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Company Statement
Volta Resources Inc. (TSX: VTR) is the result of a merger of two experienced West African explorers, Birim Goldfields Inc. and Goldcrest Resources Ltd. The company is geared to leverage off its accumulated experience to become a leader in identification, acquisition and exploration of gold-rich properties in West Africa. Volta Resources already has an enviable portfolio of 26 properties in Burkina Faso, Ghana and Mali; all three being mining-friendly countries that have proven world-class gold deposits.
The company is currently focussed on completing a NI 43-101 compliant resource at its Kiaka Gold Project in order to fast-track the project toward commencing a pre-feasibilty study in H2 2010. At its Gaoua Copper-Gold Project, Volta has defined a maiden NI43-101 compliant resource which includes over 1 million ounces of gold and 720 million pounds of copper on two of potentially several porphyry deposits located on 35km of strike of a porphyry corridor held by the company.
Volta Resources has the financial strength and flexibility to take advantage of consolidation and acquisition opportunities in West Africa. It has an exceptional team of dedicated professionals operating in the field as well as a highly experienced and respected Management and Board of Directors at the corporate level. Volta Resources Inc. is Canadian-based with its head office in Toronto, Ontario and its operations offices in Accra, Ghana and in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. The Company trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol VTR.
2010 Objectives
- Produce a maiden NI 43-101 resource statement for the Kiaka gold project
- Commence a pre-feasibility study for the Kiaka gold project
- Follow up on the new gold discovery at the Nassara gold prospect within the Gaoua project
- Highlight upside potential at the Gaoua Cu-Au porphyry project through RC drilling
- Advance the understanding of the geological model at the Kampti gold project
- Auger drill test geophysical targets at the Titao gold project
- Continue to rationalize our existing portfolio of quality properties in Burkina Faso, Ghana and Mali
Current Operations
Burkina Faso
Kiaka Gold Project
Location and Background
The Kiaka Project is located in south central Burkina Faso, approximately 120 kilometers southeast of the capital Ouagadougou. The closest town is Gogo, approximately 15km from the provincial capital of Manga.
The Kiaka Project lies at the intersection of the northeast striking Tenkodogo greenstone belt and the regionally significant north striking Markoye Fault, in whose proximity some of the larger gold resources discovered in Burkina Faso so far, have been discovered. These include Iamgold's Essakane deposit (5.1 M oz), High River Gold's Taparko deposit (1.7 M oz), Orezone's Bombore deposit (2.1 M oz) and Etruscan's Youga deposit (1.5 M oz).
The Kiaka Project includes the Kiaka gold deposit acquired from Randgold Resources in October 2009 for a consideration of 20 million shares of Volta Resources and C$4 million payable in 4 tranches at 6 month intervals commencing 6 months after transfer of the Kiaka license to Volta.
The Kiaka exploration permit covers an area of 244 km2, and was guaranteed to Randgold Resources on 17th June 2004 for a period of 3 years by arête No2004/00/083/ MCE/SG/DGMGC. On 13 August 2007 the permit was renewed for the first time for a period of 3 years by the arête No2007/ 07/116/ MCE/SG/DGMGC. The permit will be due for renewal again in June 2010 for another 3 years subject to the reduction of 25% of the present permit area. The license is currently being transferred to a wholly-owned Burkina Faso subsidiary of Volta Resources Inc., Kiaka Gold SARL. A local company (GEP Minerals) owns a 10% interest which is carried to the feasibility stage, whereafter they will participate with Volta assisting GEP to secure project financing.
Volta has commenced an aggressive drilling program comprising >22,000 meters in order to produce a NI43-101 compliant resource that will facilitate fast tracking the project toward a development decision.
Mineralization
The controlling structures are predominantly oriented NE and sub parallel to the geology. Frequent micro folds fabrics, structural measurements and stereographic plots indicated that the target is associated with tight folds system and shearing. The schistosity observed is quite penetrative and affect all the lithologies. Narrow quartz veins are usually intersected. It is interpreted that NS sinsitral shears have caused reactivation of primary NE bedding parallel structures, resulting in dilation zones and subsequent gold mineralization at Kiaka. There is also no particular lithological control to the Kiaka mineralization style, however areas of highest lithological contrast present better host for gold mineralization.
There are four mineralised zones recognized at Kiaka. From NW to SE, these include KHZ, KIZ, KMZ and KFZ. The KMZ provides the largest target for resource ounces as it attains widths in excess of 200m in places and averages over 130m over the strike extent drilled to date.
Gold mineralization at Kiaka is low grade, associated with broad alteration system (silica-biotite-chlorite), and pyrrhotite (85%), fine pyrite (9%), and arsenopyrite (4%), with no real correlation between gold grade and percentage of sulphides. These sulphides can be disseminated or following the fabrics. Petrographic studies found gold mainly in inclusion in metamorphic minerals (hornblende, biotite, etc) suggesting that the gold mineralization event have been originally introduced either pre-metamorphic or during the early stages of the main metamorphic event with subsequent remobilization during a shearing event. It appears that the higher grade zones can be defined within the broad low grade halo and these can be correlated with retrograde metamorphic assemblages.
Gaoua Copper-Gold Project
Location and Background
The Gaoua project covers 691.5 km² within the prolific Boromo greenstone belt, an early Proterozoic Birimian sequence of the West African Craton.
The project includes the 100%-owned, contiguous Malba, Souhouera and Danyoro permits, which hosts numerous copper-gold and gold prospects previously identified by historical aid programs. These permits cover about 35km in strike length of the prospective structural corridor that hosts most known copper-gold and gold occurrences. The three permits lie approximately 70 km northeast of Volta's Kampti permit.
An expert review (by Dr. Richard Sillitoe) of the historical exploration data, along with core and data produced during current exploration efforts, confirm classic porphyry-style copper and gold mineralization.
An abundance of artisanal workings, extensive copper soil anomalies, coincident gold stream sediment anomalies, high magnetic susceptibility targets and induced polarization (IP) conductors suggest potential extensions of the current copper-gold mineralization. The Gaoua project make up a highly prospective porphyry copper-gold terrain that, until recently had not been explored using modern methods.
The region has established infrastructure including highways, plentiful water sources nearby, good power and telecommunication networks, and has historically been a major artisanal gold producing area of Burkina Faso.
Geology and Mineralization
The major geological units strike north-south. They include basaltic and andesitic rocks, together with volcanoclastic units and chemical sedimentary rocks (chert and quartzite). These units are intruded by diorite and dioritic breccia units.
Within the Malba and Souhouera Permits, there is a central structural corridor that hosts most known copper-gold and gold occurrences. Among those identified to date include the main prospects of Gongondy, Dienemera and Mt. Biri. These prospects contain mineralization hosted in various phases of the dioritic intrusive units.
The mineralization at all three of the drilled prospects is associated with a hydrothermal breccia that is largely hosted by diorite porphyry intrusions, though it locally extends into the adjacent volcanic tuffs and lavas. The Cu-Au mineralization is however usually confined to the dioritic porphyry dominated area. The mineralized breccia is characterized by small clasts and by the presence of centimetric clots of cementing minerals that approximate a triangular form. The hydrothermal cement is composed of quartz, K-feldspar, epidote, chalcopyrite, pyrite, calcite and anhydrite. Open cavities occur in core recovered from above the sulphate front, thereunder anhydrite is an important late cementing mineral. Most of the breccia-hosted mineralization consists of hypogene chalcopyrite with which gold values appear to be closely correlated.
Important isolated gold highs which are not immediately associated with the copper mineralization are frequently observed in the drill holes (see further). This gold mineralization appears to be related to mineralized veins which may post-date the Cu-Au sulphide mineralization phase.
Nassara Gold Prospect
Location and Background
The Nassara Gold Project is located within southern Burkina Faso, close to the borders of Ghana to the west and Cote d'Ivoire to the south. The closest town is the provincial capital of Gaoua. The Nassara Gold Project is located in the southwestern corner of the Gaoua Project area which comprises three licenses (Permis de Recherche), including Malba, Souhouera and Danyoro, for a total of 691.20 km2. All three licenses are held by a wholly-owned Burkina Faso subsidiary of Volta Resources Inc., Gaoua Minerals SARL.
The southern Boromo Belt is also delivering stellar exploration success to Volta's neighbours to the Gaoua Project, namely ASX listed Ampella Mining Ltd at their Batie West Project and Mali Gold's Diouloumba Project. Persistently excellent drilling results from Ampella's Konkera prospect and a major artisanal gold rush to the Tionor site, point to this region evolving as another major gold camp for the Birimian in West Africa. Volta has identified two similar prospects on extensions and structures parallel to those being pursued by Ampella, namely the Nassara and Gomblora gold prospects.
Mineralization
A combination of mapping, airborne geophysics and stream/soil geochemistry has identified a number of gold anomalies located on N to NNW trending structures on the Gaoua Project. These are more akin to the typical shear zone hosted gold deposits that are well known in West Africa. Mineralization occurs along regionally extensive shear zones where local jogs and cross-cutting structures has resulted in local dilational settings which have resulted in well mineralized plunging gold ore shoots associated with extensive deformation and alteration. Volta has discovered this style of mineralization at Nassara and Gomblora and is actively following these targets up.
Kampti Gold Project
Location and Background
The Kampti property is located in southernmost Burkina Faso, close to the border with Ivory Coast. The project consists of one single permit (Kampti III), covering about 250km² and wholly-owned by Volta Resources. The project is characterized by a 22km-long and 4km-wide corridor, defined by several geochemical (BLEG and soil) anomalies and by geological mapping, trending NNW through the centre of the entire permit.
Geology and Mineralization
The Kampti property lies within the Houndé Greenstone Belt, one of a number of generally north-south Paleoproterozoic greenstone belts in western Burkina Faso. The Kampti III Permit is comprised of andesitic and dacitic volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks interbedded with fine-grained clastic and chemical (quartzite and chert) sediments. These supracrustal rocks have been intruded by mafic and granitic stocks. A diorite intrusion, about 8 km long and up to 2 km wide has intruded in the Maména-Fofora area, in the northernmost part of the permit. These rock units strike generally north-south and have steep dips.
A number of areas of mineralization have been identified within the Kampti III Permit. Most of the mineralization is present in high grade quartz vein structures. The main area of mineralization is located in the Maména-Fofora area where up until recently, it was estimated that over 15,000 artisanal miners were working. These artisanal miners are recovering gold from narrow quartz veins utilizing rudimentary techniques.
Two periods of veining are recognized in the Maména-Fofora area (Dr. I. Basson, 2007). An earlier vein set strikes at about 190º and dips westerly at 63º. These veins tend to cut the dominant foliation. Generally, these veins are not mined by the artisanal miners. Basson (2007) concluded that these veins were intruded prior to or during D1 deformation. Typically, these veins are unmineralized or too low grade to be of interest to artisanal miners.
The second set of veins strike at about 330º and dip steeply east. These veins are usually brecciated and contain vugs that may contain manganese oxide and/or sulphides. Basson (2007) considered that these brecciated veins were intruded during a period of extension and are considered to be contemporaneous with the intrusion of alkali leucogranite. These later veins are of interest to the artisanal miners; they are accompanied by kaolinization, sericitization, silicification and oxidation. The dominant host rocks for these mineralized veins are andesite and basalt.
The relation of narrow, high grade veins within a lower grade envelope appears to be reflected in the drilling results tabulated below.
Ghana
Location and Background
The Cluster Property is located 30km north of Wenchi in the Brong Ahafo region of Ghana. Cluster is a successor Prospecting License from the regional Bui Reconnaissance License. Its name derives from its multiple gold-anomalous prospects (namely Awisa, Chert Ridge, Brumo, Kwakasiem and Muramurra Prospects).
Geology and Mineralisation
The Property is situated in a Lower Birimian sequence of isoclinally-folded phyllites, wackes and volcaniclastics, with the occasional volcanic unit. Structural corridors exhibiting multiple reactivation and alteration have exploited the collective rheological contrasts between lithological sequences. These corridors have undergone intense silicification which now manifest as extensive, elongated "chert"-like lenses with noticeable and associated positive relief. The crustal-scale corridors have channelled and focused auriferous fluids and as they are zones of crustal weakness they have been exploited by felsic intrusives.
All mineralisation is structurally controlled and is associated with intense silica and carbonate alteration and associated sulphide (pyrite and arsenopyrite).
Exploration Strategy
The aim is to develop the Chert Ridge drill prospect and the other anomalous areas into measured resources. Work achieved to date has included:
Airborne geophysical, landsat, aerial photo interpretations combined with groundtruthing defined a prospective regional structure.
Regional stream sediment sampling defined anomalous drainages from this structure.
Four areas were investigated geochemically with reconnaissance soil-sampling using soil net technology (300m x 300m grid). Four areas received detailed soil gridding (200/500m x 50/25m). This work has delineated a number of drill targets.
Trenching has revealed the structural-stratigraphic setting at one of the drill targets (Chert Ridge).
Geological and regolith mapping defined the geological setting of the gold-in-soil anomalies and facilitated the development of a likely mineralization model. An Induced Polarisation (I.P.) survey at Chert Ridge.
A number of phases of RC and DD scout drilling have been conducted at the Chert Ridge Prospect which have progressively defined an open-ended and continuous gold-mineralized structure exceeding 2,200 meters in strike. Two potentially economic shallow-plunging high-grade zones with a cumulative strike of 720m have been defined within this overall strike.
The objective now is to extend the mineralized structure within the 16km-long portion of the Chert Ridge geophysical trend that is under license and to follow the shoots down plunge and to identify additional high-grade zones of mineralisation.
In the near- to medium-term, Birim needs to investigate and potentially develop the Awisa, Brumo and Kwakasiem Prospects to the same level as the Chert Ridge Prospect.
Tinga - Far East Resource
Location and Background
The Tinga Prospecting License is located near the village of Tinga, which is south of the town of Bole in northern Ghana. The concession is enjoying the recent and ongoing infrastructural upgrades (power; telephones; roads) that are occurring along the regional Bamboi-Bole link road, which bypasses the concession.
The Tinga Property was acquired from Semafo Inc. in June 2005. The 43.8-sq.km concession is host to the Far East gold deposit, which at the time Semafo had estimated contained 1,334,300 tonnes of indicated resources at 3.31 g/t for 142,000 ounces gold (pre-dated NI 43-101).
Geology and Mineralization
Geologically the concession is situated over Dixcove granites,which have intruded into the sedimentary Maluwe Basin which is north-adjacent to the Bui Belt.
The tenement is located over a circular dioritic (granite) intrusion known as the Tinga Intrusive, which has intruded through the metasediments of the Maluwe Basin. The intrusion is concentrically and compositionally layered. Large-scale, NE-SW shear zones have exploited the compositional layering and created elongated zones of dilation which host gold mineralization.
Exploration Strategy
Volta believes that the Tinga Property has the potential to support a 500,000-1 million ounce gold camp. The aim has been to expand the Far East resource down dip and along strike and to explore the other geochemical anomalies on the Tinga Property for satellite deposits.
Work achieved to date:
- Tinga has been adequately soil sampled to define the regional gold anomalies.
- A geology and regolith map has been made for the property.
Induced Polarisation (I.P.) and pole-dipole surveys have been conducted over all of the current prospects. - The Far East gold deposit resource base has been increased by 62.2% and the deposit remains open along strike and to depth.
- Satellite gold anomalies to Far East have been investigated with 18 scout drill holes and further drilling is warranted.
Geographical Spread
Accra, Ghana and Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
Board of Directors and Key Management
| Denis Simoneau | Chairman, Director |
| Kevin Bullock | President & CEO and Director |
| Victor King | Chief Operations Officer and Director |
| Alan Rootenberg | Chief Financial Officer & Secretary |
| Guy Franceschi | Vice President Exploration |
| Dylan Pillay | Controller |
| Rob Whittall | Director |
| Gordon J. Bogden | Director |
| Lew Lawrick | Director |
| Bob Francis | Director |
| Raphaël Goama Zoungrana | Country Manager, Burkina Faso |
Company AddressSuite 602 - 67 Yonge Street
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Additional Address/Key ContactGHANA OFFICE |
CapitalShares Outstanding; 98,541,887
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Annual General MeetingAugust | Year EndMarch 31st |
Related News
17/06/10 - The Remarkable Transformation Of Volta Resources22/04/10 - Volta Resources Closes In On A Maiden 43-101 Resource On The Kiaka Gold Deposit In Burkina Faso
20/01/10 - Volta’s Share Price Has Doubled In The Past Month, As Drilling At The Kiaka Gold Project In Burkina Faso Has Come Up Trumps
09/09/09 - Volta Resources Acquires Randgold’s 2.65 Million Ounce Kiaka Project For C$7 Million In Cash And Shares
30/07/09 - Volta Resources Bangs Its Head Up Against Ghanaian Bureaucracy, But It’s Full Steam Ahead In Burkina Faso
30/06/09 - Volta Resources Is Starting To Get A Good Handle On The Geology Down On Its Burkina Faso Projects
Most Recent Statement
16/07/10 - Volta Resources Announces Filing of Final Short Form Prospectus and the Kiaka NI 43-101 Report29/06/10 - Volta Announces Maiden NI 43-101 Compliant Resource for its Kiaka Gold Project
22/06/10 - Volta Completes Its In-fill and Extension Drilling Program at Its Kiaka Gold Project
17/06/10 - Volta Commences Drilling Program to Follow-Up High-Grade Gold Targets at its Nassara Prospect, Gaoua Project, in Burkina Faso
11/06/10 - Volta Receives Proceeds of $3,291,928 from the Exercise of Warrants Held By International Finance Corporation (Member of the World Bank Group) and Randgold Resources
10/06/10 - Volta Extends Gold Mineralization Further South at its Kiaka Gold Project