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Defo on core sample holes.
Far out, the pro's do it that way, why change the recipe?
Mate you might hit it on core bore 3, then do a shaft.... winner winner!!!

I dunno, if your graphs are aligned then I'd start drilling north, then head south/south west, feather the hot zone.

I'm no pro either mind you, especially with hard rock stuff....
 
That top pic is looking good with the offset bulge in alignment of the workings you must be happy with that. Looking at the second mag image did the geophysicist mention anything about the linear feature that heads to the start of RS2? That area looks like it could be a fault and a dyke's running in the south east.

Is there a specific requirement for a core that is not met by other drilling methods like percussion that would bring the hole cost down and/or increase your hole count?

Drilling verses shaft I guess it depends on the chance of missing the target which would depend on how deep the reef would go and the length. I'd guess you have a promising 25m width target to hit in RS3 if so it'd be hard to miss at 50m depth? I reckon after you're digging around for a while in a hole you might be thinking about drilling again.

I'd drill the best targets with a few holes and reassess, I assume the geophysist/geologist advised from where and what angle to drill? If something looks promising on drill results at least you can sink your shaft with that knowledge. Is the reef associated with sulphides?

Jon
 
cml said:
Rios,
having read your more detailed explanation, it looks like you weren't comparing apples with apples - you are actually comparing drilling 10 holes at about $4,800 ea with digging one shaft at about $5,000 (the equipment is bought, and you've still incurred that cost regardless of what you choose)

You could dig your shaft, find little or nothing, move on a bit, dig another, rinse and repeat until you 'hopefully' find something. Do that 9.6 times and you would have been better off drilling (though you do have your shaft should you hit something right then...) On the other hand, drill holes are easier and cheaper to cap than useless shafts ...

By the way, you commented about explosives being a determining factor - are you aware of ANFO?

Chris

I wouldn't say I know ANFO, at least I am not familiar with it. I would need to find out from those who know plus also find out why small miners are using dynamites instead of just mixing the common Ammonium Nitrate (common fertilizer here) with everyday diesel. Would you happen to know?
 
Simmo said:
Defo on core sample holes.
Far out, the pro's do it that way, why change the recipe?
Mate you might hit it on core bore 3, then do a shaft.... winner winner!!!

I dunno, if your graphs are aligned then I'd start drilling north, then head south/south west, feather the hot zone.

I'm no pro either mind you, especially with hard rock stuff....

Simmo exploration, exploration, there is a limit to what small miners can do, we draw the line somewhere but I do hear your point on drilling.

What wrong with sinking shaft north and driving underground south west-ward?
 
blisters said:
That top pic is looking good with the offset bulge in alignment of the workings you must be happy with that. Looking at the second mag image did the geophysicist mention anything about the linear feature that heads to the start of RS2? That area looks like it could be a fault and a dyke's running in the south east.

Is there a specific requirement for a core that is not met by other drilling methods like percussion that would bring the hole cost down and/or increase your hole count?

Drilling verses shaft I guess it depends on the chance of missing the target which would depend on how deep the reef would go and the length. I'd guess you have a promising 25m width target to hit in RS3 if so it'd be hard to miss at 50m depth? I reckon after you're digging around for a while in a hole you might be thinking about drilling again.

I'd drill the best targets with a few holes and reassess, I assume the geophysist/geologist advised from where and what angle to drill? If something looks promising on drill results at least you can sink your shaft with that knowledge. Is the reef associated with sulphides?

Jon

The beginning of RS2 I cant put too much faith in the mag because there is a fence running there, would it not give rise to what you are seeing, what you thought might be a fault? Its a farm boundary fence, a big fence in fact. I could email you the uncut report in full maybe you would make more sense of?

My other challenge with drilling would be the chance of missing the target? These positions were located using GPS which has a margin of error of, is it 5m? If you look at the way RS3 intersects that mag-identified linear target structure, it wasn't really at 90 degrees, thats why the IP shows a 25m target. To reduce the gps error margin, I was thinking of doing one more IP survey line where RS3 and RS2 meet but this time perpendicular to the mag structure. I wouldn't even plot using gps, I would use on-the-ground distance measured by the distances between the electrodes.

The reef is associated with sulfides, yes. Below is the gold bearing ore from current mining activity

1488981084_ore.jpg
 
This was my report sometime last year of the state of my project


Background
Gold Fan Mining Pvt Ltd is the registered owner of Tula 14 mine located in Nkenyane Area of Bubi District in Matabeleland North Province. The proponent proposes to mine gold in the area, where access to the ore body will be through vertical shafts that will be linked underground through drives. The mined out gold ore will be transported to an offsite custom mill where it will be processed. Onsite milling can also be done using a hammer mill if it is available.

Objective
The Philosophy of the company is to commence mining whatever viable reserve is available and continue with exploration which would be financed internally to increase the resource since the potential of the area is overwhelming.
Project Description
The project will involve gold ore extraction from underground slopes where access will be through vertical shafts that will be linked underground using drives. Explosives will be used for blasting purposes and the ore will be hoisted out of the shafts then transported to the mill offsite for processing. The proponent will also build facilities that includes compound, toilets and offices onsite.

Prospecting Work Done to Date
A company called Diglosol Zimbabwe was engaged to do a geological survey of the claim and the general area. The geologist explored the area and conducted a magnetic survey and an I.P and Resistivity Survey. His conclusion was the area is mineralised and poses great potential for small to large scale investment.

Current Mining Activity in the Area
Miners in neighboring claims, shown by red dotted lines in figure 1 below, have managed to extract many kilograms of gold, with the most profitable extracts coming from depths after 35 meters. This is what attracted the company to explore the area. The artisanal miners mining along the same reef are getting around 300g of gold per week at depths of 40 plus meters. One miner got 300grams on 14/10/2016, 500g on 21/10/2016 and 380g on 28/10/2016 from his single shaft after taking approximately 5 tons of ore to the stamp mill on each occasion.

Brief Geology of Claim

The host geological environment includes volcano-plutonic and clastic sedimentary tectonostratigraphic terranes. The host rocks have been characteristically metamorphosed up to green-schist facies conditions. The gold deposits typically occur within or in the vicinity of regional, crustal-scale deformation zones with a brittle to ductile type of deformation.

The geologic structures generally indicate compressional to transpressional tectonic settings.
The area is predominantly confined to intrusive rocks. There are greenstones that flank the north-western boundary of the hosting unit. The emplacement resulted in pro-grade north-east trending structural deformation.

Magnetic Survey

Brief Theory
Because of its high sensitivity to magnetic mineral content, the magnetic technique is used to map the general geology and structural setup sense. Different rock types contain varied proportions of the magnetic minerals such as magnetite, pyrrohtite, ilmenite or none at all.

This method can be used to map out variations within the same rock that are largely due to alteration i.e. oxidation. Structural controls of the investigated area such as faults and dykes can also be mapped, which are interpreted as lineaments thus making it a good mapping tool especially for areas with poor outcrop exposure.

Total field measurements were achieved by use of two GSM19 magnetometers, one as a base station to monitor diurnal variations during the survey and the other as the field measuring instrument. The base unit was set to sample every 30 seconds while the field unit sampled every second on the walk mode. An on board GPS was used to pick up coordinates for every sample collected by the field unit.

Survey Results

Figure 1: Showing the total field magnetics on the claims.
1488982826_figure_1.jpg


The illustration in fig1 shows part of the structural controls in the area together with the current mining activities. There are predominant north to north east structural controls that are in the area which control the main mining activities.

The results of the survey also indicate a defined structure (marked by the red dashed line) dominantly with the same trend and geologic strike extension as the current mining activities. This structure is the potential reef host in the claim block. At the northern end of the claim the structures show a right stepping displacement deformation.

The current mining activities are marked by the red dots in the illustration above, which follow a defined north-east trend. Despite the current mining activity trend, the kinked sections of the proposed reef system pose great potential for high grade mineralization as there is enhancement of the structural controls. The potential reef system shows evidence of continuation further south of the claim boundary.

Figure 2: Showing the total field magnetics of the surveyed area.
1488982888_fig_2.jpg


Figure 3: Showing Magnetics with claims.
1488982921_fig_3.jpg


Conclusion
The area in question is mineralized and poses great potential for small to large scale investment.
There are several structural controls within the country rock but the predominant are the north to north-east trending.
The north-east trending structure host the current mining activities hence providing more confidence in the structures.

Induced Polarization (I.P.) and Resistivity Survey

Brief Theory
Induced Polarization & Resistivity surveys are excellent methods for detecting disseminated sulphide mineralization that could be associated with gold. Sulphide mineralization happens to be the main type of mineralization in the project area. It is also an important tool in directing drill-hole targets especially when used in conjunction with magnetics, structural and lithological geology maps and geochemical data.

Both measurements are made by introducing a controlled electrical current into the ground using two current electrodes, thus energizing the ground, and then measuring the induced potential-field gradient voltage at (between) two non-polarizable receiver electrodes. The distance between the pair of current electrodes and the pair of potential-field electrodes determines the depth of investigation.
The resulting voltages as a function of time (time-domain IP/TDIP), are recorded digitally and analyzed for the induced polarization effect. The measured IP phase indicates the ability of rocks to briefly hold an electrical charge after the transmitted voltage is turned off i.e. voltage decay or chargeability.

Survey Results


Figure 4: Showing the surveyed section lines over the total field magnetics map where the 0 is the start of the line survey.
1488982974_fig_4.jpg


The illustration in fig4above shows the surveyed real section lines. The real section lines were planned to intersect the structure of interest (marked by the yellow shaded zones) at multiple points as shown above. All 3 lines were surveyed and named as shown above. The area of interest generally has a thick overburden hence the sections have 47.5m attenuated as they did not have significant results. That is to say the Y axis on the left-hand side of each of the sections below has its zero point 47.5m below surface and the X axis is the lateral length of the survey line with 0 marking the start of each line as shown in fig 7 above.

All the chargeability anomalies have nomenclature indicating the distance from the start point, name of the line and estimated depth of anomalous intersection. This is to say an anomaly named 72RS1D48 is 72m from start on line RS1 at an estimated depth of 48m. This nomenclature will be applied throughout the rest of the document.

Real Section line 1
The results of the survey conducted on RS1 are as shown in fig 5and 6below, as the resistivity and chargeability sections respectively.
The illustration in fig 5 below is of the results from the resistivity profile of the section line RS1. The first 65m from surface are fairly conductive but the last 6m are showing signs of increased resistivity.

Figure 5: Showing the resistivity section along RS1.
1488983166_fig_5.jpg



The illustration in fig 6 below is of the chargeability profile of the section line RS1. The anomaly at 24m from the start of the section line is also coincident with the intersection of the survey line and the structure. At 37m from start and at the attenuated depth of 11.9m there is a zone of significantly high chargeability.

Figure 6: Showing the chargeability section along RS1, with an example of anomaly nomenclature
1488983376_fig_6.jpg


This has a spike that is elevated close to the attenuated zero mark. That is a possible reef system that has potential of leading to a massive sulphide deposit. The illustration indicates several massive sulphide bodies along the length of the section marked by the zones of highest chargeability.
The illustration indicates several massive sulphide bodies along the length of the section marked by the zones of highest chargeability.

Real Section line 2

Figure 7: Showing the resistivity section along RS2.
1488983411_fi_7-10.jpg



Figure 8: Showing the chargeability section along RS2.
Real Section line 3

Figure 9: Showing the resistivity section along RS3.

Figure 10: Showing the chargeability section along RS3.
The gold mineralization of this area is associated with sulphide mineralization and on this premise the zones of highest chargeability have the greatest potential of profitable production.

The illustration below is a summary of the intersections of note from the 3 lines surveyed projected to surface. The author assumes the reader can now correlate the target points on figure below with the relevant chargeability section in the illustrations above by use of the nomenclature.

The potential reef structure (marked by the yellow shade in the figure below) in the section investigated by RS1 and RS3 has a number of significant intersections.

Of note are the anomalies intersected at 72RS3D48, 72RS1D48 and 99RS1D55.
1488983515_fig_11.jpg


1488983599_anomally.jpg


Conclusion
The results of the real section survey have confirmed that the mineralization in this area is structurally controlled.
There are several massive sulphide bodies within the section that indicate potential for ore-body type mineralization in the property area coupled with reef type mineralisation.

There is a general apparent westward dip of the structures, this needs to be resolved to normal for the actual dip.

Recommendation
To sink the first shaft targeting anomaly 72RS3D48 in the short term.
To systematically survey the anomalous structure along the length of the claim through real sections so as to come up with a 3D model of the ore body.
A couple of diamond drill holes can be planned to test the mineral potential of the property.
Close monitoring of analysis and modelling of the mineralisation of the property is highly recommended.
Further analysis of the other structural trends within the property.
 
ballarat_gold said:
I hope this post is showing for 'Members only' mods ?

Good luck with everything rios.

No, anyone can view this thread. It's generally up to members to post in the members only section if they want it for members only. Thing is that anyone who becomes a member can view it there anyway.
 
G'Day Rios

I have a lot of this sort of exploration in my time. There is really not enough information available in your reports to make a definite comment. However, generally I would not put much faith in IP. If I had dollar for every IP anomally I drilled in the early days of gold exploration I could start my own mine. Magnetics are really only good in that kind of geology for geological mapping as greenschist style gold deposits do not generally show up as an anomally as hydrotherml solutions generally destroy any mangnetic fractions. Gold reefs are therefore mostly magnetic lows.

My advice is to start from the broader exploration techniques to focus your targetting. Gold deposits respond very well to geochemistry in the first instance. I would go with say 50mX50m spaced BLEG - Bulk Leach Etractable Gold. This is a very sensitive technique able to penetrate thick sediment cover even in transported material and generally very cost effective. It can measure gold concentrations in ppb. You could also try a similar or closer spaced grid using fire assay carbon finish geochemistry that can resolve gold to ppt. With the latter I would use on identified BLEG anomalies. I would also look at what trace elements are associated with the reefs and undertake seperate but coincident sampling for that trace element be it arsenic, copper, antimony or whatever.

As for drilling versus shaft sinking. Diamond drilling is very expensive so I would first of all look to RAB drilling - rotary air blast. This could be concentrated on the main geological and geochemistry targets. Its quck and very competitive in price. Diamond drilling is only effective in areas where a surface resource has been defined and you want to go deeper. Most Australian mines only use diamond drilling for deep resources but rather they would use RAB followed by open hole and reverse circulation percussion drilling to define a resource in the first 100-150m.

Exploration shaft sinking should be the last thing you try.

Araluen
 
SWright said:
G'Day Rios

I have a lot of this sort of exploration in my time. There is really not enough information available in your reports to make a definite comment. However, generally I would not put much faith in IP. If I had dollar for every IP anomally I drilled in the early days of gold exploration I could start my own mine. Magnetics are really only good in that kind of geology for geological mapping as greenschist style gold deposits do not generally show up as an anomally as hydrotherml solutions generally destroy any mangnetic fractions. Gold reefs are therefore mostly magnetic lows.

My advice is to start from the broader exploration techniques to focus your targetting. Gold deposits respond very well to geochemistry in the first instance. I would go with say 50mX50m spaced BLEG - Bulk Leach Etractable Gold. This is a very sensitive technique able to penetrate thick sediment cover even in transported material and generally very cost effective. It can measure gold concentrations in ppb. You could also try a similar or closer spaced grid using fire assay carbon finish geochemistry that can resolve gold to ppt. With the latter I would use on identified BLEG anomalies. I would also look at what trace elements are associated with the reefs and undertake seperate but coincident sampling for that trace element be it arsenic, copper, antimony or whatever.

As for drilling versus shaft sinking. Diamond drilling is very expensive so I would first of all look to RAB drilling - rotary air blast. This could be concentrated on the main geological and geochemistry targets. Its quck and very competitive in price. Diamond drilling is only effective in areas where a surface resource has been defined and you want to go deeper. Most Australian mines only use diamond drilling for deep resources but rather they would use RAB followed by open hole and reverse circulation percussion drilling to define a resource in the first 100-150m.

Exploration shaft sinking should be the last thing you try.

Araluen

Below is the response from the report writer

"There are a couple of issues that are not being taken into consideration
1. We knew the reef was present so sampling the soil was not necessary
2. Magnetic signatures are not killed by hydrothermal activity as the area result of actual minerals which are not strange in hydrothermal conditions - what i think he wanted to apply that thinking to is resistivity data and if so yes i agree as hydrothermal units tend to impede current flow.
3. IP yes can be tricky but so is geochemistry im currently working on a project where over 30k soil samples where analysed to find the actual pathfinder minerals but we found one that had 60% correlation and guess what, we had to do IP for us to plan a drilling program.
There is not one method to take you to production but a combination of them
Combination of which is controlled by budgets.
At the end combining available data with relevant experience is the solution"
 
rios said:
I wouldn't say I know ANFO, at least I am not familiar with it. I would need to find out from those who know plus also find out why small miners are using dynamites instead of just mixing the common Ammonium Nitrate (common fertilizer here) with everyday diesel. Would you happen to know?

I'm not sure, but I suspect it may just be too inconvenient - you still need Dynamite or something similar to get it going, I think the charge holes need to be bigger, ideally you use a special prilled version of the AN not just fertiliser, and it decomposes in water (so not good in wet mines). It is heavily used in large mines where, I assume, those aren't particular problems versus the amount used and hence saved.

If your mine is successful it may be worth bearing in mind, though :)
 
cml said:
rios said:
I wouldn't say I know ANFO, at least I am not familiar with it. I would need to find out from those who know plus also find out why small miners are using dynamites instead of just mixing the common Ammonium Nitrate (common fertilizer here) with everyday diesel. Would you happen to know?

I'm not sure, but I suspect it may just be too inconvenient - you still need Dynamite or something similar to get it going, I think the charge holes need to be bigger, ideally you use a special prilled version of the AN not just fertiliser, and it decomposes in water (so not good in wet mines). It is heavily used in large mines where, I assume, those aren't particular problems versus the amount used and hence saved.

If your mine is successful it may be worth bearing in mind, though :)

ok thanx. I will definitely come into mind somewhere along the line when things get hectic. At least I have the heads up
 
On explosives, ANFO is ammonium nitrate and diesel, not knowing the name of this basic formula worries me.
Also I am unsure they make "Dynamite" as such any more?? There are more modern charges available such as power gel and the likes.
I can get drilling done with a rotary air blast (Percussion) rig here for $120 per hole to 18 meters (all that I usually need in my situation) so lets say 54 meters would cost around $360, lets say $400 per hole to 60 meters that equates to about 12.5 holes for $5000.
The air percussion rig uses compressed air to drive the rock fragments to the surface through the drill core, samples only take about 3 sec at 18 meters to reach the screen and can be bagged and logged then. If you are not familiar with it you should look into it. It's far cheaper. You can buy a good second hand righter for under 100K

The other thing is, why look for investors here? Are there no investors in Zimbabwe?

If I had $20k spare I would be spending it where I could see what it was being used for first hand.
Plenty of investment opportunities here guys.

I hope you achieve you objective if it's genuine.
I agree whole heartedly with SWright
 
Yep a fence will do it they can really make mag sing and the fence line is obvious in figure 3. above as well.

Any reason you aren't also looking at investigating the structure trending north east which aligns with the existing workings?

Jon
 
Keen Ken said:
On explosives, ANFO is ammonium nitrate and diesel, not knowing the name of this basic formula worries me.
Also I am unsure they make "Dynamite" as such any more?? There are more modern charges available such as power gel and the likes.
I can get drilling done with a rotary air blast (Percussion) rig here for $120 per hole to 18 meters (all that I usually need in my situation) so lets say 54 meters would cost around $360, lets say $400 per hole to 60 meters that equates to about 12.5 holes for $5000.
The air percussion rig uses compressed air to drive the rock fragments to the surface through the drill core, samples only take about 3 sec at 18 meters to reach the screen and can be bagged and logged then. If you are not familiar with it you should look into it. It's far cheaper. You can buy a good second hand righter for under 100K

The other thing is, why look for investors here? Are there no investors in Zimbabwe?

If I had $20k spare I would be spending it where I could see what it was being used for first hand.
Plenty of investment opportunities here guys.

I hope you achieve you objective if it's genuine.
I agree whole heartedly with SWright

May I please clarify or rather correct you quickly. I am not looking for investors. Not here not there. This is my baby., I am going it all alone. I am sorry if any part of my writing looked like I am looking for investors.

But on 2nd thoughts why would you assume I am looking for anything other than the advice that I am looking for?

The RAB rig, in the later months of the year, I might be interested in acquiring, it can be useful in these parts of the world.

I am told many people use some form of ANFO here. We just call them dynamite. I didn't know. Am learning as I go.
 
blisters said:
Yep a fence will do it they can really make mag sing and the fence line is obvious in figure 3. above as well.

Any reason you aren't also looking at investigating the structure trending north east which aligns with the existing workings?

Jon

It is not within the jurisdiction of my claim, its another's claim 8.(
 
rios said:
blisters said:
Yep a fence will do it they can really make mag sing and the fence line is obvious in figure 3. above as well.

Any reason you aren't also looking at investigating the structure trending north east which aligns with the existing workings?

Jon

It is not within the jurisdiction of my claim, its another's claim 8.(

Somethings not right here, would it be fair to say that your lease is drawn too far to the north and east in post #3?

https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=314276#p314276

Jon
 
It's all good, and I wish you well.
It's just when someone starts mentioning Money from overseas alarm bells start ringing:-/.
Self funding is the way to go if you can keep the bills paid.
I did it, took about 5 years to become established and only became really successful in the last 3 years.
No partners, no one to pay back, no lost friends.

Just native title, EPA, DNR&M and the usual other hassles to deal with.

Do check out that percussion drilling rig, it will save you heaps.
 

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