REG - African Pioneer PLC - Drilling Programme at Ongombo Project in Namibia

African PioneerAnnouncement

24/05/2022 07:16

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RNS Number : 5207M  African Pioneer PLC  24 May 2022

24 May 2022

African Pioneer Plc

("African Pioneer" or "the Company")

Drilling Programme at Ongombo Project in Namibia

 

African Pioneer plc ("APP" or the "Company"), the exploration and resource
development company with projects located in Namibia, Botswana and Zambia, is
pleased to inform shareholders that, further to the announcement 9 February
2022, a shallow diamond drilling programme has commenced on the Ongombo
Project, Namibia.

 

 

Highlights:

 

·      25 to 30-hole shallow diamond drill programme has commenced on the
Ongombo Project

·    6 holes completed to date with all holes intersecting encouraging
sulphide mineralisation with chalcopyrite at shallow depths

·     Visual estimates of chalcopyrite content in the mineralised zones
indicate notable quantities of copper sulphide to date

·      Drill programme designed to test near-surface oxide and sulphide
copper-gold mineralisation

·   Work also underway to resample historic drill core to test for
elevated gold values in and around copper mineralisation

 

Colin Bird, Chairman of African Pioneer, said:

"I am delighted with these early results from our drilling programme,
particularly since the core appears to be sulphides close to surface.  The
programme has the intend to identify a small open pit and thereafter proceed
ex highwall to commence underground mining.  The programme continues and we
look forward to the results to finalise mine planning.  We are pleased that
we have gained access to more drill core, and we intend to specifically test
for gold, both in quantum and process characteristics.  I am very pleased
with the progress in fast tracking the Ongombo Project."

 

Ongombo Project Near-surface Drill Programme

 

Six holes have been completed to date. Assessment of the potential of the
mineralised zone at this stage in the evaluation process is based on visual
estimates of copper sulphide content, occurring as chalcopyrite and relies on
the experience of the geologist managing the drilling programme and logging
core to assess the proportion of visible chalcopyrite relative to pyrite and
other minerals making up the mineralised horizon.

 

Visual estimates of copper content do not reflect the expected assay grade of
the mineralised horizon but do indicate the extent of chalcopyrite
mineralisation.

 

Table 1: Mineralised Widths of First Six Drillholes Completed on Near-Surface
Drill Programme on the Ongombo Project

 Hole ID  From   To     Mineralised* Width  End Of Hole

          (m)    (m)    (m)                 (m)
 APD001   11.81  14.81  3.0                 17.45
 APD002   21.27  22.27  1.0                 29.78
 APD003   7.30   11.86  4.56                17.86
 APD004   20.59  21.50  0.91                26.83
 APD005   11.4   13.05  1.65                17.81
 APD006   36.5   38.1   1.60                56.99

 

The following link is to a picture of drill core from APD002, APD003, APD004
and APD005 showing visible chalcopyrite

http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/5207M_1-2022-5-23.pdf
(http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/5207M_1-2022-5-23.pdf)

 

The gossanous outcrop at Ongombo has been assumed to be the surface expression
of the mineralisation drilled at depth to generate the current Ongombo Mineral
Resource Estimate. African Pioneer has projected this same mineralisation to
extend to surface through to the gossan outcrop. It has been assumed that
previous exploration drilling ignored the near-surface potential on the basis
that copper oxide mineralisation, at the time that Gold Fields Namibia Limited
was exploring, was not conducive to good metal recover.  Today however,
flotation processing has the capacity to recover economic quantities of oxide
and sulphide copper in parallel in the same flotation processing plant making
any shallow mineralisation a valid target for development.  African Pioneer
will test the shallow mineralisation potential over a strike length of
approximately 1 kilometre and down dip of the gossan outcrop to the point
where historic drilling occurs.

 

Assessment of Gold Grades in Historic Drill Core

Approximately 80 drillholes have been found that were completed by previous
explorers including Gold Fields Namibia Limited. The Company intends to
resample the drill core in and around the mineralised horizon in each case in
order to assess the distribution of gold attributable to the existing Mineral
Resource Estimate.

 

Historically limited gold assaying was undertaken, so only low-grade gold
values have been reported as any grade less than 1g/t Au was considered
insignificant, particularly when exploration was being undertaken by South
African companies more used to significantly higher gold grades on their deep
level gold mines and as a consequence, only. At the current gold price, and in
conjunction with known copper grades, there is scope for an important
by-product addition of gold in the Mineral Resource. A greater density of gold
assay data covering the existing Mineral Resource generated by resampling of
available core has the scope to add to the value of each tonne of ore defined
to date.

 

 

 

For further information, please contact:

 

 African Pioneer Plc

 Colin Bird

+44 (0) 20 7581 4477
 Executive Chairman

 Beaumont Cornish (Financial Adviser)    +44 (0) 20 7628 3396

Roland Cornish
 Novum Securities Limited (Broker)

 Jon Belliss                             +44 (0) 20 7399 9400

+44 (0) 20 7581 4477

 

Beaumont Cornish (Financial Adviser)

Roland Cornish

+44 (0) 20 7628 3396

Novum Securities Limited (Broker)

Jon Belliss

 

 

+44 (0) 20 7399 9400

 

or visit  https://africanpioneerplc.com/ (https://africanpioneerplc.com/)

 

Qualified Person:

The technical information contained in this announcement has been reviewed,
verified, and approved by Colin Bird, CC.ENG, FIMMM, South African and UK
Certified Mine Manager and Director of African Pioneer plc, with more than 40
years' experience mainly in hard rock mining.

 

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to
constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation
(EU) No. 596/2014 as it forms part of UK Domestic Law by virtue of the
European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("UK MAR").

 

Glossary

 

A 'Mineral Resource' is a concentration or occurrence of solid material of
economic interest in or on the Earth's crust in such form, grade (or quality),
and quantity that there are reasonable prospects for eventual economic
extraction. The location, quantity, grade (or quality), continuity and other
geological characteristics of a Mineral Resource are known, estimated or
interpreted from specific geological evidence and knowledge, including
sampling. Mineral Resources are sub-divided, in order of increasing geological
confidence, into Inferred, Indicated and Measured categories.

 

An 'Indicated Mineral Resource' is that part of a Mineral Resource for which
quantity, grade (or quality), densities, shape and physical characteristics
are estimated with sufficient confidence to allow the application of Modifying
Factors in sufficient detail to support mine planning and evaluation of the
economic viability of the deposit.

 

An 'Inferred Mineral Resource' is that part of a Mineral Resource for which
quantity and grade (or quality) are estimated on the basis of limited
geological evidence and sampling. Geological evidence is sufficient to imply
but not verify geological and grade (or quality) continuity. It is based on
exploration, sampling and testing information gathered through appropriate
techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drill
holes.

 

"Ag"       Silver

"Au"      Gold

"Cu"       Copper

"g/t"      grammes per tonne

"Kt"        thousand tonnes

"Mt"      million tonnes

 

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