The first drill results back from Volta Resources‘ (VTR-T) newly acquired Kiaka gold project in Burkino Faso have left management feeling like they made the right choice to move forward so aggressively on the project.
Shareholders thought so too – Volta shares were up 60% by noon today to 65¢ on a trading volume of 2.5 million shares.
Volta bought Kiaka from Randgold Resources (GOLD-Q , RRS-L) in November at which time it started a 22,000-metre drill program that should be finished by the end of April 2010.
The company says nine holes have been drilled but released the results from the first three holes today.
In Hole KRD25 the first 136 metres averaged 1.66 grams gold per tonne including 21 metres grading 3.1 grams gold.
Hole KRD26 returned 165 metres grading 0.83 gram gold per tonne including 40 metres grading 1.15 grams gold (to a depth of 166 metres).
Hole KRD27 returned 34 metres grading 1.4 grams gold per tonne including 14 metres grading 2.25 grams gold (to 36.1 metres depth).
The company plans to drill 150 holes to depths between 150 metres and 200 metres.
Volta president Kevin Bullock says the wide intercepts reinforce the reasons the company is exploring the project in the first place.
“These first impressively wide intersections clearly support Kiaka’s historical potential outlined by Randgold,” Bullock said in a statement. “More importantly, they bode well for Volta’s decision to aggressively focus on Kiaka as its premier development project.”
Volta also posted old Randgold drill results from the same section as a comparison. The grades and intercepts were similar.
Volta plans to test 1,200 metres of strike of the 2,800 metre KMZ zone and 500 metres of the 700-metre-long strike of the KHZ zone.
The program will both infill and extend Randgold’s drilling so that all holes are drilled on a 50-metre spacing from surface to 150 metres depth. Drilling that goes to 200 metres depth will have a spacing of 100 metres by 50 metres.
The closer drill spacing will help the company better define the continuity of the section of discrete higher-grade zones. Volta says higher grade zones are broadly correlated with brittle-ductile deformation, a strong secondary structural fabric and a distinct alteration assemblage. Volta plans to track these zones from section to section to improve the geological modeling and resource estimate.
The company intends to complete a National Instrument 43-101 resource estimate by next June.
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