New zones cut at Caiman

Core and reverse-circulation drilling by Ariane Gold (AGD-T) at its Camp Caiman project in French Guiana has indicated new gold mineralization at the main Camp Caiman deposit and also intersected gold in prospects elsewhere on the property.

The drill programs, which ran through June and July, discovered new mineralized lenses in the Scout and CC-88 zones, the two main zones of the deposit. Drilling along-strike from known mineralization at both Scout and CC-88 also confirmed extensions to that mineralization.

At Scout, six core and seven reverse-circulation holes established extensions to the known mineralization, over core lengths of a minimum 2.9 metres; the longest intersections ranged from 13.7 metres grading 4 grams gold per tonne up to 35.1 metres grading 2.5 grams. Among the higher-grade intersections were a 17-metre length running 5 grams per ton and a 3-metre interval running 7.4 grams.

Other drill holes at Scout encountered mineralization in new lenses, including a 24-metre interval grading 2.9 grams gold per tonne and a 35.1-metre interval grading 4 grams. The great majority of the mineralized intersections were at core lengths of 80 metres or less, implying the mineralization is relatively near to surface.

At CC-88, five diamond drill holes and four reverse-circulation holes extended the known CC-88 and Northeast CC-88 lenses as well as indicating new lenses in the two zones. Three core holes drilled on CC-88 returned gold grades of less than 1 gram per tonne over core lengths of 3 metres, but two reverse-circulation holes came back with better grades: a 15.2-metre interval grading 2.6 grams per tonne is on a strike extension of known mineralization, and a 10.7-metre intersection grading 3 grams per tonne has been interpreted as a new mineralized lens.

Four holes in the Northeast CC-88 zone came back with relatively low grades, but one core hole cut 3 metres grading 1.6 grams gold per tonne.

Between Scout and CC-88, another mineralized zone called CC-08 — which currently contributes a minor amount of the Camp Caiman resource — saw seven new drill holes. One diamond drill hole encountered a new lens over a core length of 21 metres grading 1.1 grams gold per tonne, while a second intersected multiple new zones that included 5 metres grading 2.2 grams per tonne and 25 metres grading 0.87 gram. Reverse-circulation holes in the area extended known mineralization and intersected some new zones with grades mainly in the 1-gram range and lower.

The new zones reinforce the company’s hope of finding additional resources within trucking distance of the Camp Caiman mill (T.N.M., Sept. 1/03). An early-stage economic study tabled last month indicated a mine producing 96,000 oz. gold annually could be economically feasible, and on the strength of that report Ariane will go ahead with a full feasibility study.

The initial economic study assumed a reserve of 12.2 million tonnes grading 3 grams gold per tonne, and concluded that additional reserves would “significantly improve” the project’s economics.

The drill program also tested the Quatre Buses prospect, about 500 metres southwest of Scout. There, seven diamond drill holes cut gold mineralization in the Orapu formation, which had not previously been known to host significant gold zones. Grades in the new zones ranged from a fraction of a gram to 2.4 grams per tonne, over core lengths ranging from 3 to 21 metres, all near surface.