Superior Mining International was granted exploration rights to explore for Witwatersrand Basin-hosted gold mineralization in the Northern Free-State of South Africa. The company's Mangalisa property is located in the eastern part of the Free State Goldfield, South Africa. The Mangalisa property comprises 180 km2 situated approximately 20 km east of the township of Welkom and less than 10 km north of Harmony Gold's operating Masimong #5 (formerly Erfdeel) gold mine.
The contiguous, highly prospective ground was chosen for its potential to host eastward extensions of the western limb of the Witwatersrand Goldfield in the Welkom District. The lease dimensions contain approximately 18 km of strike and approximately 10 km of down-dip potential.
It is the Central Rand Group succession sitting beneath variable thicknesses of Karoo sediments and Ventersdorp Group lavas with its traditionally bountiful gold-bearing horizons (namely the A, B, Leader and Basal Reefs) that is being targeted in Superior's exploration programs on the Mangalisa property.
After reviewing results from historical exploration, Superior Mining concluded that the Mangalisa property warranted careful exploration to confirm previous work, and to this end drilled a twin of a historical Gencor hole (PG-1) as well as a number of other holes during the company’s 2008-2009 phase 1 diamond drilling program to explore for gold, silver and uranium mineralization. The phase 1 program commenced on August 15, 2008 and was completed on January 8, 2009.
The drilling program led to a significant discovery (see Phase 1 drilling details below), and subsequently Superior Mining executed an agreement with Minco Mineral Holdings (see news release) of Midrand, South Africa, wherein Minco will provide significant financing for Mangalisa. Persuant to the agreement, Minco has the option to acquire 90 percent of Superior's directly controlled shares in Turquoise Moon Trading through its nominee, Goldcorp Incorporated. Turqoise Moon currently holds the exploration rights to the Mangalisa property. Goldcorp has the option to acquire Superior's directly controlled shares in Turquoise Moon by spending US$10 million on the development of the Mangalisa property. Minco made a firm commitment to spend $5 million on the Mangalisa property within 18 months of April 29, 2010.
Second phase drilling was subsequently started in the latter half of the second quarter 2010, with a total of eight holes planned to be drilled, each to a depth of approximately 1,000. This drilling program is a follow-up to the phase 1 drilling program to determine the geological and structural setting of the mineralization.
By mid-June an initial four holes had been piloted by percussion drilling to depths ranging from 330 m to 400 m. Exploratory diamond drilling is under way on two of the four percussion holes with two diamond drills (see news release). Once the target mineralization has been intersected, the pilot holes will be supplemented with a series of deflection holes to produce multiple reef intersections. The positions of the final four holes in the current phase of exploration will be determined once the initial suite of holes has been completed.
Phase 1 Drilling
Each one of these individual “reef” horizons is a significant gold-producing horizon in its own right throughout the Welkom region as a whole. Up to four exploratory phase 1 drill holes with multiple deflections were initially planned on the Mangalisa Property, located where the historical PG-1 drill hole intersected a reef returning 50 g/t gold and 5 kg/t uranium over one metre at a depth of 776 m. When Superior commenced the first phase of diamond drilling it had initially been expected that drilling would be to depths of up to 1,500 m from surface, however target mineralization was intercepted at a depth of about 776 m.
These drilling depths are unusually shallow for the Free State, and as a consequence the typically prolonged, dangerous and costly drilling activities that one normally associates with exploratory drilling in the Witwatersrand was avoided. Similarly, there was no need for more robust equipment to embark upon and complete the typical Witwatersrand “deep drillhole” to depths in the order of over 3,000 m.
A total of seven pre-collar percussion holes plus three water wells were drilled initially (2,394 m drilled). Two of the percussion holes were then deepened by diamond drilling and the PG-1 historical hole, previously drilled in 1988, was re-opened. Further work included the completion of wedging and deflection drilling of seven separate deflection intervals (1,350.6 m drilled by diamond drill).
By using the “wireline” core recovery technique and undertaking the multiple deflections off the primary holes, the geological, structural and reef continuity characteristics in the area were appraised in Superior’s search for a new gold deposit in the region. Samples were collected and analyzed from select intervals from two drill holes, PG-1 and ERF-1, and their respective deflections. Assay results from significant intersections in hole PG-1 are presented below. No other significant intersections were encountered.
Significant Phase 1 Drilling Intersections:
| PG-1/12 | 776.32 - 776.77 (0.45 m) @ 45.8 g/t Au & 3.79 kg/t U (Inc) 776.56 - 776.77 (0.21 m) @ 91.8 g/t Au & 7.24 kg/t U |
| PG-1/13 | 776.13 - 776.45 (0.32 m) @ 51.1 g/t Au & 4.27 kg/t U |
| PG-1: | Re-opened 1998 drill hole (UMT: 35J, X: 3,080,224, Y: 0,011,792, Elevation: 1,395 m AMSL, Direction: 263 degrees, Inclination: 85 degrees) |
| /xx: Deflection number. Deflections 0 to 10 were drilled in 1988. Core was not recovered from Deflection 11. | |
These results represent an important discovery for Superior, highlighting the presence of significant gold and uranium mineralization at much shallower depths than that found in the majority of mines currently operating within the Witwatersrand Basin. The highest gold and uranium grades are contained within a thin, small pebble conglomerate band and the associated carbon seam at its base. This reef has been named the 'Erfenis Reef' and forms part of a reef system that was intersected at a depth of less than 800 m. In comparison, Harmony Gold's operating Masimong gold mine produced 154,034 ounces of gold during the 2009 fiscal year from reefs approximately 2,300 m deep (see Harmony's Masimong operations).
All drilling of the zones of interest was carried out using either NQ wireline or TNW conventional technique diamond core drilling. The majority of samples for assay were taken from TNW size cores, in the form of half-cores that were cut by diamond rock saw. Pre-collar drilling through non-target lava sequences to depths of approximately 300 m was carried out using percussive drilling.
Full quality control QA/QC supervision and protocols were implemented and adhered to by Snowden Mining Industry Consultants P/L of
Historical Exploration
A few holes drilled prior to 1952 led to the view that the area was too low grade and/or too deep to be of interest. Much of the ground was locked away prior to the mineral rights being reverted to the state in 2001.
In about 1985 Anglo American started drilling some 5 to 10 km north of the northern boundary of Masimong 5 and thereafter purchased the mineral rights of certain farms. In 1987, a small private company optioned three blocks of farms located between 10 and 20 km north of the Masimong 5 Mine boundary. A joint venture was established with Gencor, now part of BHP Billiton.
Historical Drill Results
The Mangalisa Project represents one of the last remaining, high potential gold and uranium exploration properties within the Witwatersrand's Welkom Goldfield. The results of Superior's exploration program indicate the potential for the discovery of new gold and uranium mineralized reefs within the area. The reef, as revealed in PG-1, is a classic 'small-pebble, oligomict, carbon-rich and well-sorted conglomerate' reef that is typical of the Free State. The general area remains prospective for other Free State gold reefs deeper in the stratigraphy, such as the 'A', 'B', Leader and Basal Reefs, which have been mined nearby at Harmony's Masimong Gold Mine.
The first hole drilled by Gencor, here referred to as hole PG-1, on the western side of the ground intersected a Witwatersrand reef not previously encountered in the area at 776 m below the surface. The reef was inferred to be an equivalent of the Beatrix reef and had a gold grade of about 50 g/t and a uranium grade of 5 kg/t over one metre.
The same reef was intersected about 2 km to the south, however the grade was significantly lower, possibly due to poor recovery.
A third hole drilled 2 km east of the first hole passed through an area of faulting and therefore failed to intersect the reef.
New Properties
Superior seeks to acquire additional exploration and/or mining properties in South Africa as opportunities arise to do so.
