Tabakoroni: Discovery of a high-grade growth opportunity in the Syama Belt, Mali

摘要

The Tabakoroni gold project in southern Mali is 90%-owned by Resolute Mining Ltd with the Government of Mali holding a 10% free-carried interest. Resolute's development of Tabakoroni has brought considerable discovery success where successful mining and processing of the oxide component of the Tabakoroni resource has delivered above-budget gold due to ongoing expansion of the resource by exploration efforts concomitant to resource and grade control drilling. Definition of the orebody continuity with depth recently culminated in the declaration of the maiden underground resource of 5.2mt @ 5.1 g/t gold for 850,000oz. Discovery success at Tabakoroni is continuing with ongoing drilling defining orebody extensions and potential orebody offsets due to an improved understanding of geological, structural and mineralising frameworks for the deposit. Tabakoroni is evolving into a key growth opportunity, substantially contributing towards understanding and opening of other prospect and target areas in the discovery and evaluation pipeline. Tabakoroni was first identified as a low-level soil geochemistry anomaly from regional UNDP programs in 1987. Although the first drilling of the area was completed by BHP International in 1989, the focus of exploration in years that followed was on the development of the nearby Syama deposit - 33km to the north of Tabakoroni. It was not until early 2001 that exploration on the Finkolo permit containing Tabakoroni resumed by Etruscan Resources Ltd, with Resolute entering the JV as operator in 2003. Multiple phases of drill testing to define the Tabakoroni deposit resulted in a maiden resource in 2009. Metallurgical and geotechnical studies that formed part of the feasibility study, together with an EIS, was submitted to the Malian Government for an exploitation permit in 2010. The Tabakoroni mineral resource net of depletion at March 31, 2019 is 6.3mt @ 5.1 g/t for 1.03 Moz of gold.