Sarama Resources continues to demonstrate the potential to build a world-class resource at its Sanutura gold project in Burkina Faso, with the latest drilling results revealing a new shallow, thick exploration trend.

Shallow reconnaissance drilling at the MM and MC prospects has returned further significant intersections in near-surface oxide material outside of the already large pit-constrained gold resource of 2.9Moz.

Sarama Resources (ASX:SRR) today reported a highlight intercept of 34m at 1.65 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from just 18m in a sparsely drilled area at the MM and MC prospects, which has opened up a new trend that extends for about 1.7km.

Other top hits included 12m at 1.36g/t from 18m; 4m at 3.23g/t from 47m, including 1m at 10.25g/t; and 12m at 1.04g/t from 12m, including 4m at 2.16g/t.

These new results are part of an ongoing +50,000m drilling program primarily aimed at materially increasing the shallow oxide component, which makes up close to a million ounces of the existing pit-constrained resource.

The new significant intersections occur within the 2.5Moz Tankoro deposit corridor in an area that is sparsely drilled and outside the current resource, highlighting the potential for new discoveries in between existing wide-spaced drilling in underexplored areas.

Managing director Andrew Dinning said the discovery of new, shallow high-value material was building on the recent new discovery at the Obi prospect and significant new high-grade mineralisation within the MM prospect.

He noted that the intersection of 34m at 1.65g/t gold was not only significant because it was in oxide material, but it was also located outside of the current resource.

“The results show potential for another new exploration trend featuring oblique and/or blind mineralisation that has the potential to add significant amounts of high-value material to the current mineral resource,” Dinning said.

This new discovery sets Sarama up nicely for further potential discoveries of significant mineralised lodes oblique to the strike of the current resource, which are integral to the MM and MC prospects, which host 66% of the resource.

The Sanutura project is located just 60km south of Endeavour Mining’s 5Moz Houndé mine, 120km south of Fortuna Silver’s high-grade +1Moz Yaramoko mine and 140km south of Endeavour Mining’s 5Moz Mana mine, highlighting the significant gold endowment of the highly prospective Houndé Belt.

Where the project is located in Burkina Faso presents Sarama with a vast regional opportunity.

Across the wider 1,420sqkm project area there are numerous highly prospective exploration targets and from a regional development perspective, over 4Moz – the bulk of which is within 150m of surface – has been defined within a 6km radius of the Tankoro deposit.

“Sarama is targeting a potential resource increase of 10-15% from the +50,000m drill program and anticipates undertaking a resource update upon completion of that program,” Dinning told Stockhead.

“We would anticipate a resource update around the middle of next year.”

Follow-up drilling, including greenfields exploration drilling, is on the agenda for the final quarter for 2022.

This article was developed in collaboration with Sarama Resources, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.

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