Alpha Exploration Provides Exploration Update
Alpha Exploration Provides Exploration
Update
Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - June 11, 2024) -
Alpha Exploration Ltd.
(TSXV: ALEX) ("
Alpha
" or
the "
Company
") provides an update on its exploration programs across its 100% owned, 771 km²
Kerkasha Project located in Eritrea.
HIGHLIGHTS:
Acceleration of exploration programs on three priority prospects across Kerkasha
licence
8,000 metre drill program more than half completed on Aburna Gold Prospect
3
rd
drill rig en route to accelerate drill target definition at Aburna
Additional exploration drilling planned for Anagulu Copper-Gold Prospect
Drill targeting underway at Tolegimja Copper-Zinc-Gold VMS Prospect
Accelerated exploration underway
The current drill program at the Aburna Gold Prospect ("Aburna") has reached approximately 5,000m of
the 8,000m of reverse circulation ("RC") and diamond drilling ("DD") planned to test a number of high
priority targets and is expected to be completed within the next six weeks. This drilling includes
extending a high-grade feeder zone discovered earlier this year where Alpha intersected 18m @ 15.33
g/t Au and 49.5m @ 2.75 g/t Au from drill holes ABD012 and ABD013 respectively.
In addition, a Rotary
Air Blast ("RAB") rig is being mobilized to site to commence drilling in August this year, with 10,000m
planned to accelerate discovery of further shallow, high grade gold 'shoots' within the main mineralized
corridor defined to date. These planned work programs will enable Alpha to fast-track drill target
definition at Aburna, which may include utilising additional drills later in the year to fully define the primary
mineralized lenses as part of a resource definition drilling program.
At the Anagulu Gold-Copper Porphyry Prospect ("Anagulu") and Tolegimja Copper-Zinc-Gold VMS
Prospect ("Tolegimja"), Alpha plans to drill up to 2,000m and 1,000m respectively over high priority
targets as well as 10,000 metres of RAB drilling over both prospects in H2 2024.
Michael Hopley, Alpha's President & CEO commented that,
"I am very pleased to report that Alpha is
now in a position to aggressively advance our three priority exploration prospects on the
Kerkasha licence. Our focus for Aburna throughout the rest of 2024 will be to fully define the
3km long mineralized corridor that links the three current targets at Hill 52, Central and
Northeast Areas. Simultaneously, the arrival of a RAB rig on site in Q3 this year this year will
enable us to rapidly and cost effectively generate and evaluate other priority drill targets over
the larger 7.2km by 2km footprint of the Aburna prospect, which is defined by anomalous
surface gold geochemistry and trenching.
"Furthermore, I am very pleased that we will be advancing exploration, including significant
drilling, on the Anagulu and Tolegimja prospects. We will keep shareholders updated on
progress in what is expected to be a busy exploration period for the Company."
Aburna - drill targets
Recent interpretation by Alpha has established that the three main target areas at Aburna; Hill 52,
Central Area and Northeast Area likely comprise the same mineralized system creating an overall target
up to 3km in length and separated by a major N-S regional fault that appears to have laterally offset
mineralization (see Figure 2). The current drill program will focus on fully defining this target, including
drill testing the 300m "Gap Zone" between Hill 52 and Central Area (Figure 1).
Separately, the Company plans to commence drilling with a RAB rig from Q3 this year. The rapid drilling
of many shallow (less than 50m deep) drill holes by using a RAB rig will enable Alpha to rapidly and cost
effectively test a number of priority targets, as well as testing the potential for further high-grade 'shoots'
over the very large 7.2km x 2km Aburna footprint defined by anomalous surface gold geochemistry and
trenching
Recent drilling completed by Alpha at Aburna includes assays received from five RC holes with results
detailed in Table 1, below. Significantly, drill hole ABR124 that include 15m @ 2.25 g/t Au, was drilled
from the eastern end of the Gap Zone where drilling is currently ongoing. Many drillholes recently
completed by the Company are awaiting sample preparation at NABRO Laboratories Limited
("NABRO") in Asmara. Alpha expects a delay of several weeks in receiving results from these holes due
to upgrading of mechanical equipment at NABRO.
With the anticipated acceleration in the Company's
exploration programs, Alpha is currently looking at options to transport an additional, self-contained
preparation facility to Asmara from ALS in the coming weeks.
Table 1:
Gold assay intercepts from recent drilling at Central Area, Aburna
Drillhole ID
Area
Significant Interval
From (m)
To
(m)
ABR124
Central
8m @ 1.09 g/t Au
5
13
15m @ 2.25 g/t Au
47
62
ABR125
Central
no significant result
4
22
ABR026
Central
7m @ 0.65 g/t Au
5
12
ABR127
Central
16m @ 0.78 g/t Au
11
27
8m @ 0.94 g/t Au
31
39
ABR128
Central
8m @ 0.69 g/t Au
61
69
Figure 1:
300m "Gap Zone" linking high grade feeder zone in Hill 52 with mineralized lens at Central
Area to the east creating a >1km long mineralized target
To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8361/212426_61c7db0054f0baaf_001full.jpg
Figure 2:
Hill 52, Gap Zone, Central and Northeast Area creating target mineralization up to 3km in
strike length
To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8361/212426_61c7db0054f0baaf_002full.jpg
Anagulu Copper - Gold Prospect
In April 2024, Alpha engaged the services of Federico Cernuschi PhD. ("Cernuschi"), a world-renowned
copper porphyry specialist, to undertake a detailed mapping program and data review of Anagulu. From
this program, it was concluded that the main porphyry target at Anagulu probably exists directly along
strike and SW of existing drilling on the project by Alpha that includes 108m @ 1.24 g/t Au & 0.6% Cu.
Five high priority drill targets have been recommended by Dr. Cernuschi and the planned drilling will test
strike extensions of the quartz-eye diorite which is the host of the copper-gold mineralization at Anagulu.
Tolegimja Copper-Zinc-Gold Prospect
Recent handheld XRF soil sampling at Tolegimja has established that an eastern limb of VMS
mineralization likely exists and extends for up to 3km, potentially mirroring the existing 3km long western
limb, and creating a folded VMS target up to 6km in length. The eastern limb also coincides with a major
EM ("Electromagnetic") anomaly identified from work previously undertaken by Thani - Ashanti. The
Company is currently undertaking further mapping and sampling at Tolegimja, including gossanous and
exhalite targets typically associated with VMS deposits, with a view to commencing a 1,000m scout
drilling program later in 2024.
Rotary Air Blast (RAB) drilling
RAB drilling is a rapid and cost-effective technique for sampling at shallower depths (typically down to 25
or 50m) below soil cover.
RAB drilling uses a conventional single barrel technique, with compressed air
(or a combination of air and foam) pumped down through a drill rod, to break up the ground. This form of
drilling provides a mixture of crushed rock powder and chips (up to ~2 cm). The method should provide a
rapid assessment of the ground at a shallow level where many mineral deposits are most likely to be
detected.
Sampling, sub-sampling and analysis
Alpha engaged an independent consultancy, RSC Mining & Mineral Exploration (RSC) to develop a
Standard Operating Procedure ("SOP") for both RC and DD drill sampling and sample preparation
in
June 2021 and all samples in this release use this RSC SOP which utilizes blank standards and industry
standards which are inserted at the beginning and end of every sample stream (and every 20 samples
within the sample stream) for all samples submitted to ALS Geochemistry, Loughrea, Ireland, ("ALS"),
for assay. Additionally, field replicates are taken at a frequency of about 1 in 5 (20%) through mineralized
areas.
Sample preparation was undertaken by NABRO Laboratories Limited ("NABRO") in their independent
laboratory in Asmara prior to shipping to ALS for analysis. NABRO sample preparation methods follow
SOPs developed by RSC. One-meter samples from both RC and DD drilling were crushed (to >90%
passing 2.0 mm) and pulverised (to >85% passing 75 µm). Two scoop samples were taken from the
pulveriser bowl: approximately 130g for laboratory analysis and approximately 150g for portable X-ray
fluorescence (pXRF) analysis. The coarse and pulp rejects were stored at Alpha's warehouse in
Asmara. The Company inserted certified reference material from OREAS (www.ore.com.au) into the
sample stream, while NABRO in Asmara inserted barren granodiorite material into the sample stream
as a blank. ALS analysed all drill samples for gold by method Au-AA26 (50 g charge fire assay, AAS
finish). ALS is independent of the Company and its quality management systems framework is
accredited to ISO/IEC 17025:2005 or certified to ISO 9001:2015 standards.
About Alpha
Alpha (TSXV: ALEX) is an exploration company that is rapidly advancing a number of important gold
and base metal discoveries across its 100% owned, large (771 km2) Kerkasha Project in Eritrea.
The Aburna Gold Prospect is an exciting new gold discovery covering a very large 7.2km x 2km footprint
where recent drilling has established a high-grade discovery with grades including 18m @ 15.33 g/t Au,
49m @ 2.75 g/t Au, 16 m @ 14.07 g/t Au, 9 m @ 10 g/t Au and 23 m @ 6.74 g/t Au. The Anagulu Gold-
Copper Prospect includes recent drilling intersections of 108 m @ 1.24 g/t Au and 0.60% Cu and 49 m
@ 2.42 g/t Au and 1.10% Cu within a porphyry unit mapped over at a >2 km strike length.
The Company
is also advancing exploration of the Tolegimja volcanogenic massive sulphide copper-zinc-gold
prospect and over 17 other gold and base metal prospects since listing in 2021.
The Company is managed by a group of highly experienced and successful mining professionals with
long track records of establishing, building and successfully exiting a number of world class gold and
base metal discoveries in Eritrea and across the wider Arabian Nubian Shield.
For further information go to the Alpha webpage at
www.alpha-exploration.com
or contact:
Michael Hopley
President and Chief Executive Officer
Alpha Exploration Ltd.
Email:
Tel: +44 207129 1148
Qualified Person
All scientific and technical information in this press release, including the results of the Aburna drill
program and how these results relate to the ongoing exploration at the Kerkasha Project has been
reviewed, verified, and approved by Michael Hopley, President, Chief Executive Officer of Alpha and a
"qualified person" for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral
Projects.
Cautionary Notes
This press release is intended for distribution in Canada only and is not intended for distribution to
United States newswire services or dissemination in the United States.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements and information herein, including all statements that are not historical facts,
contain forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable
securities laws. Such forward-looking statements or information include but are not limited to
statements or information with respect to future dataset interpretations, sampling, plans for its projects
(including the Anagulu prospect), surveys related to Alpha's assets, and the Company's drilling
program. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements or information can be identified by the use
of words such as "estimate", "project", "belief", "anticipate", "intend", "expect", "plan", "predict", "may"
or "should" and the negative of these words or such variations thereon or comparable terminology are
intended to identify forward-looking statements and information. With respect to forward-looking
statements and information contained herein, Alpha has made numerous assumptions including
among other things, assumptions about general business and economic conditions and the price of
gold and other minerals. The foregoing list of assumptions is not exhaustive.
Although management of Alpha believes that the assumptions made and the expectations
represented by such statements or information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that
forward-looking statements or information herein will prove to be accurate. Forward-looking statements
and information by their nature are based on assumptions and involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results, performance or achievements, or
industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements
expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information. These factors include, but
are not limited to: risks relating to Alpha's financing efforts; risks associated with the business of Alpha
given its limited operating history; business and economic conditions in the mining industry generally;
the supply and demand for labour and other project inputs; changes in commodity prices; changes in
interest and currency exchange rates; risks relating to inaccurate geological and engineering
assumptions (including with respect to the tonnage, grade and recoverability of reserves and
resources); risks relating to unanticipated operational difficulties (including failure of equipment or
processes to operate in accordance with specifications or expectations, cost escalation, unavailability
of materials and equipment, government action or delays in the receipt of government approvals,
industrial disturbances or other job action, and unanticipated events related to health, safety and
environmental matters); risks relating to adverse weather conditions; political risk and social unrest;
changes in general economic conditions or conditions in the financial markets; changes in laws
(including regulations respecting mining concessions); risks related to the direct and indirect impact
of COVID-19 including, but not limited to, its impact on general economic conditions, the ability to
obtain financing as required, and causing potential delays to exploration activities; those factors
discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Final Prospectus; and other risk factors as detailed
from time to time. Alpha does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in
accordance with applicable securities laws.
To view the source version of this press release, please visit
https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/212426