Mali Field Programme and West Africa Update

Kodal Minerals Plc / Index: AIM / Epic: KOD / Sector: Mining

26 July 2016

Kodal Minerals Plc ('Kodal' or 'the Company')

 

Mali Field Programme and West Africa Update

Kodal Minerals, the mineral exploration and development company, is pleased to provide an update on its ongoing exploration programmes at the Nangalasso Gold Project ('Nangalasso') in Mali, and its other projects in West Africa.  Nangalasso is one of eight highly prospective gold exploration targets and two concession applications on the West African Birimian Greenstone Belt, which were acquired by Kodal in May 2016 in line with its strategy to acquire prospective ground, employ low cost exploration to highlight potential and seek joint venture partners to develop the projects. 

 

Nangalasso Gold Project, Mali

·    Field exploration commenced at Nangalasso with a trenching programme designed to identify priority targets for the next phase of exploration drilling.

·    Excavation and initial geological inspection of first trench (located 100m south of drill hole NNTR002) highlights abundant zones of quartz veining, strong alteration, haematite staining and strong geological structures (please click on the following link to view photos http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/1776F_-2016-7-25.pdf).

·    Sampling of the first trench will be completed in the near term and samples dispatched to the SGS Laboratory in Bamako for analysis.

·    The trenching programme is continuing with a further five trenches to be completed with results expected in August 2016.

·    The trenches are located along strike of previous mineralised intersections including:

·    3m at 7.12g/t gold within 21m at 1.25g/t gold in drill hole NNAC114;

·    1m at 7.8g/t gold in drill hole NNAC021;

·    7m at 4.31g/t gold in trench NNTR002; and

·    areas of artisanal gold mining activity.

 

Korhogo Project, Cote d'Ivoire (100% owned by Kodal)

·    Surface geochemical sampling programme at the 100% owned Korhogo Project, located in northern Cote d'Ivoire is due to commence shortly.

·    Previous wide spaced reconnaissance geochemistry has returned strong anomalous results requiring extension and infill to define targets for potential drill testing.

 

Dabakala Project, Cote d'Ivoire - Joint Venture with Newcrest Mining Limited ("Newcrest")

·    Newcrest is recommencing field work at the project after a break.

·    A field camp has been established and site preparations completed for the auger drilling of the strong gold anomalies.

·    Work is expected to continue for the next two months, with results expected to follow in Q4.

 

Nielle and Tiebissou Projects, Cote d'Ivoire - Joint Venture with Resolute Mining Limited ("Resolute")

·    Resolute is continuing with geochemical sampling at the Nielle and Tiebissou projects,

·    Discussions ongoing with the Government for the granting of the M'Bahaikro licence to allow field work to commence in this area

 

Bernard Aylward, CEO of Kodal Minerals, said: "The area of West Africa we are currently focused on already contains a number of multimillion ounce mining operations and we are looking to add to this total through the development of our portfolio of concessions in Mali and Cote d'Ivoire.  As the increase in corporate activity in the region and a renewed focus by major companies in securing gold projects in West Africa demonstrates, we are not the only ones to recognise the region's potential. 

 

"We believe the recent pick-up in activity in West Africa combined with the increasing interest in the gold sector generally shows we are in the right commodity and the right region at the right time.  Furthermore, the joint ventures we have in place with gold majors Newcrest and Resolute on a number of our concessions validate not only the quality of our ground selection, but also our strategy which is to acquire early stage projects, generate value through exploration, and then look to secure partnerships with major companies.  With this in mind we continue to evaluate additional high quality and high value projects opportunities in Mali and Cote d'Ivoire."

 

This announcement contains inside information.

 

For further information, please visit www.kodalminerals.com or contact the following:

**ENDS**

Kodal Minerals plc Bernard Aylward, CEO	Tel: +61 418 943 345
Allenby Capital Limited, Nominated Adviser Jeremy Porter/Nick Harriss	Tel: 020 3328 5656
SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP, Financial Adviser & Broker John Mackay/Laura Harrison	Tel: 020 3470 0470
St Brides Partners Ltd, Financial PR Lottie Brocklehurst/Megan Dennison	Tel: 020 7236 1177