REG - Shanta Gold Limited - West Kenya Phase 2 High Grade Drilling Update

Shanta GoldAnnouncement

17/11/2022 07:00

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RNS Number : 7465G  Shanta Gold Limited  17 November 2022

17 November 2022

Shanta Gold Limited

("Shanta Gold" or the "Company")

 

West Kenya Phase 2 High Grade Drilling Update

 

Shanta Gold (AIM: SHG), the East Africa-focused gold producer, developer and
explorer, is pleased to provide an exploration update for the West Kenya
Project ("West Kenya" or the "Project") in Kenya.

 

Website link to the slides covering today's announcement:

https://www.shantagold.com/investors/presentations/
(https://www.shantagold.com/investors/presentations/)

 

Eric Zurrin, Chief Executive Officer, commented:

"I am delighted to say that the West Kenya project has continued to deliver
high-quality drilling results. The results that we have announced this morning
are some of the best that we have delivered to the market this year.

We have encountered bonanza-grade gold intercepts at Isulu including grades of
721 g/t, 210 g/t, 172 g/t, and 93 g/t which are within 100-200 metres vertical
distance of surface, in 4 different intersections across the 7 drilled holes.
Intersections of that quality, of which we have consistently seen throughout
our drilling campaign at West Kenya, is not something that is often seen in
the portfolio of a junior miner like Shanta, or indeed any other global gold
exploration projects.

We are extremely excited as a team for what the West Kenya project can deliver
to the Shanta portfolio, and with work underway on the updated Mineral
Resource Estimate, shareholders can expect a further positive update in the
coming months where we expect to see a significant conversion of the Inferred
resources to Indicated ounces."

Highlights:

·    Phase 2 drilling programme aimed at conversion of the Inferred
resources to Indicated at Isulu-Bushiangala;

·    This update relates to 2,456 metres ("m") of drilling from across 7
diamond holes conducted in Q3 2022 at the Isulu deposit;

·    Drilling intersection highlights
include:

 Hole No.  Interval (m)  Au (g/t)  From (m)  To (m)
 Isulu deposit
 LCD0380   1.3           10.30     398.7     400.0
 incl.     0.5           25.37     399.5     400.0
 LCD0380   0.6           29.54     407.9     408.5
 LCD0384   2.2           152.80    141.9     144.1
 incl.     1.6           210.00    141.9     143.5
 LCD0384   4.4           20.60     186.1     190.5
 incl.     0.5           172.20    190.0     190.5
 LCD0385   1.0           16.10     149.0     150.0
 LCD0385   3.8           13.60     154.9     158.7
 incl.     0.5           93.16     158.2     158.7
 LCD0386   2.8           155.03    227.0     229.8
 incl.     0.6           721.40    228.4     229.0
 LCD0386   0.6           28.09     280.0     280.6
 LCD0387   0.5           11.60     269.5     270.0

              Note: true width estimated at 60-70% of the
intercept core length and gold values uncapped

o  Visible gold was identified in 6 intersections from 7 holes drilled.
Visible gold, including spectacular occurrences, has been identified in 67
intersections across 165 diamond holes drilled at Isulu, Bushiangala and
Kimingini (Liranda corridor) since January 2021.

o  Intersections reported today include the seventh set of results received
from Phase 2 of the ongoing diamond drilling campaign, which is targeting up
to 550 vertical metres below surface; the assay results for the 3 remaining
holes at Isulu are pending.

 

Isulu and Bushiangala Drilling Campaign

This infill drilling is aimed at verifying the extent and geometry of the
known mineralised zones developed for the current resource model. Shanta has
now completed 75% of total planned drilling at West Kenya to date and 65% of
total assays over the three phases of planned drilling have now been reported.

 

Gold mineralisation at the Project is hosted by sheared pillowed to massive
basalts, bounded between ultramafic volcanics and polymictic conglomerates on
one side and carbonaceous mudstones and sandstones on the other side. The
deposits occur within the Liranda Corridor area, a 12 km structural trend
located on the eastern limb of a broad synclinal structure intruded in the
centre by granitoids and diorites, termed the Kakamega Dome. Mineralisation is
associated with quartz, quartz-carbonate veinlets within the mineralised shear
zones ranging from 0.5 m to 10 m in true width. The mineralisation style is
classified as orogenic, shear-zone-hosted quartz-carbonate vein subtype. The
strike lengths of the steeply-dipping mineralised zones vary between 100 m and
600 m.

 

Phase 1 drilling at the Project, completed in June 2021, sought to infill two
modelled zones at Isulu (IZ1.0 and IZ3.0) and three modelled zones at
Bushiangala (BZ1, BZ2 and BZ3). This drilling was carried out to generate an
average spacing of 40 m at Isulu and 30 m at Bushiangala, up to a depth of
150-200 m from surface, and targeted both oxides and sulphides within these
zones. Following the completion of Phase 1 drilling, an updated mineral
resource estimate (of which 117,600 oz grading 7.04 g/t were converted to
Indicated category) was announced in September 2021.

 

Phase 2 of the ongoing diamond drilling campaign at the Project is seeking to
infill 20 modelled zones at Isulu and 23 modelled zones at Bushiangala. This
drilling phase amounts to 75,000 m of planned drilling of which 63,738 m has
been completed to date. Phase 2 drilling is expected to generate an average
spacing of 40 m at Isulu and 30 m at Bushiangala, up to a depth of 450-550 m
from surface. Following the completion of 2021 drilling, the Isulu and
Bushiangala modelled zones were updated, and an updated mineral resource
estimate (of 1.12 Moz grading 10.80 g/t Au at Isulu and Bushiangala, of which
378,000 grading 11.70 g/t Au  was  upgraded to Indicated category) was
announced in March 2022.

 

Assay results shown below are those for 7 diamond drill holes, received since
the Company's most recent exploration update on 07 November 2022. To date this
takes the total number of holes with assays returned to 165, for the current
drilling campaign. The lengths shown are the down hole metres and it is
estimated that the true widths of the mineralized zones are approximately
60-70% of the widths intersected in the drill holes. All assays are reported
without application of a top cut. Composited assay results for these 7 drill
holes are tabulated below. Samples were analysed at an accredited laboratory
operated by MSALABS, an independent third party:

 

 Drill Hole  Interval (m)  Au (g/t)  From (m)  To (m)  Prospect
 LCD0380     1.3           10.30     398.7     400.0   Isulu
             including:
             0.5           25.40     399.5     400.0
             0.6           29.50     407.9     408.5
 LCD0382W1   0.5           7.99      611.0     611.5   Isulu
             2.3           2.78      618.1     620.4
             including:
             0.6           9.38      618.1     618.7
 LCD0384     2.2           153.00    141.9     144.1   Isulu
             including:
             1.6           210.00    141.9     143.5
             4.4           20.60     186.1     190.5
             including:
             0.5           172.00    190.0     190.5
             1.0           1.66      229.0     230.0
             0.5           1.94      243.1     243.6
 LCD0385     1.0           16.10     149.0     150.0   Isulu
             3.8           13.60     154.9     158.7
             including:
             0.5           93.20     158.2     158.7
             2.3           4.29      190.0     192.3
             0.5           1.07      245.0     245.5
             1.0           0.57      266.0     267.0
 LCD0386     0.6           1.25      184.5     185.1   Isulu
             2.8           155.00    227.0     229.8
             including:
             0.6           721.00    228.4     229.0
             0.6           28.10     280.0     280.6
             2.0           2.92      339.1     341.1
 LCD0387     1.5           0.98      216.8     218.3   Isulu
             1.7           3.64      269.5     271.2
             0.5           11.60     269.5     270.0
             1.0           1.29      286.0     287.0
 LCD0388     1.0           0.88      235.0     236.0   Isulu
             1.0           0.59      258.1     259.1
             0.5           0.86      323.2     323.7

 

 

Results reported today represents new information received since the Company's
previous exploration update released 07 November 2022.

 

 

 Shanta Gold Limited
 Eric Zurrin (CEO)                                              +44 (0) 14 8173 2153
 Luke Leslie (CFO)
 Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker
 Liberum Capital Limited
 Scott Mathieson / Ed Thomas / Nikhil Varghese / Lucas Bamber   +44 (0) 20 3100 2000

 Joint Broker
 Tamesis Partners LLP
 Charlie Bendon / Richard Greenfield                            +44 (0) 20 3882 2868

 Public Relations
 FTI Consulting
 Sara Powell / Nick Hennis                                     +44 (0) 20 3727 1426

 

 

The technical information contained in this announcement was reviewed by Yuri
Dobrotin, P.Geo. Membership No.0702 (Shanta's Group Exploration Manager), who
is a practicing member of the Association of Professional Geoscientists of
Ontario, Canada (PGO).

Mr Dobrotin 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 for the purposes
of the AIM Guidance Note on Mining and Oil & Gas Companies dated June
2009, and National Instrument 43-101 (''NI 43-101").

About Shanta Gold

 

Shanta Gold is an East Africa-focused responsible gold producer, developer,
and explorer. The company has an established operational track record, with
defined ore resources on the New Luika and Singida projects in Tanzania, with
reserves of 645 Koz grading 3.0 g/t Au, and exploration licences covering
approximately 800 km2 in the country. Alongside New Luika and Singida, Shanta
also owns the high-grade West Kenya Project in Kenya and licences (580 km(2))
with resources of 1.6 million ounces including 378 Koz in the Indicated
category grading 11.70 g/t Au. With a strong balance sheet, a growing
diversified portfolio and a maiden dividend paid in 2021, Shanta offers a
resilient investment opportunity for the near and long-term. Shanta is quoted
on London's AIM market (AIM: SHG) and has approximately 1,048 million shares
in issue.

 

END

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