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Tulu Kapi - Tulu Kapi-Ankore Licence Area
Tulu Kapi is the most advanced of Nyota's gold prospect and the Company recently announced a maiden Inferred resource of 690,000 ounces of gold. Tulu Kapi was mined on a small scale by an Italian company in the 1930s, following which it was later explored by the UN in the 1970s and by Tan Range Exploration in the 1990s. Following a re-interpretation of the structural controls of mineralisation in 2006, a phased drill programme comprising 34 diamond drill holes was completed. Resource modelling and grade estimation has been completed to JORC standards by independent resource consultants Hellman & Schofield. Mineralisation comprises a series of gently dipping gold bearing lode structures demonstrating reasonable continuity. The drill programme and maiden resource covers an area of approximately 600m by 300m occupying a central position within the much larger Tulu Kapi mineralised zone which has been delineated based on gold in soil geochemical survey results and visible evidence of outcropping quartz veins, stockworks and albite alteration.
Nyota has scheduled for reverse circulation and diamond drilling to be completed to upgrade the maiden Inferred resource to an indicated category and to intersect extensions to the Tulu Kapi target to generate additional Inferred resources. The programme is considered a low risk exercise on the basis that soil geochemical anomalies of the same order of magnitude as that coincident with the first 600m of the target that has been drilled extend a further 600m south beyond the current limit of the recent drill programme. In addition, the up dip extensions of gold bearing lodes intersected in drilling have yet to be intersected and the dip direction of these lodes indicates the likely presence of further mineralisation east of the current grid limits.
Other more regional targets have been identified within the Tulu Kapi–Ankore licence including a continuous exposure of quartz veins and quartz float oriented in the same general direction as Tulu Kapi culminating in a former small-scale gold mine operated by an Italian company in the early 1930s.
View of western section of Tulu Kapi Prospect showing drill access roads
Example of Tulu Kapi drill cross sectio
The Tulu Kapi Exploration Licence comprises an area of approximately 20 square kilometres centred on the old Tulu Kapi gold mine. Tulu Kapi is 9km south of Keley, a small village on the main Gimbi to Dembi Dolo road, 500km west of Addis Ababa. There is abundant water in the region, and good road access and a high power transmission at Keley. The area is surrounded by the Yubdo Exploration Licence Area.
Work done by the UNDP in the 1970s demonstrated anomalous gold grades continue for 1.2km along the shear structure, but Minerva, the previous owner – manager of the Project focussed on only the first 600m section that is oriented northwest-southeast. Thirty four drill holes delineated two dominant hydrothermally altered zones that dip to the southwest. The upper zone which outcrops at surface is over 20m thick, and the lower, higher grade zone is over 10m thick. The scheduled new drill programme will test the grade, depth and strike continuity of these altered mineralised zones as well as other targets that have been identified within close proximity to the main Tulu Kapi mineralisation..
| Tulu Kapi – Significant Down Hole Intersections (at 0.5 g/t cut off) | |||||
| Hole Number | Hole dip | From (m) | To (m) | Length (m) | Au (g/t) |
| TKBH 01 | -60 | 10.8 | 19.8 | 9 | 2.3 |
| TKBH 02 | -60 | 13.4 | 13.8 | 0.4 | 14.2 |
| 137.8 | 143.5 | 5.7 | 2.9 | ||
| 152.4 | 153.4 | 1 | 9.6 | ||
| TKBH 03 | -60 | 66.8 | 67.6 | 0.8 | 3.6 |
| 71.8 | 72.3 | 0.5 | 3.1 | ||
| 82.8 | 83.1 | 0.3 | 3.8 | ||
| TKBH 04 | -50 | 46.9 | 83.8 | 36.9 | 4.7 |
| 134.7 | 135.7 | 1 | 14.2 | ||
| TKBH 05 | -50 | 36.7 | 41.9 | 5.2 | 2.7 |
| 71.8 | 75.7 | 3.9 | 2.9 | ||
| TKBH 06 | -50 | 150.1 | 154.6 | 4.5 | 7.1 |
| TKBH 07 | -50 | 59.2 | 62.3 | 3.1 | 4.2 |
| 112.2 | 117.1 | 5 | 2.9 | ||
| 157 | 157.6 | 0.6 | 13.8 | ||
| TKBH 08 | -50 | 64.9 | 80.6 | 15.7 | 2.5 |
| 87.8 | 98.8 | 11 | 1.9 | ||
| 107.8 | 110 | 2.2 | 10.5 | ||
| 221.5 | 227 | 5.5 | 4.9 | ||
| TKBH 09 | -70 | 118.5 | 119.9 | 1.4 | 6.2 |
| TKBH 10 | -51 | 31 | 48.7 | 17.7 | 5.2 |
| 63.8 | 75.2 | 11.4 | 1.9 | ||
| 202 | 203.8 | 1.8 | 12.2 | ||
| TKBH 11 | -50 | 16 | 32 | 16 | 1.6 |
| 55 | 56.1 | 1.1 | 17.5 | ||
| TKBH 12 | -50 | 0.5 | 19 | 18.5 | 4.4 |
| 56.6 | 68.4 | 11.8 | 4.6 | ||
| TKBH 13 | -50 | 53.6 | 57.7 | 4.1 | 2.2 |
| TKBH 14 | -47 | 59 | 63 | 4 | 10.2 |
| 94.8 | 98.2 | 3.4 | 3.5 | ||
| 161.9 | 164.6 | 2.7 | 7.4 | ||
| TKBH 16 | -50 | 103.5 | 104.5 | 1 | 3.1 |
| TKBH 17 | -50 | 4 | 6.2 | 2.2 | 3.9 |
| 137 | 140 | 3 | 4.9 | ||
| TKBH 18 | -50 | 39 | 45 | 6 | 3.9 |
| TKBH 19 | -50 | 89.6 | 90.9 | 1.3 | 9.8 |
| TKBH 20 | -50 | 52 | 55 | 3 | 2.6 |
| 58.3 | 65 | 6.7 | 3.3 | ||
| 94.1 | 101.9 | 7.7 | 1.8 | ||
| 201 | 205 | 4 | 11.1 | ||
| 245 | 247 | 2 | 5 | ||
| TKBH 21 | -50 | 16 | 31.3 | 15.3 | 7.3 |
| TKBH 22 | -50 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 1.6 |
| 110 | 119 | 9 | 2.1 | ||
| 188.4 | 191.3 | 2.9 | 15.23 | ||
| TKBH 26 | -50 | 4.9 | 11.3 | 6.4 | 1.5 |
| 57.7 | 62.9 | 5.2 | 1.5 | ||
| 105.6 | 108 | 2.4 | 4.5 | ||
| 161 | 167.6 | 6.6 | 4.9 | ||
| 172 | 173 | 1 | 14.4 | ||
| 194.7 | 197.4 | 2.7 | 4.3 | ||
| 212 | 222.1 | 10.1 | 4.1 | ||
| 226 | 231.7 | 5.7 | 10 | ||
| TKBH 29 | -50 | 9.7 | 14 | 4.3 | 20 |
| 32.1 | 35.5 | 3.4 | 3.7 | ||
| 51.4 | 55.9 | 4.5 | 3.1 | ||
| TKBH 31 | -50 | 8 | 19.9 | 11.9 | 1.3 |
| 179 | 182.2 | 3.2 | 6.9 | ||
| TKBH 33 | -50 | 52.3 | 55.4 | 3.2 | 2.9 |
| 192.7 | 196.1 | 3.4 | 3.9 | ||
| 207 | 209.6 | 2.6 | 21.2 | ||
Following the recent acquisition of Minerva Resources Limited, Nyota has rapidly moved to convert historical exploration drilling results to a JORC compliant resource.
Resource modelling and grade estimation of the Tulu Kapi gold Project located in western Ethiopia has been completed to JORC standards by independent resource consultants Hellman & Schofield. Estimation was based on all verifiable data collated from two drilling campaigns comprising 34 diamond drill holes.
| Cut-off | Tonnes | Grade | Gold |
| (g/t Au) | (Mt) | (g/t au) | (oz Au) |
| 0.5 | 13.15 | 1.59 | 690,000 |
| 1 | 6.58 | 2.46 | 530,000 |
| 1.5 | 3.94 | 3.30 | 430,000 |
All assay results were generated by certified laboratories. Drilling, sampling, chain of custody procedures and data collection and storage have all been independently verified.
The maiden resource has been generated within the central Zone of Tulu Kapi over a strike length of only 500 metres and over a width of 400 metres. Drill traverses were spaced at approximately 80 metre intervals and individual drill holes were sited at 80 metre spacings along each traverse. Drill holes were inclined at an average angle of 50 degrees in an easterly direction to achieve a notional intersection perpendicular to the assumed dip of mineralisation.
Guji, Gudeya Guji and Dina - Yubdo Exploration Licence Area
Three priority targets have been identified within the Yubdo Exploration Licence: Guji, Gudeya Guji and Dina. [In addition, reconnaissance exploration has identified a number of other target areas within the Yubdo Exploration Licence. The majority of these targets have been identified by soil geochemical surveys with varying degrees of follow up ranging from trenching to drilling. In the majority of cases, exploration has demonstrated potentially economic gold grades and widths warranting more detailed exploration.] Recent completion of ground geophysical surveys across the Guji Prospect have been sufficiently encouraging to suggest that this particular target is drill ready and may be scheduled in the current drilling campaign to start at the end of the rainy season.
Yubdo Exploration Licence; Geology
Guji is the most promising of the targets in the Yubdo Exploration Licence, with an indicated strike length of 1,200m supported by a coincident gold in soil geochemical anomaly and both a trench intersection returning a grade of 9.6g/t Au over 68.5m and a borehole intersection returning a cumulative grade of 3g/t Au over 17m. Nyota has commenced exploration and has completed geophysical surveys over the 1,200m strike length which has defined a linear structure expected to be coincident with mineralisation previously intersected during a scout drilling programme.
Guji Prospect Gold in soil geochemical anomaly
At Gudeya Guji surface mapping has identified an outcropping quartz vein extending 120m. Peak rock chip sample grades achieved include 8.7g/t Au. Peak trench intersections over the same vein outcrop returned a value of 2.8g/t Au over 6.0m. Three scout drill holes intersected two quartz veins over a strike length of 200m.
Photo: Visible gold in quartz vein drill core
Nyota has a team of 4 Ethiopian geologists and 2 British geologist and is building a portfolio of assets at various stages of evaluation. Systematic reconnaissance and follow-up exploration is carried out on the licence areas. In addition to the Guji prospect area, the Dina, Chago and Keley targets are subject to follow-up investigation within the Yubdo Exploration Licence area.