On 24 May 2024, the Zhaojin Mining Industry Company Limited acquired a 90.52% interest in total in Tietto Mineral Limited as a result of the off-market takeover offer made by Zhaojin Capital (Hong Kong) Limited (an indirectly wholly-owned subsidiary of the Zhaojin Mining) for all of the issued shares in Tietto, not then held by the Zhaojin Mining. The Zhaojin Mining held 6.91% of the issued shares of Tietto before the acquisition. Tietto was an Australian-headquartered gold miner, operating the Abujar Gold Mine.
Tietto (TIE) has an 88% interest in the Abujar Gold Project with its local partners having a two percent interest. The Government of Côte d’Ivoire is entitled to a free-carried 10% interest in the Project on commencement of mining.
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Summary:
The Abujar Deposit is located within a NNE-SSW orientated body of granitoid migmatite and is hosted within in an interpreted regional shear structure. This is then enclosed within two mica granite bodies of similar interpreted orientation which are regionally referred to as granodiorites. The lithologies of Proterozoic age which are present inside the Project include:
- Migmatitic granitoids (Eburnean) associated with syntectonic granites; they can belong to either the metamorphic or the magmatic domain depending on the intensity of melting. They occur in the central portion of the property;
- Metamorphosed rhyolite (Eburnean) of pyroclastic origin. They occur as relics within two mica granites and consist mainly of quartz phenocrysts inside glass. They are found as light coloured banks showing mainly muscovite corresponding most probably to pyroclastic rhyolitic flows;
Schists are divided into two groups:
- Argillic schist: are always weathered with mottled texture and crosscut by quartz veins; and
- Two-mica (+ staurolite and andalusite) schist: - consist of biotite and muscovite with minor andalusite, which is a common mineral of contact metamorphism. This rock occurs at the contact with two-mica granite bodies in the central area of the property.
Two styles of deformation are interpreted to be present within the drill cores at Abujar; these include both ductile deformation and brittle deformation. The gold mineralisation is interpreted to be related to the deformed granodiorite, in shear zones, with sulphides (mainly pyrite and minor chalcopyrite) associated with visible gold. The mineralisation seems to be located within the granodiorite at the boundary between two different intensities of deformation i.e. weakly deformed and highly strained. Alteration is characterised by chlorite, sericite, calcite, secondary quartz and disseminated pyrite. This assemblage is well developed in schistose, foliated rocks with the presence of quartz veins or veinlets.
Deposits within the Abujar Project resemble typical shear zone deposits of the West African granite-greenstone terrane. The Abujar deposit is associated with a major regional shear zone and is developed in granodiorite hosts similar to that which hosts the Pischon & Golikro deposits and the interpreted extension areas in the Gamina deposits to the north (Gamina South and Centre). Mineralisation is potentially spatially related to the emplacement of intrusives and interpreted to be mesothermal in origin. Free gold in quartz vein stockworks and zones of silicification, associated with pyrite and chalcopyrite.
The gold mineralisation is typically found in linear domains with the contacts showing evidence of shearing with free gold frequently observed. Alteration is weak to severe depending on the development of the system. As noted, gold mineralisation is hosted within a continuous shear zone which is traced over 4.5km within Abujar, 1.5km within Pischon and 2.5km within Golikro, however analysis of the drill holes within these deposit indicates that within this low grade shear hosted halo, higher grade lodes occur which are slightly oblique to the strike of the shear. This is interpreted to be typical Riedel ductile shear mineralisation, which is structurally controlled both at a local and regional scale.
Several occurrences of boudin structures are observed within the drill core, and it is hypothesized these structures control mineralisation both regionally and locally. Of particular note are the intersection of near vertical extremely high grade plunging shoots (>5g/t) which can be interpreted within both the Abujar and Pischon Deposit. These can be seen in the long sections of the grade estimates. All lodes have similar southeast-dipping orientations striking 030° and dipping at varying angles of inclination typically between 50 and 75°. These lodes appear to coincide with strong linear geological structures which are offset by several faults and have strike length from 200 metre to up to 1.2km. The lodes range in thickness from 2m to up to 15m, with the thicker zones general occurring where the higher grades occur, which is as expected for the structurally controlled style of mineralisation.
Dimensions
Mineral Resource Estimate is comprised of three areas.
The AG Mineral Resource area extends over a strike length of 8,800m (from 763,500mN – 772,300mN), has a typical width of 90m (from 750,400mE – 752,000mE). It includes the 750m vertical interval from - 450mRL to 300mRL.
The APG Mineral Resource area extends over a strike length of 8,100m (from 756,000mN – 764,100mN), has a typical width of 60m (from 746,100mE – 747,500mE). It includes the 480m vertical interval from - 130mRL to 350mRL.
The South Gamina Area is located to the north of AG for a further 1.2km.
Commodity Production
During the first three months of 2024, the Abujar mine produced 37,111 ounces of gold.
A total of 12.3 million tonnes (ore and waste) was mined during Q1 2024.
| Commodity | Units | 2024 | 2023 |
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Gold
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koz
| .... | .... |
All production numbers are expressed as metal in doré.