AfriOre jumps on Akanani results

Encouraged by early drill results, AfriOre (AFO-T) has taken an initial 20% stake in the Akanani project in South Africa’s Bushveld complex.

Hole 4, AfriOre’s second on the project, intersected a wide swath of platinum-group-element and base metal mineralization in the Platreef unit. The hole’s longest core interval runs 31.9 metres (beginning 1,020 metres down-hole) and grades 1.68 grams platinum, 1.94 grams palladium and 0.16 gram rhodium, plus 0.23 gram gold per tonne; the interval also contained 0.17% nickel and 0.11% copper.

Three other holes cut the Platreef: hole 2 cut the unit at depths of between 929 and 1,152 metres and was terminated in basement granites at 1,166 metres. Hole MO2 cut 206 metres of Platreef, beginning at a depth of 1,433 metres, and also ended in basement granitic rocks. Hole 3 cut the upper contact of the Platreef unit at a down-hole depth of 1,108 metres. Assays are pending.

The holes are part of AfriOre’s initial 13,000-metre drilling program at Akanani; all the holes are near the project’s eastern boundary and are being collared vertically.

In late March, AfriOre’s first hole at Akanani returned multiple zones of high-grade platinum group elements, highlighted by a 6.5-metre interval (from 1,093 metres below surface) running 13.6 grams platinum, 8.7 grams palladium, 0.8 gram rhodium, 0.6 gram gold per tonne, 0.2% nickel and 0.1% copper.

In all, AfriOre has encountered the Platreef unit in six holes over a strike length of 6 km.

The Platreef unit also hosts Anglo American Platinum’s Potgietersrus platinum mine, adjacent to the east, and the southeastern corner of Akanani is less than 1 km from Anglo’s Zwartfontein South open pit and 1.5 km from that company’s main open pit at the Sandsloot PGE mine.

At Akanani, the Platreef unit dips at 35 to 45 to the west-southwest, and is estimated to extend from a depth of about 600 metres in the southeast, increasing toward the west.

AfriOre will acquire its initial stake in Akanani by buying Metals Technology Inc. (MTI) for 750,000 shares. The deal was expected to close in late April.