Delta
Exploration Inc. (“Delta”) (DEV-TSX.V) is pleased to announce
results from RC (reverse circulation) drilling on Delta’s
100%-owned Manalo Gold Project in south-western Mali, West Africa. The
first of two new gold discoveries was made at the Dialafara Prospect,
where the initial two holes intersected 9.57 g/t Au over 9.0m and 29.07
g/t Au over 6.0m at the end of the hole, respectively. A second
discovery was made at Mansaya, where two holes intersected 1.96 g/t Au
over 5.0m and 0.69 g/t Au over 31.0m, including 1.01 g/t Au over 12.0m,
respectively. Also, 14 of 20 holes drilled on the Manalo Nord Est
structure returned significant gold values (see Table 3), extending the
zone to the northwest and southeast.
RC drilling totalled 5033 metres of
reverse circulation drilling in 51 holes. The drilling focused on 4 high
priority targets identified by soil geochemical and regolith mapping
completed last April, and airborne electromagnetics (AEM), magnetics, and
radiometrics completed last May. Priority targets include Manalo
Nord Est, Sirabada, Mansaya and Dialafara.
Dialafara
Prospect
At Dialafara, strong
gold-in-soils anomalies and coincident EM conductors are often associated
with areas of artisanal mining. Thirteen holes totalling 1,412 metres
were completed with 7 holes returning significant gold assays. Some
of the highest assays encountered to date on the property occur in drill
holes DL-07-01 and DL-07-02, both of which were drilled under the main
artisanal workings. Gold is associated with quartz veins hosted in
clay-altered Birimian metasediments (siltstones and fine-grained
sandstones).
Table
1 RC Drill Results – Dialafara Prospect
Hole ID
|
From
|
To
|
Length
|
Au (g/t)
|
DL-07-01
|
71
|
80
|
9
|
9.57
|
incl.
|
75
|
78
|
3
|
24.74
|
DL-07-02
|
87
|
93
|
6
|
29.07
|
DL-07-07
|
85
|
91
|
6
|
2.17
|
DL-07-08
|
96
|
97
|
1
|
1.04
|
DL-07-09
|
66
|
70
|
4
|
0.61
|
and
|
103
|
105
|
2
|
0.83
|
DL-07-11
|
17
|
35
|
17
|
0.64
|
incl.
|
17
|
21
|
4
|
1.62
|
and
|
53
|
72
|
19
|
1.71
|
incl.
|
53
|
66
|
13
|
2.43
|
incl.
|
53
|
57
|
4
|
5.17
|
DL-07-12
|
102
|
112
|
10
|
0.45
|
The Dialafara artisanal site sits in the centre of the permit, at the
south end of a large north-trending, anomalous gold-in-soils trend.
The seasonal digging site measures 108 metres x 70 metres striking
north-south. A quartz-rich grab sample from the workings assayed
29.7 g/t Au, while a sample from a waste pile ran 0.38 g/t Au.
Strongly anomalous soil samples include 656 ppb Au, 318 ppb, and 93850
ppb, 1.0
kilometre, 2.6 kilometres,
and 4.6
kilometres north of the workings,
respectively. More tightly spaced soil geochemical and ground
geophysical surveys are underway.
Mansaya Prospect
At Mansaya, several targets based on anomalous gold in soils and
airborne geophysical responses indicative of shear zones, were tested
with 6 holes totalling 552
metres. Several new zones of vein quartz float
were identified and significant intercepts of gold were associated with
fractured and silicified carbonaceous Birimian metasediments in one such
zone.
Table 2 RC Drill Results – Mansaya
Prospect
Hole ID
|
From
|
To
|
Length
|
Au (g/t)
|
MS-07-03
|
15
|
20
|
5
|
1.96
|
MS-07-04
|
51
|
82
|
31
|
0.69
|
incl.
|
57
|
75
|
18
|
0.94
|
Incl.
|
57
|
69
|
12
|
1.01
|
The Mansaya anomaly covers an area approximately 1000 metres x 1000 metres
overlapping a small artisanal site 80 metres x 60 metres.
The anomaly is less intense than other targets with a maximum of 59 ppb
Au in soils.
Manalo Nord Est Prospect
1,876 metres
were drilled in 20 holes along the Manalo Nord Est structure, where
previous drilling had intersected 18.48 g/t Au over 11.0 metres in a
north-northwest striking, steep-dipping, quartz-filled shear in Birimian
siltstones and sandstones. Highlights from the latest phase of
drilling include 12.06 g/t Au over 6.0 metres in
MN-07-12 and 3.16 g/t Au over 8.0 metres in MN-07-01. Significant
gold was intersected in 14 of the 20 holes drilled, extending the strike
length of the mineralization to over 500 metres.
Table
3 RC Drill Results – Manalo Nord Est Prospect
Hole ID
|
From
|
To
|
Length
|
Au (g/t)
|
MN-07-01
|
97
|
105
|
8
|
3.16
|
MN-07-02
|
36
|
39
|
3
|
2.34
|
MN-07-04
|
39
|
42
|
3
|
3.31
|
MN-07-07
|
82
|
83
|
1
|
1.36
|
MN-07-09
|
76
|
79
|
3
|
2.90
|
and
|
101
|
103
|
2
|
2.26
|
MN-07-11
|
80
|
83
|
3
|
2.78
|
and
|
87
|
89
|
1
|
1.08
|
and
|
96
|
97
|
1
|
2.27
|
MN-07-12
|
58
|
64
|
6
|
12.06
|
incl.
|
61
|
63
|
2
|
35.60
|
MN-07-13
|
104
|
105
|
1
|
1.50
|
MN-07-14
|
65
|
68
|
3
|
6.92
|
incl.
|
67
|
68
|
1
|
20.30
|
MN-07-15
|
103
|
104
|
1
|
3.81
|
MN-07-17
|
1
|
3
|
2
|
3.54
|
MN-07-18
|
47
|
50
|
3
|
3.70
|
MN-07-19
|
91
|
96
|
5
|
1.55
|
incl.
|
91
|
94
|
3
|
2.72
|
MN-07-20
|
91
|
96
|
5
|
1.63
|
incl.
|
91
|
93
|
2
|
3.33
|
Manalo Nord Est is an old artisanal site associated with a limited
soil geochemical anomaly that has been the focus of Delta’s early
exploration at Manalo. On July 25, 2006 Delta announced that
aircore drilling on Manalo had “encountered high-grade,
near-surface gold mineralization associated with significant zones of
quartz veining and alteration. MN-29 intersected 18.48 g/t Au over 11.0 metres near
the bottom of hole. Down dip of MN-29, MN-33 ended in 2.02 g/t Au over 2.0 metres.
Approximately 50
metres to the south, MN-31 intersected 3.79 g/t Au
over 8.0 metres.
To the north 50
metres, MN-27 intersected 5.11 g/t Au over 2.0 metres and
MN-32 hit 2.21 g/t Au over 8.0 metres. Another 50 metres to the
north, MN-19 intersected 4.33 g/t Au over 3.0 metres at the
bottom of the hole and MN-18 hit 0.82 g/t Au over 8.0 metres.”
Sirabada Prospect
At Sirabada, a total of 1193 metres were drilled in 12 holes.
Sirabada consists of an intensely clay-altered zone in northerly
striking, steep-dipping Birimian metasediments. Artisanal mining is
active at the site, Two grab samples of quartz vein material in greywacke
collected from “ore” dumps ran 32.76 g/t Au and 3.64 g/t Au,
respectively. Another two grab samples collected from waste dumps
assayed 1.16 g/t Au and 0.51 g/t Au, respectively. A coincident 1600 metre x 800 metre
gold-in-soils anomaly is oriented to the north-northwest.
Examination of the artisanal workings suggests that gold is
associated with quartz veins in the intensely altered metasediments.
Intervals of anomalous gold mineralization were found in several
drill holes.
2008 Program
A program of detailed in-fill geochemical soil sampling and Induced
Polarization (IP) has commenced. Soil geochemistry will focus on the
Dialafara, Dialafara Nord, Mansaya, Sirabada, and Manalo Sud-Est
Prospects. Gradient IP surveys will be run across the Dialafara and
Sirabada sites and several lines of high-resolution IP (HiRIP) will
traverse the Mansaya and Manalo Sud Est structural trends. The next
phase of drilling, to include both RC and core, will follow.
The Manalo Project comprises the Manalo and Balandougou permits
totalling 225 square kilometres, located 100 kilometres
southwest of Bamako, the capital city of Mali.
Christopher J. Wild, P.Eng, V.P. Exploration for Delta Exploration
Inc., is Delta’s Qualified Person.
On behalf of the Board of Directors
Delta Exploration Inc.
James T.
Gillis
James T. Gillis, President &
CEO
For further information please contact:
James Gillis, President & CEO – Phone: 250-828-2878
Andrew Mugridge, Progressive IR – Phone: 604-689-2881
This press release may be accessed at Delta Exploration’s
website: http://www.deltaexploration.com
and at SEDAR.COM
If you wish to be placed on Delta Exploration’s e-mail press
release list, please contact us at deltaex@telus.net
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