African Queen Mines Commences Field Exploration at Rongo Gold Field Project in Kenya′s Lake Victoria Greenstone Belt
AFRICAN QUEEN MINES LTD. (the 'Company?) is pleased to announce
that it has now commenced its Phase 1 Exploration Program on the Rongo
Gold Field Project in the Kanango gold mining area of the Migori
District of Nyanza Province in Southwest Kenya near Lake Victoria. The
Project is subject to an Earn-In and Joint Venture Agreement (the
'Agreement?) between the Company and Abba Mining Company Limited
('Abba?), pursuant to which the Company may earn up to an 85% interest
in the Project, which is covered by a license encompassing approximately
112 sq. km., by funding prescribed optional stages from exploration
through feasibility. The Agreement and all planned work programs for
Phase 1 have been approved by the Commissioner of Mines and Geology of
the Government of the Republic of Kenya.
The work covering Phase I will include (i) comprehensive rock and soil
sampling, trenching and pitting over the license area; (ii) geological
mapping and evaluation; and (iii) airbourne geophysical studies. The
objective of the Phase 1 Exploration Program is to assess the overall
geologic structure of the License area and the likelihood of a
commercially viable gold deposit within the License area, as well as to
identify discreet drill targets for a Phase 2 core drilling program. The
costs for Phase 1, estimated at up to U.S. $300,000, are being paid by
the Company.
The Project is situated some 380 km. by road from the capital city of
Nairobi and 60 km. N of the border with Tanzania, forming part of the
rich Lake Victoria Greenstone Belt extending from Tanzania and hosting
known world-class gold deposits including African Barrick Gold′s
Bulyanhulu and North Mara Mines, within approximately 100 km. of the
Project, and AngloGold Ashanti′s Geita Mine. The area of the license
covers Archaean age metavolcanics and granites of the Nyanzian System
within which historical records of gold production are known. The area
is situated over the northern contact of the Kinjere Granite with
Nyanzian greenstones. Migori, one of the earliest gold mines in Kenya,
is situated along the southern contact and has a similar geological
setting. Active artisanal mining is presently occurring on the Kamwango
area of the license, which has been prioritised for detailed field study.
Field visits and liaisons with all the relevant local governmental
bodies and responsible persons have now been completed and the detailed
Phase 1 sampling, trenching and pitting program is now underway on the
ground. Supervision and geological mapping and sampling of this area is
being conducted by Remote Exploration Services of Cape Town, S.A.
('RES?) who have been responsible for carrying out most of the preceding
years′ field work for the Company′s projects in Mozambique and Ghana.
Overall project management is being provided to the Company by Senior
Consulting Geologist Pete Siegfried (M.Sc., MAusIMM), a qualified
person, who has approved the contents of this press release.
It is planned to use the trenching and pitting initially for orientation
and sampling of the area presently producing artisanal gold. As much of
the area is covered by a few meters of recent alluvial material,
detailed mapping of the geology has been hampered in the past. It is the
Company′s intent to identify potential gold bearing, quartz veined fault
structures and drill these zones later this year in order to establish
grade, thickness and depth extent of the underlying gold mineralization.
Approval has now been granted by the civil aviation authorities of Kenya
('KCAA?) to commence a detailed airborne geophysical survey and it is
expected that flying will commence prior to month-end. The magnetic
survey is anticipated to highlight areas of structural interest such as
faults and shear zones. Terrascan Airborne GmbH & Co Kg, based in
Germany, has been contracted to carry out the survey on behalf of the
Company and has had extensive experience working in remote parts of
Africa. Terrascan′s geophysicists will be providing the necessary
quality assurance with quality control being provided by Mr. Rainer
Wackerle based in Windhoek, Namibia. Mr. Wackerle for many years oversaw
quality control for the airborne geophysical surveys completed by the
Namibian government through various SYSMIN and related grants.
According to Irwin Olian, CEO of the Company, 'We are very excited to be
commencing our work programs in Kenya. While the Rongo Gold Field is a
highly prospective area on the Lake Victoria Greenstone Belt with
potential to host a major deposit, it has to date been underexplored as
a result of overburden which largely concealed the mineralized zones
below surface. This has created a great opportunity for us to add value
and we are now moving forward with our exploration programs with all due
haste. The Kenyan authorities as well as our JV partner Abba have been
extremely helpful in providing necessary support and cooperation, with
the result that we are already at work on the ground only a few months
following consummation of our underlying agreement.?
About African-Queen
The Company is an exploratory resource company with diversified mineral
properties in Southern and West Africa. It is exploring its properties
in Mozambique, Kenya and Ghana for gold and other metals and it is
exploring its properties in Botswana and Namibia for diamonds. The
Company′s licenses in Botswana and Namibia comprise approximately 9208
sq km of diamond prospects. In Mozambique it has approximately 230 sq km
of gold and other metals licenses under an agreement with another
company. In Kenya it has approximately 112 sq. km. of gold and other
minerals licenses under an agreement with another company. Its
operations in Botswana are carried out through its operating subsidiary,
PAM Botswana (Pty) Ltd.; its operations in Namibia are carried out
through its operating subsidiary PAM Minerals Namibia (Pty) Ltd.; its
operations in Mozambique are carried out through its subsidiary PAM
Mocambique Limitada and its operations in Ghana are carried out through
its subsidiary AQ Ghana Gold Limited. Its operations in Kenya are being
carried out through its operating subsidiary AQ Kenya Gold Limited. The
Company has its executive offices in Vancouver, Canada.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF
AFRICAN QUEEN MINES, LTD.
'Irwin Olian?
Irwin Olian
Chairman & CEO
The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept
responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content of the
information contained herein. The statements made in this press release
may contain certain forward-looking statements that involve a number of
risks and uncertainties. Actual events or results may differ from the
Company′s expectations.
African Queen Mines Ltd.
Irwin Olian, (604) 899-0100
President
and CEO
Fax: (604) 899-0200
tigertail@africanqueenmines.com
or
Carrie
Howes, Corporate Communications
Phone: Düsseldorf - +49 (0) 1722
1234 47
Phone: London - +44 (0) 7780 602 788
carrie@africanqueenmines.com