ASX-listed Troy Resources has increased its exposure to the geologically prospective Makaba Kuribrong Shear Zone around its Karouni gold mine in Guyana, snaring the “must have” Potaro target in a progressive land acquisition program that has expanded its Karouni holdings to 3,000 hectares. Potaro, about 20km south of the Karouni gold plant, was identified by Troy as a key pick-up two years ago.
Troy, which acquired Karouni in 2013, says early mapping and reconnaissance work has yielded indications that Potaro could be underlain by the Makaba Kuribrong Shear Zone, or “MKSZ”. The MKSZ and regionally important Central Guiana Shear Zone are seen as crustal shears that might rival the fabulous Cadillac and Boulder-Lefroy fault systems of Canada and Australia, respectively, as fertile gold structures.
Karouni has produced more than 150,000oz of gold from mid-2017 through 2020. More gold lies beneath the mainstay Smarts and Hicks open pits, with the Smarts underground project currently boasting a resource of some 288,000 ounces going an impressive 3.3 grams per tonne gold.
Troy has been busy in recent times working toward completing a pre-feasibility study and maiden ore reserve estimate for the underground deposit, with results anticipated to be released to market shortly.
Drilling at Smarts underground has returned numerous outstanding intercepts including a bonanza grade 11m hit going 131.93 grams per tonne gold from 223m and 19m at 9.15 g/t gold from 173m in another hole.
Other significant hits include 3m going 17.35 g/t gold from 176m, with a further two intervals within the same hole returning 5m at 14.14 g/t gold from 232m and 3m at 9.92 g/t gold from 240m depth.
Whilst the maiden ore reserve estimate for Smarts underground together with the pre-feasibility study remain eagerly awaited, Troy is also turning its attention to regional exploration potential and believes the new ground around Karouni is highly prospective for large-scale gold discoveries.
The MKSZ is interpreted to extend for over 300km in a north-westerly direction into Venezuela. In an easterly direction, the shear zone is believed to connect to the renowned Central Guiana Shear Zone, or “CGSZ” stretching for several hundred kilometres into Suriname and French Guyana.
Intriguingly, the CGSZ already boasts multi-million-ounce gold deposits that include the 8.6-million-ounce Merian in Suriname held by New York listed gold mining giant, Newmont Corporation. The Rosebel deposit owned by Toronto-listed IAMGOLD Corporation also lies along the shear zone in Suriname and hosts about 9.7 million ounces of the precious metal.
Troy says crustal shear zones such as the MKCG are seen as pathways for gold bearing fluids in orogenic gold districts around the world including the renowned Boulder-Lefroy fault system in WA.
Extensive alluvial gold recovery along the Potaro River and local tributaries has been recorded. Management says drilling will also ultimately enable exploration to penetrate localised sand cover.
Guyana is a relatively young exploration jurisdiction but it is now seeing modern gold development such as at Karouni. Large-scale exploration success has been seen elsewhere in greenstone belts producing multi-million-ounce gold finds on both side of the Atlantic. Troy’s expanded land position gives it a strong hand in a high-stakes game.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au
