PROJECT Highlights :
- Project occurs within regional domain of mineralised trends measured over hundreds of kilometres.
- Widespread gold mineralisation identified across project, historic gold production at multiple sites.
- Deformed, mineralised corridor >30km along trend identified on the Project.
- Extensive exploration program, employing modern methods, conducted to highest standards.
- More than 12,000 samples collected for analysis – largest geochemical compilation in the region.
- Romeit Occurrence identified as initial focus of program because of extensive gold mineralisation.
- Currently >8,500 metres of reverse circulation and diamond drilling at Romeit to test subsurface.
- Numerous other sites of gold mineralisation yet to be examined in detail.
- Great potential for exploration success in regionally extensive domain.
PROJECT Details :
Cairo, February 14, 2022 – AFAQ Mining (“AFAQ” or the “Company”) provides an update on the exploration program at the Romeit occurrence, West Elbah conocession, south-east Egypt (the “Project”), located approximately about 90km from the town of Shalateen. The work program has been in progress since 2019, systematically employing modern techniques and methods to evaluate the occurrence. Exploration has been concentrated on the Romeit, occurrence so far because of the very prospective nature of this historically producing occurrence.
The project is extremely well located relative to infrastructure and support services, being about 90km southwest of the sizeable town of Shalateen, and just 35km along a recently improved desert access road from the paved coastal road that connects south-eastern Egypt with the north. This ready access facilitates all logistical aspects of the program, simplifies personnel and materiel considerations, and reduces project support costs.
The region encompassing the Romeit-Elbah concession area is part of the Arabian Nubian Shield – a regionally extensive domain of rock with complex geological history. The gold mineralisation at Romeit is part of a system of interrelated deformed rock that extends across the breadth of the Nubian Shield in the Eastern Desert and extends along 300km of deformation into northern Sudan. This deformation provided pathways for mineralising fluids and resulted in a locus for gold mineralisation – the prolific potential of this gold mineralising system is recognised in the regional abundance of gold occurrences that include, in addition to Romeit, Hamisana, and Masho Shinai on AFAQ’s project, the Um Ashira, Haimur, Harairi, Um Garayat, Seiga, Filat, Ungat, Betam, Egat, Um el-Tuyor, and Madari, Korbiai occurrences – all of which are sites of past gold production.
The work program conducted by AFAQ has been ongoing since 2019; the most significant components include:
- Satellite study defining significant domains of prospective terrane on the project.
- Comprehensive geological mapping to provide a detailed understanding of mineralisation controls.
- Extensive trenching, specifically at the Romeit occurrence, enhancing large scale understanding.
- More than 10,000 samples collected for gold analysis – surface and drilling.
- Completion of 5,000m of reverse circulation drilling to date.
The results to date at the Romeit occurrence demonstrates the presence of a large and distinctly anomalous domain with the characteristics of structurally hosted gold mineralisation. The alteration, and host structure is measured in thicknesses of metres to tens of metres, is persistent along strike for hundreds of metres, and includes sites of mineralisation separated from the main Romeit occurrence by kilometres with prospective implications for intervening terrane. The drilling to date has identified numerous, extensive gold mineralised intervals, including 5.64g/t gold over 42m and 1.58 g/t gold over 58m; higher grades have been obtained from narrower intervals. It has further demonstrated that the gold mineralisation identified at surface extends to depths of at least 100mvertically with all indications that it continues to greater depth over significant widths. The Romeit occurrence presents an extensive and prospective exploration target, with surface dimensions measured in kilometres and very substantial subsurface target volume that remains open to depth.
“The 500 km2 area of the Company’s West Elbah Project is underlain by deformed, altered and gold mineralised rock associated with mineralised structures that are measured over hundreds of kilometres, and host numerous past-producing gold deposits and occurrences across southeastern Egypt” said Mr. Mostafa Elbahr, AFAQ’s Chairman. “Gold mineralisation occurs widely on our Project and has been exploited since pharaonic times; it continues to attract production activity to this day. Our exploration program has now encompassed large parts of the Project area and has identified numerous occurrences displaying alteration, deformation, and gold mineralisation, and has repeatedly observed visible gold in bedrock and as grains in alluvial sediments- all speak to the great exploration potential.” The project hosts the historic gold occurrences at Romeit, Hamida, and Masho Shinai, but at least seven other areas have been identified as having attributes conducive to gold emplacement. These prospective areas occur along a north-south corridor of deformed, altered, and mineralised terrain along more than 30km of trend on the Property. The focus of the Company’s activities presently is the Romeit occurrence where a domain of substantial historical gold production dates to Pharaonic times. The AFAQ work program is successfully defining a subsurface gold mineralisation through reverse circulation and diamond drilling that combined now amounts to some 8,500m of completed drilling. Elsewhere the Hamida occurrence presents very extensive domains of alteration and deformation measured over kilometres of strike length – it presents an immense exploration target to be developed. At the Masho Shinai occurrence, in the southern part of the Project some 30 km from Romeit, more sites of historic production occur, and the Company’s work program has identified strong anomalous gold mineralisation. Other sites of potential gold mineralisation have yet to be investigated in any detail. The gold endowment of the West Elbah Project is widespread in geologically favourable environments known to host gold deposits elsewhere in the region, in places demonstrates significant grade and continuity, and past production has occurred from several sites – these attributes speak to the exceptional exploration and development potential.
The significance of the work conducted at Romeit to date is that it has identified an abundant volume of rock known to be extensively gold mineralised. The work program so far has been very successful at identifying mineralisation and associated alteration at Romeit, and also elsewhere on the project (e.g. Hamida). Continued exploration by AFAQ, incorporating techniques such as ground geophysics and diamond drilling, can expect to obtain positive results, further extending the gold mineralised domain.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains certain “forward-looking statements.” All statements, other than statements of historic fact, that address activities, events or developments that AFAQ believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as “seek,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “plan,” “estimate, “expect,” and “intend” and statements that an event or result “may,” “will,” “can,” “should,” “could,” or “might” occur or be achieved and other similar expressions. These forward-looking statements reflect the current expectations or beliefs of AFAQ based on information currently available to AFAQ. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual results of AFAQ to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements, and even if such actual results are realized or substantially realized, there can be no assurance that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on AFAQ. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things, failure to successfully complete financings, capital and other costs varying significantly from estimates, production rates varying from estimates, changes in world copper and/or gold markets, changes in equity markets, uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future, equipment failure, unexpected geological conditions, imprecision in resource estimates, success of future development initiatives, competition, operating performance of facilities, environmental and safety risks, delays in obtaining or failure to obtain tenure to properties and/or necessary permits and approvals, and other development and operating risks. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, AFAQ disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Although AFAQ believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein.
