FOR IMMEDIAT E RELEASE Aton announces the completion of and the first results from its RC exploration drilling programme at Abu Marawat
FOR IMMEDIAT E RELEASE
Aton announces the completion of and the first results from
its RC exploration drilling programme at Abu Marawat
Vancouver, British Columbia, October 11, 2023: Aton Resources Inc. (AAN: TSX-V) (“Aton” or the “Company")
is pleased to announce the completion of the reverse circulation percussion (“RC”) programme drilling at its
100% owned Abu Marawat Concession (“Abu Marawat” or the “Concession”), in the Eastern Desert of Egypt,
as well as the first results from the West Garida and Abu Gaharish prospects (Figure 1).
Highlights:
• 85 holes were drilled, for a total of 11,700m, during the regional exploration RC programme at the
West Garida, Abu Gaharish, Semna and Zeno prospects;
• A further 628 m was drilled from 3 groundwater exploration holes approximately 20km west of the
Hamama project area;
• Significant flows were recorded from the groundwater exploration holes within Nubian Sandstone
cover rocks, proving the concept that this unit could provide process water supplies for the planned
Hamama West and Rodruin mining projects;
• Significant mineralised intersections from the Abu Gaharish prospect included 9m @ 2.10 g/t Au , 3m
@ 4.61 g/t Au and 3m @ 3.27 g/t Au. The gold mineralisation was primarily concentrated in a broadly
mineralised envelope at the Gaharish Main Zone;
• Narrow mineralised intersections at West Garida included 2m @ 3.66 g/t Au and 24.3 g/t Ag from Vein
#1 and 1m @ 4.00 g/t Au from Vein #3.
“We are pleased to announce the successful completion of the regional RC exploration drilling programme at
Abu Marawat, and to provide the first tranche of results ” said Tonno Vahk, Interim CEO. “We are particularly
happy with the results of the groundwater drilling in the Nubian Sandstone west of Hamama, designed to test
the potential of these rocks to provide process water supplies to the planned starter heap leach mining project
at Hamama West. The results were very encouraging with the drilling intersecting sig nificant groundwater
hosted in the Nubian cover. It is particularly encouraging that the drilling did not penetrate deep enough to
intersect the main target, the basal Tarif Sandstone Unit of the Nubian, which suggests that this unit may host
significant g roundwater resources closer to Hamama than was previously anticipated. EMRA continue to
review our submission to them detailing Commercial Discoveries at the Hamama West and Rodruin deposits,
in accordance with the terms of the Abu Marawat Concession Agreement, and we are hopeful that this process
is moving towards a successful conclusion and the issuance of the mining licence at Abu Marawat. The
issuance of the first gold mining licence in Egypt to a publicly listed foreign investor since Sukari in 2005 would
represent a very significant step forwards for Aton, as well as for Egypt, the Ministry of Petroleum and EMRA.”
2023 Abu Marawat RC drilling programme
The exploration RC drilling, undertaken by Geodrill’s Egyptian branch, Geodrill for Leasing and Specialized
Services Freezone LLC, commenced at the West Garida prospect, 3km east of Hamama West. Prior to the rig
being mobilised to Abu Gaharish, 3 groundwat er exploration holes were also drilled to test the Nubian
Sandstone aquifer approximately 20km west of the Hamama project. Drilling at Abu Gaharish, and
subsequently at the Semna and Zeno prospects was supported by fly camps. The drill metres for the
programme are summarised in Table 1.
Project Number of holes Total metres
Groundwater exploration (Nubian Sandstone) 3 628
West Garida 21 1,522
Abu Gaharish 22 3,300
Semna 21 3,662
Zeno 21 3,216
Total 88 12,328
Table 1: Breakdown of the RC drilling completed
Figure 1: Geology and prospect plan of the Abu Marawat Concession
Groundwater exploration drilling
2 holes HAW-01 and HAW-02 were drilled south of the Hamama access road approximately 20km west of the
Hamama West mineral deposit to test the potential of the Nubian Sandstone F ormation to produce sufficient
volumes of process water for the proposed Hamama West. Hole HAW -03 was drilled approximately 4km
further east of HAW-01, back towards Hamama. Details and locations of the holes are provided in Table 2.
Hole ID
Collar co-ordinates 1,2 EOH
depth (m) Dip Grid
azimuth Comments
X Y Z
HAW-01 517072 2910962 291 100 -90 - Hole dry
HAW-02 516679 2909410 285 294 -90 - c. 700 l/min flow from 270m depth
HAW-03 520792 2911753 315 234 -90 - c. 480 l/min flow from 222m depth
Notes:
1) All co-ordinates are UTM (WGS84) Zone 36R
2) Collar surveys undertaken using handheld Garmin GPS
Table 2: Collar details of groundwater exploration drill holes
The RC holes were drilled at 5¾” diameter, with holes HAW-02 and HAW-03 reducing to 5½” diameter. Holes
HAW-01 and HAW-02 were cased through the surface alluvial sheet wash deposits to 12m depth, and HAW -
03 was cased to 30m depth.
Hole HAW-01 failed to intersect any water by its target depth of 100m , and was terminated. Holes HAW -02
and HAW-03 both intersected significant groundwater from about 120m depth, with the drillers unable to keep
the holes and samples dry (Figure 2). Hole HAW-02 was terminated at 294m, and HAW -03 was terminated
at 234m, due to the hole collapsing in water-bearing sandstones.
All holes were drilled through a variegated sequence of predominantly brown, red , grey and black shales and
mudstones, with intercalated sandstone units interpreted as belonging to the Quseir Unit of the Cretaceous
Nubian Sandstone Formation. The target basal Tarif Sandstone Unit of the Nubian Sandstone Formation was
not intersected in any of the 3 holes.
Figure 2: Drilling on groundwater exploration hole HAW-02
Both holes HAW-02 and HAW-03 started making significant amounts of water from about 120m onwards, with
the volume increasing with depth. Water was primarily hosted within sandstone horizons intercalat ed with the
predominantly shale and mudstone sequence. Airlift testing was carried out on both holes, using the booster
compressor, but no formal pump testing was undertaken. Water flows were measured using a V -notch weir
system. Significant water flows were recorded from both holes HAW-02 and HAW-03, to a maximum of c. 700
l/min from 270m depth, and 480 l/min from 220m depth, respectively.
The programme has successfully proved the concept that the Nubian Sandstone cover which outcrops to the
west of the Hamama area could potentially host sufficient groundwater resources to provide process water for
the proposed Hamama West open mine and heap leach project. It is noted that the drilling failed to intersect
the deeper basal Tarif Sandstone Unit of the Nubian Sandstone Formation that was the primary target of the
programme. The Nubian Sandstone cover dips west towards the Nile River basin, which suggests that the
Tarif Formation aquifer could be potentially intersected and exploited for groundwater at shallower depths and
further east towards the Hamama project, thus reducing the required pumping distance.
Exploration RC drilling
West Garida
21 drill holes, WGP-006 to WGP -025, were completed at the West Garida prospect (Figure 1), for a total of
1,522m metres (Table 3 and Figure 3). The mineralisation at West Garida is assoc iated with several narrow
shallow-dipping coarse gold-bearing quartz veins, with the drilling designed to follow up on a previous RC drill
intersection of 41.7 g/t Au, 263 g/t Ag and 2.08% Pb over a 1m interval in hole WGP-003 (see news release
dated September 1, 2022).
Hole ID
Collar co-ordinates 1,2 EOH
depth (m) Dip Grid
azimuth Comments
X Y Z
WGP-006 537327.4 2914773.9 630.6 100 -71.3 0.8 Vein #1
WGP-007 537327.4 2914776.0 630.6 100 -51.3 3.1 Vein #1
WGP-008 537327.1 2914762.7 630.6 57 -65.0 179.6 Vein #1 (hole abandoned)
WGP-008a 537327.4 2914766.2 630.6 120 -64.8 181.1 Vein #1 (re-drill of WGP-008)
WGP-009 537327.5 2914767.1 630.7 110 -78.7 180.6 Vein #1
WGP-010 537240.4 2914803.6 614.7 60 -48.1 1.4 Vein #1
WGP-011 537240.2 2914800.3 614.9 60 -89.5 351.9 Vein #1
WGP-012 537238.9 2914737.2 629.7 100 -55.0 358.1 Vein #1
WGP-013 537239.0 2914735.6 629.8 100 -74.3 1.1 Vein #1
WGP-014 537239.0 2914734.6 629.9 100 -90.0 0.0 Vein #1
WGP-015 537239.1 2914728.3 630.1 110 -80.6 189.1 Vein #1
WGP-016 536845.5 2914990.0 637.6 40 -89.8 221.4 Vein #2
WGP-017 536847.7 2914991.3 637.7 40 -50.0 59.5 Vein #2
WGP-018 536797.7 2914961.8 634.3 40 -50.6 58.8 Vein #2
WGP-019 536795.2 2914960.6 634.2 50 -89.6 335.8 Vein #2
WGP-020 536790.9 2914958.3 633.9 75 -55.4 237.7 Vein #2
WGP-021 536780.6 2915143.5 627.5 50 -50.5 129.2 Vein #3
WGP-022 536778.6 2915145.1 627.4 60 -89.4 147.9 Vein #3
WGP-023 536775.8 2915147.1 627.3 70 -59.2 311.5 Vein #3
WGP-024 536836.9 2914991.5 637.2 40 -50.3 315.4 Vein #2
WGP-025 536845.1 2914986.0 637.6 40 -50.1 179.5 Vein #2
Notes:
1) All co-ordinates are UTM (WGS84) Zone 36R
2) Collar surveys undertaken using a Leica Viva GS15 differential GPS system
3) Drill holes were surveyed using a Reflex EZ-TRAC magnetic survey tool, within stainless steel rods
Table 3: Collar details of RC exploration drill holes at West Garida
Figure 3: West Garida drill hole collar plan
Hole ID
Intersection (m) Assays (ppm)
Comments
From To Interval Au Ag Cu Pb Zn
WGP-010 35 36 1 2.03 1.6 35 23 164 Vein #1
WGP-011 24 25 1 2.35 10.1 215 900 1,390 Vein #1
WGP-012 50 52 2 3.66 24.3 36 867 75 Vein #1
WGP-018 21 22 1 3.25 24.0 221 2,870 3,100 Vein #2
WGP-023 68 69 1 4.00 4.9 217 7 1,800 Vein #3
Table 4: Significant intersections from West Garida
The drill holes generally intersected the targeted mineralised structures (Veins #1, #2 and #3, see Figure 3).
All mineralised intercepts from the West Garida drilling are provided in Appendix A, with significant
intersections shown in Table 4 above. The drilling largely confirmed the presence and continuity of the shallow
dipping mineralised structures, but did not replicate the high grades from surface sampling of the coarse-gold
bearing structures, nor the results of hole WGP-003 (see news release dated September 1, 2022).
Abu Gaharish
Hole ID
Collar co-ordinates 1,2 EOH
depth (m) Dip Grid
azimuth Comments
X Y Z
GHP-001 564503.2 2917326.1 481.7 200 -53.1 79.6 Main Zone
GHP-002 564431.0 2917336.0 477.3 200 -53.4 79.0 Main Zone
GHP-003 564372.9 2917345.9 478.1 150 -52.0 90.9 Main Zone
GHP-004 564307.4 2917342.2 478.8 150 -55.6 88.5 Main Zone
GHP-005 564239.3 2917351.0 478.1 120 -56.5 93.0 Main Zone
GHP-006 564488.8 2917177.5 480.7 200 -53.8 91.0 Main Zone
GHP-007 564420.8 2917179.8 479.6 200 -55.0 90.3 Main Zone
GHP-008 564347.1 2917185.3 483.0 150 -55.3 90.4 Main Zone
GHP-009 564701.8 2916804.0 516.5 150 -54.1 90.3 SE shear
GHP-010 564630.2 2916659.1 533.2 120 -54.8 88.2 SE shear
GHP-011 564406.4 2916699.0 495.9 100 -53.7 89.4 SW shear
GHP-012 563841.5 2916890.5 490.6 140 -49.7 70.9 Stockwork zone
GHP-013 563919.9 2916955.1 508.9 140 -47.7 74.9 Stockwork zone
GHP-014 563996.0 2916983.4 501.8 140 -50.8 71.5 Stockwork zone
GHP-015 564566.5 2917491.7 470.6 150 -53.7 88.7 Main Zone
GHP-016 564523.1 2917500.6 475.4 200 -53.4 84.3 Main Zone
GHP-017 564447.2 2917507.1 474.2 160 -54.0 89.7 Main Zone
GHP-018 564562.3 2918038.7 464.3 120 -54.5 89.9 Ionic leach anomaly
GHP-019 564491.8 2918038.3 465.3 120 -55.0 90.9 Ionic leach anomaly
GHP-020 564460.4 2918197.8 462.5 120 -53.1 90.7 Ionic leach anomaly
GHP-021 564392.0 2918198.2 461.7 120 -54.7 91.4 Ionic leach anomaly
GHP-022 564996.4 2918271.1 488.2 150 -54.9 105.3 NEX Vein zone
Notes:
1) All co-ordinates are UTM (WGS84) Zone 36R
2) Collar surveys undertaken using a Leica Viva GS15 differential GPS system
3) Drill holes were surveyed using a gyroscopic survey tool
Table 5: Collar details of RC exploration drill holes at Abu Gaharish
22 drill holes, GHP-001 to GHP-022, were completed at the Abu Gaharish prospect (Figure 1), for a total of
3,300m metres (Table 5 and Figure 4) in this first pass programme . Holes were drilled over a broad area
covering c. 1.7km of strike length of mineralisation that roughly parallels the contact of the Gaharish alkali
granite pluton with the surrounding metasedimentary and metavolcanic package of country rocks. 11 holes
were drilled at the Gaharish Main Zone, which was the main focus of a ncient and recent artisanal mine
workings (GHP-001 to GHP -008, and GHP-015 to GHP -017), 3 holes were drilled to test shear structures
located within country rock package (GHP-009 to GHP-011), 3 holes were drilled to test a possible stockwork
and sheeted vein zone southwest of the Main Zone, and within the Gaharish pluton itself (GHP-012 to GHP-
014), 4 holes were drilled to test an ionic leach wadi sediment geochemical anomaly (GHP -018 to GHP-021),
and the final hole was drilled to test the North E ast Extension (“NEX”) Vein structure, along strike and north-
northeast of the Main Zone (GHP-022). The collar locations of all the drill holes are shown in Figure 4.
Figure 4: Abu Gaharish drill hole collar plan
All mineralised intercepts from the Abu Gaharish drilling are provided in Appendix B, with significant
intersections shown in Table 6. The drilling identified a broad mineralised envelope over a c. 350m strike length
associated with the Main Zone, containing higher grade structures, which returned intercepts including 2m @
8.16 g/t Au and 3m @ 4.61 g/t Au. Screen fire assay of a single 1m sample indicated the presence of coarse
gold in these zones. Narrow lower grade intercepts were returned from the south ern shear structures in the
country rocks, and a broad low grade interval in hole GHP -012 indicated the potential for sheeted vein style
reduced intrusion-related gold (“RIRG”) style mineralisation to the southwest of the Main Zone.
Hole ID
Intersection (m) Assays (ppm)
Comments
From To Interval Au Ag Cu Pb Zn
GHP-001 1 5 4 2.70 2.2 69 193 181 Main Zone
and 61 70 9 2.10 2.3 57 385 457
incl. 65 67 2 8.16 8.3 205 1,568 1,706
GHP-002 55 56 1 6.69 10.2 70 750 363 Main Zone
GHP-006 80 83 3 3.27 5.9 47 199 394 Main Zone
and 124 126 2 3.52 8.1 58 126 359
GHP-007 8 10 2 3.78 1.3 14 190 188 Main Zone
GHP-015 11 13 2 2.98 4.1 40 200 329 Main Zone
and 49 50 1 4.77 - - - -
Gold by screen fire
assay, coarse gold
present
GHP-016 37 42 5 1.23 0.5 14 26 102 Main Zone
and 49 52 3 4.61 14.8 186 967 849
Table 6: Significant intersections from Abu Gaharish
Sampling and analytical procedures
The RC holes were drilled at 5¾” or 5½” diameter, and the bulk percussion chip samples were collected directly
into pre-written large plastic bags from the cyclone every metre, numbered with the hole number and hole
depths, and laid out sequentially at the drill site. Between each metre of drill ing the cyclone and top box were
cleaned out with compressed air. The bags were logged on the drill sites by Aton geologists. The bulk 1m
samples were weighed, and subsequently riffle split through a 3-tier splitter onsite by Aton field staff to produce
an approximately 1/8 split, which was collected in cloth bags, numbered and tagged with the hole number and
depth. The splitter was cleaned with compressed air between each sample. The reject material from this initial
bulk split was re-bagged, labelled and tagged, and retained on the drill sites. A representative sample of each
metre was washed and stored in marked plastic chip trays, each containing 20m of samples, photographed,
and retained onsite as a permanent record of the drill hole.
The 1m split samp les, weighing approximately 5kg each were then transported to the Rodruin sample
processing facility, where they were 1/2 riffle split into 2 separate sub-samples, weighing approximately 2.5kg.
One of these sub -samples was marked and labelled, and retained at the laboratory for storage. The second
1m sub-samples were then combined into 4m composite samples, weighing approximately 10kg. These were
thoroughly mixed and again riffle split to produce nominal c. 250-500g 4m composite samples which were
dispatched to ALS Minerals for analysis . Again the splitter was cleaned with compressed air between each
sample. The 4m composite samples were allocated new sample numbers. The bulk reject material from the
riffle split 4m composite samples was disposed of. QAQC samples were inserted into the 4m composite sample
stream at a rate of approximately 1 certified reference material (or “standard” sample) every 60 samples, 1
blank sample every 30 samples, and 1 field duplicate split sample every 30 samples.
The 4m composi te samples were shipped to ALS Minerals sample preparation laboratory at Marsa Alam,
Egypt, where they were pulverised to a size fraction of better than 85% passing 75 microns. From this
pulverised material a further sub-sample was split off with a nominal c. 50g size, which was shipped on to ALS