West Africa-focussed gold exploration company Cora Gold has completed the first reconnaissance drill programme at the highly prospective Tekeledougou Gold Project in southern Mali, it announced on Monday.
The AIM-traded firm said 17 reconnaissance reverse circulation drill holes for 2,007 metres were completed at Tekeledougou, with two prospects - Kouroudian and Woyani - drilled to vertical depths of 110 metres to 125 metres.

Large footprints were uncovered via artisanal workings extending up to 600 metres in length, the board reported, with broad zones of 40 metres to 50 metres true widths of intense quartz observed in drilling, with a "deep weathering profile".

There were also indications of continuity of surface structure at depth, Cora added.

Both prospects lay within around 8 kilometres of Hummingbird Resources' Yanfolila Gold Mine, and 60 kilometres south of the company's flagship Sanankoro Gold Discovery, where full assay results were being awaited.

Hummingbird is a 33.85% shareholder in Cora.

Initial assay results from Tekeledougou were expected late in the second quarter.

"The reconnaissance drilling programme at Tekeledougou is the first substantial exploration ever completed at the project, with two exciting gold targets tested," said CEO Dr Jonathan Forster.

"Both prospects are highlighted by large surface area artisanal workings, in some cases extending over 600m of strike, with broad quartz shear structures."

Dr Forster said both surface and drilling data indicated potential widths of the steeply dipping sheeted quartz vein structures to be in excess of 30 metres to 40 metres, suggesting a structure likely to be amenable to bulk mining.

"As at our Sanankoro Gold discovery 60km away, visible gold was seen in samples panned at the drill rig at Tekeledougou.

"We see significant potential to extend these wide structures well beyond the already identified footprint which, if consistently mineralised, could lead to a large gold deposit."

The project's close proximity to Hummingbird's Yanfolila Gold Mine was a bonus, Dr Forster said, and potentially presented additional avenues for value realisation.

"With this in mind, I look forward to reporting the assay results later this quarter."

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