Mankono Project
The Mankono West permit is an advanced exploration project, formerly explored
by Newcrest subsidiary Equigold and recently granted to WIA.
Significant high-grade intercepts from historical drilling at Mankono:
- 8m at 5.11 g/t Au from 12m in hole MKAC198
- 4m at 9.23 g/t Au from 16m in hole MKAC582
- 8m at 3.08 g/t Au from 4m in hole MKAC651
- 8m at 2.73 g/t Au from 16m in hole MKAC636
- 12m at 1.43 g/t Au from 12m in hole MKAC214
The Mankono historical dataset includes results from 724 aircore holes and 8
diamond drill holes for a total of 23,370m of drilling and 11,700 soil samples
which outline significant gold in soil anomalism.
Data is complemented with a high resolution airborne magnetic and radiometric
survey which will be used to fast track the exploration strategy and geological.
Mankono History
The Mankono Project was previously held by Newcrest Mining Limited (Newcrest) subsidiary Equigold and explored by Newcrest between 2009 and 2014. Equigold was acquired by Lihir Gold in 2008 and Lihir Gold was subsequently acquired by Newcrest in 2010. The first gold in soil anomalism of the project was however highlighted by Ashanti Goldfields before 2000.
Mankono Location
The Mankono Project lies along the western side of the Banfora-Daloa greenstones belt, along the same regional shear system that hosts the Abujar gold project (Tietto minerals) to the south side and the Napié gold project (Mako gold) to the north side; both in Côte d’Ivoire.
Mankono Geology
The main gold anomaly highlighted by the work carried out under Newcrest, in the Mankono West permit, lies in the granitic domain, just west of the major regional shears that bound the Birrimian volcano-sediments. Newcrest commissioned a petrographic study on samples collected from the drill core, from which rock types include granites, granitic gneisses and amphibolites, with textures suggesting that the protoliths were granitic intrusives and possible mafic sediments respectively. The gold mineralisation intersected by the drill core occurs within the granitic gneisses associated with pyrite and carbonates.
