Panthera pleased with latest drilling results from Bassala

West Africa and India-focussed gold exploration and development company Panthera Resources announced on Tuesday that the initial assay results from the recent aircore (AC) drilling programme at Bassala had confirmed the presence of “significant” gold mineralisation.

The AIM-traded firm said “significant” drill intercepts from the five metre composite samples included 45 metres at 0.57 grams of gold per tonne from 25 metres, including five metres at 2.53 grams per tonne from 40 metres, and 30 metres at 0.88 grams of gold per tonne from 20 metres, including five metres at 3.18 grams per tonne from 20 metres.

It also highlighted 20 metres at 0.75 grams of gold per tonne from 15 metres, including five metres at 1.92 grams per tonne from 15 metres, as well as 15 metres at 0.44 grams per tonne from 25 metres, and 10 metres at 0.96 grams per tonne from 35 metres including five metres at 1.44 grams per tonne from 35 metres.

Panthera also reported 10 metres at 0.93 grams of gold per tonne from 30 metres including five metres at 1.38 grams per tonne from 30 metres, 10 metres at 0.87 grams per tonne from 20 metres, five metres at 5.1 grams per tonne from 15 metres, and five metres at 2.75 grams per tonne from 55 metres.

The final highlights included five metres at 1.67 grams of gold per tonne from 15 metres, five metres at 1.18 grams per tonne from five metres, and five metres at 1.08 grams per tonne from 20 metres.

Approximately 22%, or 843, of the 2,191 five-metre composite samples collected from the AC drilling had now been assayed at SGS Laboratory in Bamako.

The assay results were from four of the 13 targets drilled, with each of the targets returning “significant” gold intercepts.

Preliminary interpretation suggested a prominent, flat-lying or sub-horizontal structural control to gold mineralisation, similar to that evident at the nearby Kalana mine operated by Endeavour Mining.

The remaining 78% of assays would be reported periodically over the coming weeks, the board said, with the remaining nine of the 22 targets identified at Bassala planned to be drilled after the wet season.

“The assays to date are very encouraging for first pass aircore drilling and representing only four of the 22 targets we have identified at Bassala,” said managing director Mark Bolton.

“All of the four targets tested have returned significant gold mineralisation from the shallow AC drilling and many of the intercepts may be close to true thickness if the current interpretation of relatively flat-lying mineralisation is confirmed.”

Bolton said it was “encouraging” that the current interpretation was that mineralisation could in part be flat-lying, similar to the nearby Kalana mineralisation, which consists of a series of stacked sub-horizontal zones.

“If this interpretation is correct, only the uppermost zones will have been intersected in this shallow drilling, with potential for further zones at depth.”

At 1108 BST, shares in Panthera Resources were down 1.85% at 13.25p.