Sydney, June 16, 2008 (ABN Newswire) - ABM Resources NL (ASX: ABU) holds a 67.33% interest in the highly prospective Mimosa gold project and has the right to increase its interest to 86.33% after spending US$3M. Mimosa is located in the under-explored Archaean greenstone belt of the Manica Province in central Mozambique, approximately 800 kilometres north of the Mozambique capital of Maputo.
Key Points:
- Mimosa has extensive gold mining history and no modern exploration
- A 5,000 metre RC drilling program has commenced at Mimosa to test:
* areas where rock chip sampling has returned high-grade samples of up to 30.1g/t Au
* depth extensions to gold mineralization exploited by local artisanal miners
- Ground magnetic survey underway to complement geological/structural mapping
Mimosa lies in the east-west trending Odzi-Mutare Greenstone Belt, which has historically produced an estimated 2.5 million ounces of gold. Local artisanal miners have been mining gold in sheeted quartz veins and stockworks at Mimosa by hand for approximately 20 years. The project consists of three concessions totalling 960 hectares.
RC Drilling Program
ABM is pleased to announce that a 5,000m RC drilling program has commenced at Mimosa. The Mimosa gold project area possesses an extensive gold mining history and has not previously been explored using modern exploration techniques. The RC drilling program is aimed at testing areas where rock chip sampling completed by ABM returned assays of up to 30.1g/t Au. In addition, drilling will test the depth extensions to gold mineralization being exploited by local artisanal miners. An agreement has been reached with the artisans association to include their ground in the project for a royalty. This drilling program is expected to be completed by the end of the September Quarter 2008.
Ground magnetic Survey and other
A ground magnetic survey is now well advanced and will cover most of the license areas at Mimosa. This survey, in conjunction with geological mapping currently underway, will allow a better understanding of the geology and structural setting within the project area.
ABM is investigating whether drill samples from the RC drilling program can be prepared in an independent laboratory in Tete, Mozambique (4 hours drive to the north of Mimosa). The sample pulps can then be flown to an independent Perth laboratory, Genalysis, for analysis. This arrangement will allow more timely turnaround of assay results from the current RC and anticipated future drilling programs.
About ABM RESOURCES NL
The Company owns a portfolio of base metals and gold project interests. The base metals projects are located in Western Australia (zinc, lead and copper) and Zambia (copper). The gold projects are located at Mimosa, Mozambique and Broads Dam near Kalgoorlie in Western Australia. The conceptual exploration framework of the company is focused on delineating major mineral discoveries.
The current primary exploration focus is the substantial regional-scale Volcanic Massive Sulphide (VMS) base metals project at Erayinia located in Western Australia and the highly prospective Mimosa gold project located in Mozambique. ABM Resources also holds interests in another 3 Western Australian base metals projects; the Gascoyne Joint Venture, and 100% held tenements at Earaheedy and Harbutt Range in Western Australia.