Enchi Gold Project Ghana - Gold mining
Enchi Gold Property Description and Location
The Enchi Project is located in south-western Ghana, in a region well known for prolific and low cost gold production, hosting numerous historical and currently operating open pit and underground gold mines located along strike to the northeast of the Project. In 2009, Ghana was the second largest gold producer in Africa, after South Africa, with annualized gold production of 2.9 million ounces.
The Enchi Project covers a 50 kilometre (km) strike length of the well known and prolific Bibiani Shear Zone, situated along the eastern margin of the Sefwi Belt stretching from the Cote d'Ivoire border in the southwest to the southern margin of the Suhuma Forest Reserve, to the northeast. The Project is located 290 km west of the capital of Accra and 70 km southwest of the Chirano Mine operated by Red Back Mining Inc. ("Red Back").
Red Back and previous operators discovered and identified 16 separate gold mineralized zones on the Enchi Project that have the characteristics of classic Pre-Cambrian Greenstone-hosted quartz vein style gold deposits. This style of gold mineralization is the most important type of gold occurrence in West Africa and is commonly referred to as the" Ashanti-type" in this region of West Africa.
The project area is comprised of eight contiguous licences currently held 90% by Red Back now Kinross Gold Corporation ("Kinross") and 10% by the Government of Ghana. Edgewater Exploration has signed an Option-Joint Venture agreement with Kinross, whereby Edgewater Exploration can earn 51% interest in Red Back's ownership interest in the Enchi Project.
Gold Property Location Maps
West Africa & Regional Geology
Enchi Location in Relation to Chirano
Enchi Gold Project
Geological Setting
Most signicant gold deposits in Ghana occur in major shear zones on or close to major geological belt and basin margins. The Enchi project area straddles the Bibiani Shear Zone which isknown to host significantly large lode-gold deposits, such as the Bibiani and Chirano
mines. This highly prospective, first order tectonic feature trendsnortheast southwest and juxtaposes Birimian mafics of the Sefwi Belt to the northwest against Birimian sediments and volcaniclastics of the Kumasi Basin to the southeast. The Bibiani Shear Zone hosts world-class gold mineralized systems including the Bibiani gold deposit (+5 Million oz) and Red Back Mining's Chirano gold mine (5 million oz) to the northeast, and the Anuri Afema deposit (1.5 Million oz) in Cote D'Ivoire to the southwest.
The Obuasi-Enchi lineament, a major east-west crustal scale deformation zone, deflects the Bibiani Shear Zone between the Chirano and Enchi project areas. This lineament is associated with the world renowned Obuasi Mine (+40 Million oz) and Akyem (+10 Million oz) deposits in the Ashanti Belt, 100-200 kilometers to the east. In the Chirano area, the Bibiani Shear Zone underwent a change in strike direction to the north-northeast, and hosts an enclave of Tarkwaian sediments. In the Enchi project area the Bibiani Shear Zone underwent this same localized change in strike direction to the northeast,bifurcating the local geology in a similar fashion and includes structurally similar geological and tectonic enclaves. In both the Chirano and Enchi areas, these enclaves are bounded by second order fault and shear structures evident in regional airborne geophysics and digital terrain models. Typically in this region, gold occurrences are located close to third order structures in the form of splays off the second order structures and are generally sub parallel to the overall trend of the Bibiani shear zone.
Exploration History
The extensive work completed by the previous land holders in the region of Enchi has resulted in the identification of at least 16 gold bearing prospects.
Both Alluvial and bed-rock vein-hosted gold occurrences were prospected and exploited by several generations of galamsey workings to the present day. European companies explored, developed, and mined gold in several phases since 1900. In the Enchi region, this resulted in the discovery of gold-bearing vein quartz mineralization ,"opened up" in a large number of pits, shafts, and underground workings, notably at the Sewum, Tokosea, Alatakrom, Achimfu, Nkwanta, and Kojina Hill prospects. Only the colonial-era Sewum and Tokosea mines appear to have experienced any significant development and past gold production history
More detailed exploration records date from 1987 onwards, highlighting renewed interest in gold exploration including the rehabilitation of accessible workings, extensive additional trenching, soil sampling and drilling.
Since 1995, regional soil geochemistry, in additional to redefining existing prospects, delineated some new areas of interest. Reconnaissance trenching, RAB, and RC drilling programs tested the gold-in-soil targets. Low grade, more consistently mineralized, oxide zone prospects were defined at Nyamebekyere and Kwakyekrom. The Nyamebekyere prospect was subsequently tested by further close spaced drilling and an unconfirmed resource was calculated by Leo Shield.
Deposit Types
Several vein gold colonial-era and galamsey prospects have been located within the project area. Principal amongst these are the Tokosea and more significant Sewum Mines.
At Nyamebekyere, previous field explorers completed a large exploration program delineating an unconfirmed and unreported inferred gold resource. The Nyamebekyere lode strikes over a distance of 1.6 kilometers, hosted by altered phyllite, 200-300 meters west of the interpreted position of the second order Nyamebekyere Shear.
Initial soil anomalies were tested with 100 meter spaced trenches revealing generally weak lode intersections (best trench intersection was 4 meters grading 4.44g/t gold). Subsequent RAB and RC drilling tested mineralization up to a maximum depth of 80 meters over a strike length of 1.6 kilometers. Shallow oxide and deeper sulphide associated gold mineralization was intersected on 28 separate sections spaced at 40 meter intervals within an altered (carbonate-feldspar-pyrite) shear zone. An extensive envelope of low grade gold mineralization dips sub-vertically and strikes 30 degrees. Mineralized intersections of between 10 meters and 40 meters in width
Nyamebekyere Zone
The Nyamebekyere gold zone strikes over a distance of 1,600 m and is located 200 to 300 m west of the Nyamebekyere Shear Zone. Nyamebekyere mineralization is part of a continuous 15 km strike length of gold prospects on the Enchi Project, stretching from from Nyamebekyere in the southwest through Kojina Hill to Sewum Hill in the south. RC drilling has been conducted to a depth of approximately 80 m along the entire strike length of the zone. RC drilling results greater than 1.0 g/t Au from the Nyamebekyere Gold Zone are summarized in Table 1.
Table 1
Nyamebekyere Gold Zone
RC Drilling Results
Hole From (m) To (m) Intercept (m) Au (g/t)
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KRC021 29 43 14 1.57
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KRC024 10 16 6 3.90
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KRC027 3 14 11 3.60
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KRC032 69 85 16 1.83
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KRC033 54 62 8 2.94
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KRC043 42 51 9 3.07
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KRC061 76 83 7 2.08
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KRC064 7 13 6 2.18
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KRC064 22 30 8 1.51
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KRC065 15 24 9 1.92
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KRC065 29 39 10 1.75
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KRC075 12 28 16 1.66
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KRC087 24 34 10 1.49
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KRC095 21 25 4 5.19
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KRC096 21 30 9 1.90
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KRC097 7 16 9 2.77
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Nyam Cross Section
Nyamebekyere Zone 1
2005 Exploration Program
Soil sampling at Boin Valley West in late 2004 identified a 4.5 kilometers +20ppb contour, north east trending gold-in-soil anomaly with +100 ppb values over a 2.5 kilometer strike length and up to 300 meters in width. A Rotary Air Blast (RAB) drilling program (2,164m in 58 holes) was completed in June 2005 over a 1.4 kilometer section of the anomaly. The RAB program intersected two sub-parallel zone of mineralization, the Main and North Zones, with intercepts up to 15m at 3.00g/t gold and 12m at 1.60 g/t gold. Red Back completed 10,203m of reverse circulation drilling in 2005 and intersected mineralization over a strike length of 3.6 kilometers. Mineralization is hosted by shallow, westerly dipping mafic volcaniclastics in the hanging wall of a sheared, graphitic contact with phyllitic sediments to the east and is associated with quartz veining, fine grained disseminated pyrite and silicification. Selected RC drilling results greater than 1.0 g/t Au from the Boin Zone are summarized in Table 2.
Table 2.
Boin Gold Zone
Selected RC Drilling Results
Hole From (m) To (m) Intercept (m) Au (g/t)
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KBRC001 29 49 20 1.57
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KBRC005 94 99 5 1.41
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KBRC007 84 96 12 1.75
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KBRC011 105 126 21 2.56
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KBRC023 41 51 10 1.08
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KBRC035 12 24 12 1.61
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KBRC041 26 38 12 1.39
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KBRC062 98 104 6 2.13
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KBRC074 24 32 8 2.53
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KBRC079 44 48 4 1.55
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KBRC081 139 147 8 4.61
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KBRC083 41 45 4 2.99
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KBRC088 4 11 7 1.06
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KBRC100 19 32 13 4.11
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KBRC108 34 39 5 2.85
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KBRC110 70 73 3 1.51
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Boin Plan & Cross Section
Boin and Nyamebekyere Resource Delineation
Extensive RC drilling has been conducted at both the Boin (13,033 m in 112 holes) and Nyamebekyere (4,658 m in 71 drill holes) prospects in the past. In order to upgrade the Boin and Nyamebekyere gold zones to allow for the generation of a NI 43-101 compliant resource statement,, a delineation diamond drilling and RC program is proposed. At present, gold mineralization of greater than 1.0 g/t Au is open along strike and down dip of the current drilling at both the Boin and Nyamebekyere prospects. The recommended RC drilling programs are designed to extend the potential resource of both zones along strike while the diamond drill programs are used to validate the existing RC drilling results and to provide geological and structural data. The proposed program includes a total of 6,850 m of RC drilling in 55 drill holes and 5,400 m of diamond drilling in 30 holes on the two zones. The proposed budget for the drilling program is US$1.74 million.
Earn-in Details
To earn 51% of Kinross's ownership in the Enchi Project licences (45.9% direct interest in the Project) Edgewater is required to spend a total of $C5.0 million on work expenditures on the Enchi Gold Project within twenty-six months of the closing of the transaction ("Closing") with $C 2.0 million required to be spent within 14 months of Closing. Once Edgewater has completed a total of C$5.0 million in work expenditures on the Project within 26 months, Edgewater will have earned and vested in a 51% interest in Red Back's ownership of the Project and a joint venture company ("JVCO") will be formed. The initial share ownership in JVCO will be as follows:
Edgewater 45.9%
Kinross 44.1%
Ghana Government 10.0%
Once the JVCO is formed, Kinross Gold Corporation and Edgewater will share all future exploration and development expenditures pro-rata. Edgewater will be Operator of the Project during the Option period. Once a joint venture is formed, Edgewater will continue to be the Operator as long as the Company holds the largest equity stake in JVCO.
Maps
March 10, 2011 Enchi Drill Plan map
March 10, 2011 Enchi Drill Plan map
March 10, 2011 Enchi Drill Plan map
April 12, 2011 Enchi Gold Project - Drill Results - Plan Map for Boin Gold Zone and Nyam Gold Zone
Enchi Gold Project - News Release May 04, 2011
Boin Gold Zone plan map
Nyam Gold Zone plan map
Enchi Gold Project - News Release Jan 24, 2012
Airborne EM Survey Map
Significant Drill Hole Intercepts
