Asante Gold unveils "positive" initial results from Fahiakoba concession, Ghana

Asante Gold (CVE:ASE) unveiled Tuesday what it called "positive" initial drill results from its Fahiakoba concession in Ghana.

The company drilled to test widely-spaced geophysical targets on Fahiakoba, confirming the presence of anomalous to highly anomalous gold mineralization, it said.

Recent airborne geophysical surveys outlined some 20 kilometres of northeast-trending shear and fold zones, some of which have associated VTEM conductors. Asante noted targets were on strike with mineralization seen at Perseus Mining's (CVE:PRU) Edikan mine, which is adjacent and southwest of the Fahiakoba concession.

Partial results were received from four of the 14 diamond drill holes completed since March of this year, with an additional 280 sample results pending.

Asante said reported drill holes FAH12-001, 2, 3 and 5 were drilled in the area of a small scale alluvial pit, where a previous grab sample gave 2.05 grams per tonne (g/t) gold.

Drilling under the pit gave long intersections of quartz stockwork in "a quartz-rich greywacke", Asante added.

In hole FAH12-005, 0.50 metres at 289.50 g/t gold was returned. Visible gold was noted in a 1.5 centimetre quartz vein, at a down hole depth of 201.8 metres, associated with strong pyrite mineralization, the company said.

“The initial drill results have confirmed that the extensions of the Akropong and Edikan shear zones, which cross the Fahiakoba concession, contain anomalous to highly anomalous gold mineralization," said president Douglas MacQuarrie.

"These shear zones are mappable with geophysics through the extensive surface cover. We are highly encouraged to continue to explore the indicated +20 kilometre strike length of shear zones on the concession.”

Asante also noted that the gold found in hole FAH12-005 is "coarse...and appears related to late stage foliation as noted at many West African gold deposits."

Drill hole FAH12-005 was drilled 200 metres to the east of the other drill holes reported Tuesday, to test the southwest end of a previously outlined airborne conductor.

A graphitic shear zone was intersected at 175.0 metres, the company said, which "correlates with the extension of the VTEM anomaly to the southwest."

Other notable intercepts announced Tuesday were 1 metre of 7.34 g/t gold at a depth of 41.5 metres in hole FAH12-003.

Anomalous gold was noted in eight other intervals in the first three holes, at depths from 34.0 to 175.0 metres - with values ranging from 0.28 to 0.85 g/t gold.

Asante said that additional soil sampling and auger drilling are now underway to further test the area found in FAH12-005.
Completion of the budgeted 5,000 metre drill program, which began in March, is expected to resume once the additional submitted samples have been received and the ground work completed.

Asante Gold is a Vancouver-based gold exploration company, exploring the Fahiakoba concession, a 22.07 square kilometre prospecting license located on strike with and between Perseus Mining's 4.32 million ounce Edikan Mine and AngloGold Ashanti's (NYSE:AU) 60 million ounce Obuasi mine.

Asante said the latter mine is the longest producing, highest grade and largest gold resource in West Africa.

Asante Gold holds a 100 percent interest in the Fahiakoba gold concession through an option agreement with Goknet Mining Company Limited of Accra, which holds the prospecting license. The deal is subject to a five percent government and a three percent underlying net smelter royalty interest.

The Fahiakoba property covers a part of the former Dunkwa Continental Mining Lease, where large scale gold dredging activities were active from 1930 for nearly 70 years on the Ofin River and its tributaries.