Marvel Gold sniffs out evidence of extended gold system at Yanfolila

Marvel Gold (ASX:MVL) has found evidence that a known gold system on-site its Yanfolila project called the Solona prospect may extend over 1.2km in length, the company revealed on Thursday. 

The assessment was made on the back of an auger drilling campaign kicked off last year. 

While holes extending the system returned subpar grades, trace mineralisation will still be investigated by the company’s exploration team, who anticipate further mineralisation at higher concentrations may be present. But seasonal rains have slowed down progress for now. 

Yanfolila is located west of Marvel’s existing Kolondieba gold exploration play, also located in Mali and to the east of the Guinean border. 

Solona high-grade potential  

Drilling by other companies back in 2015 hit grades at Solona up to 5.29 grams of gold per tonne of ore (g/t), a firmly high-grade read, according to investor information provider Undervalued Equity.

In the latest drill run, the team found a second mineralised vein parallel to that at the Solona prospect with best intercept grades just under two grams of gold per tonne of ore (2g/t), reflecting mid-tier grade classification.

Solona was originally found back in 2012 as a gold-in-soil anomaly. 

The company also continues to investigate prospects historically the target of artisanal miners. 

What is Yanfolila? 

Marvel’s Yanfolila project is located in Mali, Africa, and is held under a Joint Venture (JV) with Toronto-listed B2Gold (TSX:BTO). Marvel holds an 80% interest in the JV. 

“We are encouraged by the results of our recent auger drilling campaign at Yanfolila which have highlighted the potential for further mineralisation along strike from Solona,” Marvel chief Chris van Wijk said. 

The project is located adjacent to telecoms assets and is accessible via sealed roads. 

Hydroelectric power is also present in the region, which the company hopes to connect to in the coming months and years. 

Nearology perspective 

A number of other gold mines are in the region. Yanfolila is 45km north of London Stock Exchange listed Endeavour Mining’s (LSE:EDV) Kalana gold project with a 2Moz resource. 

Thirty five kilometres to the west is another gold mine also called Yanfolila with a 1.8Moz resource operated by Hummingbird Resources (AIM:HUM), listed on LSE submarket Alternative Investment Market (AIM). 

“In addition, we have seen anomalous results at Yanfolila east which is a newly defined target. In all instances, auger drilling has worked well as a rapid and low-cost screening method, giving us confidence in its utility for further discovery,” van Wijk added. 

The state of Marvel's six month charts

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