Interpretation & Conclusion
The Dabolava region has had a long and productive life as a gold producing area. Mining companies
worked surface concentrations of gold using unsophisticated methods that provided quick financial
returns with a minimum of investment. Activities relating to World War II, the low price of gold in
the 50's and 60's and uncertainties caused by the country's struggle for political independence
discouraged exploration that may have lead to significant discoveries. There is no evidence that
companies active in the Dabolava area used diamond drilling for bedrock exploration.
Mineralization occurs in quartz veins ranging from a few centimeters to a meter in width and
often extends for over a kilometer. Quartz veins and stringers are found in parallel zones some
closely spaced and others tens of meters apart. Gold is accompanied by pyrite-dominated sulphide
assemblages typical of deep-seated hydrothermal gold-quartz veins. Grades, in summary reports on
early to mid 20th century production, range between 10 and 30 g/t gold. Samples from the 'mountain
of gold' ranged from 3.23g/t Au to 45.48 g/t Au and support the reported historic grades.
The metamorphic destruction of vein selvages or chloritic sheared margins indicates that thermal
alteration followed the deformation that generated host shear-zones and the introduced gold-bearing
quartz veins. A strong metamorphic event re-crystallized the host rock but does not appear to have
remobilized gold or associated sulphides.
The effect vein patterns and vein chemistry on gold content have not been evaluated. Strength
of structures and vein chemistry suggest that mineralization should continue at depth. Mineralization
and geological conditions observed in the Dabolava region is similar to the Kolar gold mine in India
where the deposits were mined to 3000m in depth over a period of more than 100 years.
Scars left by old workings represent areas of surface gold concentration with possible bedrock
sources that have never been drill tested. Additional anomalies found by the BRGM identify several
unexplored zones with possible bedrock mineralization. The number of informal workings indicates the
entire region has been prospected but very little of PAMM's permit area has been systematically
explored using modern geochemical or geophysical techniques.
The French mining companies operated with few of the exploration and exploitation tools available
today (plate 3). Low-grade zones previously considered sub-economic might be mined profitably today
using modern methods. Excellent potential exists for finding low grade, bulk-minable surface deposits.
The Company believes that surface gold concentrations suggest bedrock sources and exploration for bedrock
sources offers the best potential for advancing the project.
Copper mineralization identified by the BRGM (verified by samples 178758 and 178759) near Kiranomena
merits evaluation because it could represent a metamorphosed VMS deposit like Broken Hill in Australia.
The region was never systematically explored to define vein locations and controls to mineralization
or geophysical methods used to detect buried vein systems. The Company believes that the areas examined
warrant drilling but that a Stage 1A program of grid geological, geochemical and geophysical surveying is
required to define priority drill sites.
Exploration Potential
A large number of auriferous quartz veins and stringers occur in the Dabolava Project area. The BRGM
demonstrated that additional targets can be generated using simple stream geochemical methods. The region
offers potential for underground development of parallel quartz vein and stringer zones. Several of these
are known and well delineated and it is expected that more can be identified through regional exploration.
Veins can be readily tested with shallow diamond drill holes and detailed geophysical survey might prove
useful in identifying favorable targets within individual veins.
The bulk minable potential was not evaluated by previous operators intent on exploiting high-grade
mineralization with low capital cost operations. Crosscutting horizontal vein systems combine with
sub-vertical sets to present a possibility for stockwork type vein and stringer mineralization. Untested
potential exists for large, low-grade near surface gold deposits amenable to open-pit extraction and
possibly heap leaching.
Geochemical gold anomalies identified by the BRGM present untested potential for bedrock mineralization.
Initial exploration should focus on overburden drilling techniques and possibly mechanized trenching to
delineate diamond drilling targets. Regional stream geochemical surveys should be considered for testing
unexplored parts of the project area. Copper mineralization is known from geochemical anomalies obtained
from the last work program by the BRGM. Magnetic and electromagnetic geophysical surveys may be of value
in identifying anomalies related to base metal mineralization.
Conclusions
The Dabolava region was one of Madagascar's main gold mining centers in the early to mid 20th century
with most of production from surface enriched deposits. Mineralization is controlled by parallel sets
of relatively narrow veins that carry from 10 to 30g/t gold. The gold mineralization predates, but was
not significantly affected by a thermal event that recrystallized the host strata.
Scars from mining operations mark the traces of many productive zones that remain to be tested at
depth. Quartz veining near old workings suggests potential for stockwork style gold mineralization.
BRGM grid geochemical anomalies for copper and gold remain untested and a strong copper anomaly identified
by the BRGM near Kiranomena has VMS potential. A pilot stream sampling program, conducted by the BRGM,
demonstrated the effectiveness of the technique.
PAMM's Dabolava Project area has potential for bulk minable surface gold mineralzation, stockwork
porphyry gold mineralization and VMS mineralization that justifies systematic exploration.
|
