Serabi Gold announces further positive results from Calico

Brazil-focussed development and mining company Serabi Gold announced further positive results from its ongoing regional exploration activity at the Calico target on Friday, located five kilometres from the Palito operation and processing plant.

The AIM-traded firm also said that initial regional soil geochemistry on the Sao Chico and Sao Domingos trend had recorded multiple significant gold and multi-element anomalies within the “highly prospective” mineralised corridor.

It said it had identified “significant” geochemical gold-in-soil anomalies at Calico, Juca and Forquilha, of which Calico was now “very significant” over a two kilometre-by-two kilometre area.

Values as high as 0.8 grams of gold per tonne were recorded, which was better than had been seen in any soils over the Palito orebody.

A subsequent terrestrial geophysics survey using induced polarisation, covering the Calico soil anomaly, had identified multiple chargeability anomalies.

Both results were “very comparable” in terms of scale and signature to the Palito orebody - a 600,000 ounce resource - currently being mined.

First pass drill-testing of the Calico prospect was planned in the coming months.

Meanwhile, multi-element soil anomalies confirmed a strike extension of known gold occurrences at the Fofoca prospect on the Sao Chico and Sao Domingos trend.

“These positive results from the regional programmes at Calico and Fofoca are very encouraging,” said chief executive officer Mike Hodgson.

“After the interruptions to the exploration campaign of 2020 due to the pandemic, this year we are embarking on the most substantial exploration effort seen by Serabi to date.

“Whilst a key focus will be targeting resource growth at the existing Palito and Sao Chico orebodies, a significant part of the exploration programme is more regionally focussed whilst still within 20 kilometres of these producing orebodies.”

Hodgson said that both Calico and Fofoca fell into that category.

“At Calico the results to date are very compelling and, even at this early stage, lead us to start drawing positive comparisons with the Palito orebody.

“The Calico location was first observed as a significant electromagnetic anomaly from the airborne survey completed in 2018.

“In the Tapajos, such electromagnetic highs are typically indicators of sulphide bodies, which, as we see at Palito and Sao Chico and elsewhere, can often be gold-bearing.”

Calico is located five kilometres from Palito, Hodgson noted, and in recent months the company completed follow-up terrestrial geophysical and geochemical surveys.

“The soil geochemistry programme defined several highly interesting anomalies, namely Calico, Juca and Forquilha, of which Calico is the most significant.

“Measuring two kilometres by two kilometres and with soil assays as high as 0.8 grams per tonne, this anomaly is comparable to the geochemical anomaly over the Palito orebody.”

Hodgson said that geochemical survey had now been complemented by induced polarisation, which had proven to be “very effective” at Palito.

“The induced polarisation has highlighted a series of NW-SE anomalies, some sited within the bounding gold soil anomaly at depth and some adjacent to the soil anomalies.

“The orientation of these IP anomalies is consistent with broader regional structural fabric and the trend of the veins at Palito, just five kilometres away.

“Given its proximity to Palito and the fact that it shares many similar characteristics including what seems to be a similar geochemical and geophysical signature, we plan to conduct some initial first pass drilling during the coming months.”

The geochemical survey at Fofoca, in the eastern part of the Sao Domingos tenement acquired by the company in late 2020, was still in progress, Hodgson added.

“The initial results have defined a number of new geochemical anomalies outside the multiple past and present artisanal mining areas.

“The survey will continue with a follow-up drill programme to be undertaken once this is completed.”

At 0822 GMT, shares in Serabi Gold were up 4.55% at 92p.