Guskin Gold is planning to roll out aggressive exploration programs using multidisciplinary exploration tools, in line with operations ongoing at the Chirano and Bibiani deposits.

The company’s focus on the Kukuom project was ignited and directed towards expanding its understanding of the lithological and structural details in the Kukuom prospect. This also involved the utilisation of this information to study and determine these details on gold mineralization on a prospect-scale.

“We believe these exploration efforts will make Kukuom a high-quality gold project worth evaluating, and hopefully an attractive partner to major producers like Asante Gold or Newmont. Kukuom may help Asante Gold build a strategic district position in view of its close proximity to Chirano and Bibiani and its brownfield prospect.”
Francis Agezo, Director of Exploration

The geology and gold mineralization in the Chirano mine area has always looked very promising, Agezo said. The Chirano deposits occur along the section of the Chirano Shear which marks the contact zone of the Tarkwaian clastics and the Birimian metavolcanic units.

The gold mineralization is closely associated with quartz stockwork systems hosted mainly in granitoids. High-grade mineralization occurs in sheared metavolcanic units near the Chirano Shear zone. The Chirano deposits form excellent examples of the Birimian lode systems related to major regional shear system.

exploration — mining equipment in use in mining operation

Development of the Kukuom project

Subject to funding and the upcoming work programs, the Company plans to develop Kukuom as a custom milling and direct shipping operation as it is in close proximity to major mining operations with an appreciable milling infrastructure.

Results from recent exploration works suggest that the geological environment in the Kukuom project area is similar to those in other districts in Ghana.

Guskin Gold’s Kukuom Project area geologically lies in the middle of the Sefwi Belt; it is situated 45-48km north-northeast of Chirano and lies 20km southwest of a string of gold occurrences along the 9km belt-bounding trend.

With several structures thought to be associated with a trending fault zone, this structure does not appear to be a direct extension of the main Chirano-Bibiani mineralized corridor or structure, Agezo said.

These zones mark the Belt-Basin margin in the Chirano and Bibiani areas. It may well be a sub-parallel feature that are wide apart from the main Chirano-Bibiani fault system.

As the second most relevant gold-bearing belt in Ghana, the Sefwi Belt hosts over 30 million ounces of gold. The Bibiani mine was the only producing mine along the eastern margin of the Swefi Belt.

Although this major gold prospective shear zone also hosts the other deposits, it was significant when the Chirano mine came on the scene in 2004. Asante Gold could take advantage of its consolidated position to explore the highly prospective gold projects in this segment of the Sefwi Belt.

These projects, although early stage, appear to have brownfield prospects and it will be a strategic decision to direct exploration funds to this additional ground and further add to Asante’s landholding, as well as the Kukuom Property, could be considered highly prospective, Agezo said.