Projects Overview: Dutwa

Project Summary

The Dutwa project is located in the Kilimafedha (“money hills”) greenstone belt, which lies in the Lake Victoria Goldfields (LVGF), 100km east of Mwanza. The colonial-era Ngasamo mine, which produced 201kg of gold, lies immediately southwest of the project area. African Eagle (AFE) has completed a regional soil geochemical survey which returned significant gold anomalies over a 16km strike length. Follow up auger sampling defined three drill targets, one of which includes a gold in saprolite value of 7g/t. Though primarily a gold project, it exhibits excellent potential for the discovery of nickel and platinum group elements. In the ultramafic rocks, adjacent to the mine, previous explorers have reported rock chip samples containing up to 1.87% nickel and 10% chrome.

Licences

The project area comprises seven licences which cover 668km². AFE has a 90% holding in the properties and has the potential to gain a 100% holding.

Geology

The project area is underlain by greenstones and granites. The greenstones are Nyanzian in age and composed of intermediate and mafic volcanics and a suite of schistose metasediments, with Banded Iron Formations reported in the east of the area. Ultramafic bodies occur within the greenstone and form a range of low hills in the southwest of the project, extending for 12km from Ngasamo in the west to the Wamangola Hills in the east. The rocks were described in the colonial survey literature as peridotites with olivine picrite, gabbro-norite and silicified serpentinite.

The regional structural and lithological trend is approximately 060°. Abundant dykes run parallel or sub parallel to this trend.

Current Status

AFE has compiled historical data which includes a programme of detailed mapping and trenching of the Ngasamo and Wamangola ultramafic hills. AFE has carried out a reconnaissance geochemical soil sampling survey over the whole of the project and infilled selected areas, returning significant gold anomalies over a 16km strike length. Follow up auger sampling of the saprolite zone to test some of the soil anomalies confirmed the surface values and highlighted three initial targets for drilling: Thornbush, Wamangola and NAN. The first two targets have been drilled.

A ground magnetic survey of 4000 line kilometres has revealed much of the underlying structure and geology of the area.

Targets

Thornbush and Wamangola – prospects returned elevated gold in soil values up to 326ppb and 90ppb respectively (Fig. 1). Both targets were drilled tested in December 2007 and showed abundant but scattered mineralisation which was sub-economic.

NAN – Located in an open area of cotton soil, with a maximum value of 217ppb Gold (Fig. 2). Follow-up auger sampling confirmed this anomaly with values up to 7g/t gold. NAN remains a prime target.

Guya – Situated in the west of the project area on slightly elevated ground. Gold in soil values up to 63ppb (Fig. 3) are located adjacent to a major northwest trending structure. The Ututwa licence to the south has recently been acquired to test the strike extent of these values

Future Programme

AFE plans to test the NAN, Guya and other targets with Aircore drilling in the near future. Other gold in soil anomalies will be followed up and developed with augering and infill soil geochemistry. AFE will extend the ground magnetometer programme to cover the whole project area. Acquisition of adjacent licences will expand the considerable land holding in this highly prospective region.

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Fig.1 Thornbush and Wamangola prospecting targets

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Fig.2 NAN gold anomaly

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Fig.3 Guya and Ututwa licences with gold in soil anomalies

Dutwa fact sheet - January 2008
(PDF - 2.20MB)