Thor Explorations Ltd. (CVE:THX) announced that it has commenced a 10,000-metre reverse circulation (RC) drilling program at its Douta project in Senegal.
The group said the drilling program follows a successful auger drilling campaign carried out in May and June which delineated three promising drill targets in the Douta exploration permit.
In a statement, Segun Lawson, Thor Explorations president & CEO, said: "The Douta project is an extremely important asset for Thor and with significant blue-sky exploration potential. Its prospectivity has been further confirmed through the recent auger drilling program which delineated over 9km of mineralised targets to be drilled."
"The Company is working towards its next major milestone in Senegal, which is a maiden resource. With construction and exploration progressing as planned in Nigeria, we are excited by the additional news flow to come from Douta over the next few months," he added.
READ: Thor Explorations eyeing reserve upgrade at Segilola project ahead of first gold pour
Highlights of the drilling program
- Three mineralised targets areas
- 10,000 metre contract signed, with the option to increase to 20,000 metres
- Initial drill results expected around the end of November
- The Program will initially focus on the Maka Prospect where two high-grade gold mineralised areas have been defined through auger drilling
- The program will then focus on extending the strike length of the Makosa Discovery located in the southern part of the licence
The Douta Gold Project is a gold exploration permit that covers an area of 103 square kilometer (km2) and is located within the Kéniéba inlier, eastern Senegal. The permit is an elongate polygon with dimensions of approximately 32km by 3.3km, trending northeast with an area of 103 km2.
Thor, through its wholly-owned subsidiary African Star Resources Incorporated, has acquired, 70% of the licence from the permit holder International Mining Company SARL which maintains a 30% free carry until the announcement by Thor of a Probable Reserve after which it will have to contribute or sell its stake to African Star.
The Douta licence is strategically positioned between the ‘world-class’ deposits of Massawa and Sabadola to the west and the Makabingui deposit to the east. Within the licence five separate gold prospects have been identified using surface geochemical sampling. These comprise the more advanced Makosa prospect, where first-pass RC and diamond drilling has defined mineralisation over a 3km strike length, and the earlier exploration stage Maka, Mansa, Samba and Makosa Tail prospects.
Between March and July 2020 a total of 785 auger drill holes were completed over the Maka, Mansa and Makosa Tail prospects in order to define targets for follow up RC drilling.
Results from historic reconnaissance surface soil sampling and rock chip geochemistry identified the Maka as an area of interest with surface rock chips returning between 1.6 and 9.6 grams per ton (g/t) gold. A limited RC program completed by Thor in 2018 returned a best result of 4 metres (m) grading 11 g/t gold in hole DMRC012.
The Makosa discovery is the most significant of several significant exploration targets to be drilled by Thor within the Douta project. A total of 13 diamond holes and 82 RC drill holes have delineated continuous mineralisation over a strike length of 3,000m. Additional RC drilling is designed to increase the mineralised footprint of the mineralisation which is open-ended both along strike to the north and south and at depth.
Thor also holds a 100% interest in the Segilola Gold Project located in Osun State of Nigeria and a 49% interest in the Bongui and Legue gold permits located in Houndé greenstone belt, south-west Burkina Faso.
Contact the author at jon.hopkins@proactiveinvestors.com