BURKINA FASO
Burkina Faso is estimated to hold 22% of the Birimian Greenstone Belt
“This is a country with warm and resilient people that have seen many challenges with the security situation and the pandemic. But the mining industry prevails, and mining remains a bedrock for the fragile economy. The challenges are not insurmountable, and with good organization, we can overcome them.”
Adama Soro, President, Burkina Chamber of Mines
THOUGHTS FROM THE GROUND BY KEY JUNIORS
On the Boromo Belt: Vranso Gold Project, developed by Arrow Minerals
“I genuinely think Vranso is one of the most de-risked projects in the region considering the amount of historical data it holds. Here we made the Dassa discovery – an 8,000 m strike length of continuous shallow oxide mineralization, located on the Boromo Belt.
The Boromo Belt, a subdivision of the Birimian Greenstone shield, stretches hundreds of km and hosts several multi-million ounce deposits, like Nordgold’s Bissa or Centamin’s Batie West. Interestingly, for our exploration area of 100 km, there have previously been no gold discoveries made, mostly because the exploration had focused on base metals. In fact, right in the middle of this gap sits Trevali’s Perkoa zinc mine. It is here where we found Dassa and made a synergetic agreement with Trevali that we would carry out gold exploration while they did zinc exploration on the same project.
We enjoy very positive relationships with the local community, helping them with the local schools, water supplies, and medical facilities. More importantly, we talk to them before any major activity, taking into account their farming patterns. We see ourselves as part of the community rather than visitors.
A dozen years ago, there were no gold mines in Burkina Faso and today there are 14 operating mines with a few more under development. If Burkina Faso has transformed so much in over a decade, I think the possibilities of what it can become are endless. The country is still immature from a mining development perspective.”
Howard Golden, Managing Director, Arrow Minerals
On the Houndé belt: Sanutura Gold Project, developed by Sarama Resources
“Sanutura is our most advanced project; it is 100% owned, covers 1,500 km2 and is situated in the Houndé belt, one of the most prolific gold belts in West Africa, which hosts gold mines like Endeavour’s Mana and Houndé mines and Fortuna Silver’s Yaramoko mine. The project hosts two gold deposits, the 2.5 million oz Tankoro deposit and the 0.5 million oz Bondi deposit. The land package has significant opportunity for further resource growth. We are planning a 50,000 m drilling campaign for next season; this will primarily focus on shallow oxides and comprise a mixture of extensional, infill and exploration drilling, with over 30 targets to test. Once we have the results from this drill campaign, we will update the resource and undertake a PEA, and by the end of 2022, we’d like to have a well-framed project to present to the market. ”
Andrew Dinning, Founder and CEO, Sarama Resources