Channel Resources continues to define Mankarga 5 zone in Burkina Faso

Channel Resources (CVE:CHU) said Monday it continues to define the Mankarga 5 zone on its Tanlouka gold project, located in Burkina Faso, West Africa, with a 30-metre intersection grading 1.28 grams per tonne (g/t) gold.
The company reported the assay results of another eight holes from its 15,000-metre core definition drill program at the deposit.
Significant results included Tan11-DD45, completed on Section 550 SW, which intersected 30 metres grading 1.28 g/t gold. On that same section, Tan11-DD52 returned 52.5 metres of 0.74 g/t gold, including 1.9 g/t gold over 10.5 metres.
To date, the results from the drilling program have delineated a mineralized zone measuring 2.35 kilometres in length, and up to 250 metres in width on the northeast-trending Mankarga 5 structure, which remains open along strike and to depth, the company said.
Other notable results included Tan11-DD57, drilled on Section 1400 SW, which intersected 12.0 metres grading 1.14 g/t gold, including 17.6 g/t gold over 0.4 metres; and Tan11-DD44, drilled on Section 950 NE, which returned 10.5 metres at 0.36 g/t gold, 21.0 metres grading 0.43 g/t gold, and 3.0 metres of 2.58 g/t gold.
Meanwhile, Tan11-DD37, drilled on Section 150 NE, intersected 60.0 metres grading 0.81 g/t gold, including 2.07 g/t gold over 6.0 metres.
Tan11-DD36, drilled on Section 100 NE, found 57.0 metres grading 0.61 g/t gold, including 1.3 g/t gold over 6.0 metres. This hole also intersected 3.0 metres at 2.46 g/t gold, and 9.0 metres at 0.37 g/t gold.
Channel is pursuing a maiden resource estimate for the Mankarga 5 structure, which it expects to complete in the spring of 2012.
The company also said it will soon start exploration activities on other targets within the Tanlouka permit area. Regional soil anomalies in the central and northern regions of the permit indicate obvious targets, Channel said. It also has a semi-detailed soil survey planned over several of these target areas, with the objective of generating drill targets for later this year.
Channel will also investigate the Mankarga 1 area, located just 600 metres west of the Mankarga 5 deposit, which previously encountered 38.0 metres of 3.09 g/t gold in Tan10-RC10, and 12.0 metres of 21.25 g/t gold in Tan10-RC12.
The company owns a 90 percent interest in the 79-square-kilometre Tanlouka project, which is located 85 kilometres east of the capital city of Ouagadougou.
The Tanlouka permit area straddles the Markoye Shear Zone, a crustal scale structure that extends from northern Ghana to northern Burkina Faso over a distance of 450 kilometres, and hosts major gold resources at Essakane, Bomboré, Taporko-Bouroum and Kiaka.
Tanlouka contains gold targets that are hosted in Birimian Greenstones that are prevalent throughout West Africa, and are well known as a repository for many world-class gold deposits, including the 40 million ounce Obuasi Gold deposit operated by Anglogold (NYSE:AU) in Ghana, and the 20 million ounce Ahafo Deposit operated by Newmont (NYSE:NEM), also in Ghana.
In recent years, Burkina Faso has seen significant investment from international exploration and mining companies. Several mines are now in production and the country currently ranks as Africa's fourth largest gold producer.