Axmin finds more gold at Passendro

Following a campaign of rotary air blast (RAB) drilling at its Bambari property in the Central African Republic, Axmin (AXM-V) has confirmed mineralization along the strike extension of its Passendro prospect and identified a new zone of gold mineralization nearby.

The drill program, which tested near-surface weathered material (saprolite) to depths of about 25 metres, confirmed gold mineralization about 320 metres southeast of the Main Zone, which had been drilled in earlier programs. Vertical RAB holes intersected mineralization over a distance of 140 metres across the assumed strike of the structure and confirmed a zone of anomalous gold values that had been found in surface soils.

Grades in the saprolite material averaged 0.55 grams gold per tonne. Axmin has found that vertical RAB holes in the saprolite typically underestimate gold grades, and that inclined reverse-circulation drill holes where RAB holes have returned gold grades of 0.4 to 1 gram per tonne often show grades in excess of 3 grams.

The new showing, called Katsia, is about 2 km southeast of Passendro’s Main Zone and was confirmed by four “fences” of RAB holes, which were drilled across the structure and cover a strike length of about 800 metres. There appear to be two parallel zones of gold mineralization, both hosted in volcanic rocks and banded iron formation.

The western zone was intersected by only two of the drill fences, and is about 20 metres wide, with the RAB samples returning an average grade of 0.5 grams gold per tonne. The eastern zone, intersected in all the fences, is 40 to 70 metres wide and its average gold grades range from 0.4 to 1.1 grams per tonne.

A third zone near Passendro, being called the Main Zone North, is about 1.6 km northwest of the Main Zone and was tested by a single drill fence. Grades in this zone were lower, but Axmin plans further work in the area.