Significant high-grade mineralisation has been defined in the historical drilling. Results include:

  • 40.6m @ 7.13g/t fr 0m (1A6-MO5-97) (oxide)
  • 24m @ 9.95g/t fr 18m (1A6-13-97) (oxide)
  • 14.5m @ 10.68g/t fr 55.5m (1A6-40-97) (fresh)
  • 12m @ 12.39g/t fr 192.25m (1A6-72-97) (fresh)

Anuiri

Anuiri is located on central portion of the Afema Shear. Mineralisation is northeast trending and east dipping. The deposit has a 500m drilled strike extent and has been drilled to 300m below surface. The deposit has seen historic mining to 40m deep. Below this, drilling has defined several steeply south plunging shoots. Mineralisation remains open in all directions. Results include:

  • 33m @ 7.53g/t fr 118m (ANDD049) (fresh)
  • 64m @ 3.08g/t fr 80m (AN-072-94) (fresh)
  • 67m @ 2.91g/t fr 104m (AN-053-94) (fresh)
  • 34.15m @ 5.63g/t fr 7m (AN-010-90) (oxide)
  • 39.3m @ 2.35g/t fr 43m (AN-027-93)
  • 53.3m @ 2.70g/t fr 86m (AN-077-94)
  • 13m @ 9.60g/t fr 261m (ANDD068)
  • 21m @ 2.30g/t fr 2m and 64m @ 2.88g/t fr 80m (ANDD001)

Significant grades and widths are reported from drilling below the historic heap leach pit. Hole ANDD059 intersected 9m @ 4.87g/t from 135m. Hole ANDD068 intersected 13m @ 9.60g/t from 261m.

Jonction Long Section Showing High-Grade Plunging Shoots

Jonction Cross Section

Anuiri Long Section

Anuiri Cross Section

Niamenlessa Shear

The Niamenlessa Shear is a major mineralised structure located immediately to the south of the Afema Shear and represents the south-western extension of the Asankrangwa (Obotan-Esasse deposits) gold belt of Ghana. The Niamenlessa Shear is associated with a 20km long gold-in-soils anomaly with only the northern end of the anomaly tested with drilling. The more promising southern portion of the anomaly, ‘Affienou’, is untested with drilling and is characterised by higher tenor gold-in-soils with a large artisanal working exploiting a wide zone (~50m) of mineralisation at surface.  Past channel sampling and trenching at Affienou returned results of 28m @ 3.06g/t gold, 10m @ 3.29g/t and 11m @ 2.59g/t gold. Sampling of artisanal working walls returned 36m @ 4.08g/t gold.

Drilling of this area will be a priority for Turaco.

Niamienlessa Shear