Quest Gold hits new gold system at Omatjete Project

Canadian mineral exploration company Great Quest Gold has intensified exploration work at its Omatjete Project where it recently identified a gold mineralised system.

Giving an update on work at the project, company chief executive and executive chairman Jed Richardson in a statement says Great Quest had also secured an earn-in agreement for an adjacent tenement, expanding its coverage of the newly identified Okondeka Fault Zone by an additional 35 kilometres.

This will unlock significant exploration potential in a rapidly emerging region of Namibia’s Damara Belt.

Richardson, who is also the chief executive and president of Trigon Metals, the company that owns Kombat Mine near Otavi, says significant mineralisation had also been identified adjacent to the Okondeka Fault Zone, which hosts the Kokoseb gold deposit.

“Exploration at the Omatjete Project began with regional soil sampling on a 200m x 200m grid, and this work led to the identification of a significant arsenic anomaly measuring 7km by 5km, with peak values reaching 1.646 ppm.

“Subsequent mapping and rock chip sampling revealed several high-grade gold values, with a peak assay of 9.95 g/t gold in strongly altered, arsenic-rich biotite schist featuring millimetre-scale quartz/sulphide veining,” Richardson says.

The prospect is situated immediately north of the regionally significant Okondeka Fault Zone, which is interpreted to be closely associated with the mineralising event at the Kokoseb gold deposit, he adds.

“Due to the lack of outcrop and the presence of variable alluvial and calcrete cover, the company initiated a maiden reverse circulation drilling programme to test for in-situ gold mineralisation. The drilling targeted specific soil anomalies within the broader Manga area,” Richardson says.

A total of 11 reverse circulation holes were drilled, totalling 1.795 metres of drilling which intersected extensive sulphide mineralisation, primarily composed of pyrrhotite, arsenopyrite and pyrite, hosted within highly altered biotite schists, he adds.

Recognising the strong potential for mineralisation to extend along the Okondeka Fault Zone, Quest Gold, through Belmont Mineral Exploration, entered a binding earn-in agreement to acquire a controlling stake in exclusive prospecting licence (EPL) 4817, which borders the truncated eastern boundary of the Manga prospect.

“Under the current agreement, Belmont can earn an initial 51% interest in the licence-holding company by investing US$400 000 (N$47.6 million) in exploration over a two-year period. Additionally, negotiations are underway to establish a clear pathway towards securing a 80% stake,” says Richardson.

“We are excited about the new acquisition at our Omatjete Project,” says company president and vice president of exploration Andreas Rompel.

“The additional 35km strike along the highly prospective Okondeka Fault Zone adds significantly to the potential of our tenement.

In addition, we are now enabled to extend our known anomalies eastwards into the neighbouring claim with soil sampling and other exploration exercises,” he says.

In the coming months, Great Quest will focus on exploring the Okondeka Fault Zone, extending 35km east of Manga, within tenement, EPL4817.

Planned work includes a high-resolution drone-based magnetic survey, soil sampling, and geological mapping, followed by reverse circulation drilling.

Additionally, detailed geological mapping is planned for the Manga area to enhance the understanding of mineralisation controls.

– email: matthew@namibian.com.na

In an age of information overload, Sunrise is The Namibian’s morning briefing, delivered at 6h00 from Monday to Friday. It offers a curated rundown of the most important stories from the past 24 hours – occasionally with a light, witty touch. It’s an essential way to stay informed. Subscribe and join our newsletter community.