Vancouver — Stepout and deep infill drilling at the Sabodala project in Senegal continue to return strong gold grades for Oromin Explorations (OLE-V, OLEPF-O).
Recent drilling has focused on defining and expanding resources at three targets: Golouma West, Golouma South, and Masato. The company plans to drill at least 75,000 metres in advance of a resource estimate scheduled for April.
At Golouma West, mineralization has been traced over 1.5 km on surface and to a depth of 300 metres; it still open in all directions. Drill results in the zone show short, high-grade intersections. Hole 132 returned 12 metres grading 8.74 grams gold per tonne from 49 metres depth, hole 152 hit 13 metres grading 6.07 grams gold from 82 metres, and hole 154 intersected 10 metres of 6.91 grams gold from 128 metres. Two of the longest intervals are 17 metres grading 3.36 grams gold in hole 165, and 18 metres of 4.8 grams gold in hole 168.
Hole 156 cut numerous mineralized intervals. From 17 metres depth, the drill hit 5 metres grading 45.03 grams gold; starting 142 metres down-hole, it cut 10 metres of 11.29 grams gold; and from 165 metres, it returned 7 metres grading 7.77 grams gold.
Oromin has traced the Golouma South deposit, which is still open in all directions, over a strike length of 1 km and to 220 metres depth. In a similar manner to Golouma West, most drill cores returned short, high-grade intercepts. Hole 138 cut 7.12 grams gold over 7 metres from 44 metres depth, hole 140 returned 11 metres grading 1.87 grams gold, and hole 150 hit 9.05 grams gold over 8 metres (from 192 metres depth) followed by 5.08 grams gold over 19 metres (from 229 metres).
The Masato zone is coincident with a strong gold-in-soil anomaly 2.6 km long by 1.2 km wide. It also coincides with three northeast-trending, linear induced-polarization chargeability anomalies, of which only the westernmost has been drilled. Drilling at Masato is still widely spaced. The best results of late include 5 metres of 3.22 grams gold from 58 metres depth, 1 metre of 3,945 grams gold from 63 metres down-hole, and 14 metres of 3.56 grams gold from 64 metres depth, all in hole 131.
Oromin gained 30 on the news to close at $3.55. The company has traded in a 52-week range of $1.85-4.18 and has 54.3 million shares issued.
Oromin holds 43.5% of the Sabodala project, with an equal portion held by Saudi-controlled Bendon International. Badr Investment & Finance holds the remaining 13%. The government of Senegal retains a US$6.50-per-oz. royalty on any future production and a free carried interest after repayment of capital.
Oromin and its partners were initially expected to spend US$8 million on exploration by April 2007 and then complete a feasibility study by February 2008. In March, the government of Senegal granted the Sabodala partners a 20-month exploration extension. They can now drill until December 2008 and then must finalize a feasibility study within 10 months.
The multi-showing project is just 30 km south of the border with Mali and is in the same geological terrain that hosts five gold mines in the country.
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