Delineation of Gold and Nickel Targets at Bulawayo

RNS Number : 9773H

Galileo Resources PLC

30 November 2022

 

30 November 2022

Galileo Resources Plc
("Galileo" or "the Company")

 Successful Delineation of Gold and Nickel Targets at Bulawayo Gold Project, Zimbabwe

Galileo Resources plc ("Galileo "or the "Company") is pleased to inform shareholders of early successes on priority gold and nickel exploration targets originally generated from a 1,108km2 airborne geophysical survey over the Bulawayo Gold Project (the "Project").

The Bulawayo Gold Project comprises two exploration licences covering a combined area of 1,300 sq km near Bulawayo. Galileo has a current interest of 29% in the Project, held through its interest in BC Ventures, along with an option to earn an additional 51% interest through spending $1.5million on exploration and evaluation of the Projects by 21 January 2024.

Highlights

Bembeshi Gold

· Evidence of both historic and current gold mining along a 7km-long outcropping greenstone trend

· Exploration has encountered visible sulphides and associated alteration in multiple shear-hosted quartz veins and stockworks over zones up to 30m wide

· High-grade gold is currently being mined by artisans and small-scale miners at reported average grades of 5 to 7g/t Au

· Clear scope for the development of a wide zone of gold mineralisation from surface over widths of approximately 30m with grade supplemented by high-grade quartz veins

· At least two targets are drill-ready, with testing planned for first quarter, 2023

Bembeshi Nickel

· Confirmation based on available evidence for a large buried mafic - ultramafic body with potential to host nickel

· XRF field analysis of a cross-cutting structure hosting mafic-ultramafic rock probably originating from the buried mafic body is shown to contain nickel using handheld XRF analysis

· The presence of nickel provides sufficient motivation to issue a tender for an EM survey to better define the buried ultramafic body prior to drilling

Queens West

· Review of ground magnetics by two independent geophysicists has verified the presence of multiple structures forming extensions to known gold-bearing features beneath cover.

· Buried structures are sufficiently well-defined to warrant supplementary IP-Resistivity ground geophysics to generate further drill-ready gold targets.

· Discovery multiple quartz veins/stockworks at surface containing sulphide mineralisation, and active artisanal mining provides clear evidence of the presence of gold at or close to surface on structural extensions of features hosting both current and former producing gold mines.

· Targets expected to be drill-ready for the first quarter, 2023.

Colin Bird Chairman & CEO said " We have done a significant amount of exploration in a short time since acquiring a position in BC Ventures and the portfolio we commenced with has grown quite significantly. In the Bembeshi area, geophysics followed by on-ground fieldwork has provided much excitement and the prospect of drilling in the near-term. Whilst the discovery of nickel at Bembeshi came as a surprise, the presence of ultramafic rocks in the area is not uncommon and discovery is partly due to artisanal mining being focused on gold and unlikely to recognise the significance of ultramafics and associated nickel mineralisation. Looking to the Queens West targets, the nearby location of the Queens mine is testament to the presence of high-grade gold in classic Zimbabwe-type steeply dipping structures and gold mining is likely to continue in the area for a number of years to come. I am very encouraged by our early success with our work programmes and I look forward to bringing in drilling rigs to test our generated targets and hopefully identifying a gold and/or nickel project for early development ."

Three targets have been prioritised, Queens West, Bembeshi Nickel and Bembeshi Gold. Exploration comprising ground geophysics to complement the recent airborne survey, soil geochemistry and detailed geological mapping and sampling has in every case generated targets of merit that are quickly evolving into probable drill targets to be tested early in the New Year.

The Bulawayo Licences host an impressive number of former producing mines, active small-scale gold mining operations and artisanal activity. The area also includes the Queens mine, a commercial underground gold mining operation. The airborne survey completed earlier this year generated a substantial number of high-quality, gold and nickel targets the majority of which warrant follow up. Galileo has selected a small number of these targets to confirm the veracity of the geophysical data and to consolidate its position in the Bulawayo region.

The presence of an extraordinary number of historic gold operations supplemented by current artisanal activity all of which are focused on a plethora of steeply dipping gold-bearing structures provides a solid starting point for exploration follow up and focused fieldwork. Until the Company completed its airborne survey there was no means by which explorers could follow extensions to these productive structures as they plunged beneath shallow cover. Galileo's survey has revealed a large number of structures that can be traced back to those areas where they have been mined previously thereby minimising exploration risk whilst also discovering many new structural targets that were until recently unknown.

Project Background Geology

The Bulawayo area is a granite-greenstone terrane in which numerous gold occurrences and gold mines are located. The greenstones consist of andesitic to rhyolitic meta-volcanics mixed with various meta-sediments and gold mineralisation characteristically occurs in quartz vein "reefs" and quartz-rich shear zone settings. The area is partially covered by Karoo sandstone and basalt, as well as some Kalahari sand. The extensive nature of younger cover historically discouraged exploration where outcrop was absent. These covered areas, particularly where greenstone host rocks and coincident geological structures have been interpreted, now offer a unique opportunity for the discovery of new gold deposits. 

Mafic and ultramafic rocks within Archean greenstone sequences and the Great Dyke are known to host nickel deposits in Zimbabwe. Other mafic-hosted deposits can be found in eastern Botswana on the border with Zimbabwe. Traditionally, among base metals exploited in Zimbabwe, nickel predominates in terms of total production value.

Technical Sign-Off

Technical information in this announcement has been reviewed by Edward (Ed) Slowey, BSc, P.Geo, Technical Director of Galileo. Mr Slowey is a geologist with more than 40 years' relevant experience in mineral exploration and mining, a founder member of the Institute of Geologists of Ireland and is a Qualified Person under the AIM rules. Mr Slowey has reviewed and approved this announcement.

You can also follow Galileo on Twitter: @GalileoResource

For further information, please contact: Galileo Resources PLC

Colin Bird, Chairman		Tel [phone]
Beaumont Cornish Limited - Nomad Roland Cornish/James Biddle		Tel [phone]
Novum Securities Limited - Joint Broker Colin Rowbury /Jon Belliss		[phone]
Shard Capital Partners LLP - Joint Broker Damon Heath		Tel [phone]

Technical Glossary

"aeromagnetic"	A survey of the earth's magnetic field carried out from a helicopter or aeroplane
"alluvial"	Descriptive of sediments which have been deposited by rivers or streams
"andesite"	A volcanic rock occurring in both modern island arcs and ancient volcanic belts with 52% to 66% silica
"Au"	Gold
"basalt"	A fine-grained volcanic rock with low silica content
"granite"	A medium to coarse grained granular acid intrusive rock
"Greenstone Belt"	Zones of variably metamorphosed mafic to ultramafic volcanic sequences with associated sedimentary rocks that occur within Archaean and Proterozoic cratons between granite and gneiss bodies
"g/t"	Grammes per tonne
"intrusions"	Bodies of igneous rock that invade older rocks
"Karoo"	Sequence of rocks of Palaeozoic to Mesozoic in age, defined in southern Africa
"lithology"	A synonym for rock-type
"mafic"	Containing or relating to a group of dark-coloured minerals, composed chiefly of magnesium and iron, that occur in igneous rocks
"radiometric survey"	The measurement of radiation from radionuclides present at or near the earth's surface
"reef"	Mineralised rock vein, particularly gold bearing quartz
"rhyolite"	Fine grained extrusive acid igneous rock
"sandstone"	A sedimentary rock usually composed essentially of sand-sized quartz grains
"shear"	Plane of failure in faulted body of rock
"splay"	A branch off a main structure
"XRF"	An analytical method to determine the chemistry of a sample by measuring the fluorescent (or secondary) X-ray emitted from a sample when it is excited by a primary X-ray source

 

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