Tafogo permit progress report
Challenger Minerals Ltd CGJ
Shares issued 8,792,645 Mar 30 close $0.24
Tue 31 Mar 98 News Release
Mr Gary Oakley reports
The company has been approached by a major South African gold producer with
an expression of interest in possibly entering into a joint venture on
Challenger's 100% owned Tafogo permit in Burkina Faso, West Africa.
Challenger has provided complete technical information and if the review by
the South African major gold producer is favourable, Challenger anticipates
negotiating a joint venture agreement which will be mutually beneficial to
both parties. Challenger has completed a phase 1 exploration program on the
469 sq km Tafogo permit in NE Burkina Faso, West Africa. The Tafogo permit
is bounded in the north by the Bouroum permit (Channel Resources) and on
the east by the Taparko permit (High River Gold Mines). Both companies have
developed significant gold reserves on their properties. High River has
recently raised US$5 million to do additional infill drilling and to
commence a pre-feasibility report on its adjoining Taparko permit. High
River has estimated that the adjoining Taparko permit contains between 1-3
million oz of gold.
To date Challenger's exploration program has consisted of 4,180 soil
samples resulting in the sampling of the entire Tafogo permit at a density
of about one sample every 400 square metres. This coarse density was
adopted to allow complete coverage of the 469 sq km concession and to
define areas in which further followup sampling is warranted. The analyses
were undertaken by Activation Laboratories of Ancaster, Ontario by a
neutron activation method.
Results indicate that a zone of anomalous gold extending in a northwesterly
direction for about 10km corresponds to a northwestern contact between a
Birimian greenstone belt and gneissic rocks of Lower Proterozoic age mapped
in the northwestern part of the concession. The average anomalous gold
value in this zone is about five times the background gold value. The
values are accompanied by anomalous arsenic and zinc in soils. Both iron
and manganese values are relatively low within this zone. Challenger
believes that this suggests gold enrichment by absorption onto iron and
manganese oxide has probably not occurred. The gold enrichment may be
related to gold mineralization in underlying bedrock.
Because of these encouraging results, Challenger plans a followup
exploration program consisting of detailed soil sampling, ground magnetic
surveying, geological mapping and prospecting. This will more closely
define the zone of gold enrichment and prioritize drill targets to be
tested on the completion of this followup exploration program.
This drilling program, estimated to cost about $350,000, will include
targets defined during the regional sampling program. During this program a
total of eight orpailleurs workings were located with visible gold found in
two of the workings. At Zone A-B the geochemical anomaly is 800m by 400m
and is in line with the gold zone at Bouroum 15km to the NNW. Several
quartz vein grab samples 200-300m north of Zone B assayed 3.70, 20.84, 4.60
and 5.97 g/t gold. In addition to zones A-B, and H, where a grab sample of
5.72 g/t gold was obtained, other targets have been located in the
Narbingou area. Two samples near Kyentsom ran 4.68 and 1.54 g/t gold. One
reconnaissance soil anomaly 6km NE of Tafogo will also be evaluated in more
depth.
The company plans to commence phase 2 directly or through a joint venture
with a major company.
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