Gold and Base Metal Project

Mauritania - Gold and Base Metal Project

Alecto Minerals holds three gold and base metal licences located in Chegar (756 sq km), Wad Armour (613 sq km) and Zreibya (459 sq km) in Mauritania, providing the Company with exposure to a highly prospective and emerging mineral district.

The main type of mineralisation targeted by work to date is Iron Oxide Copper Gold (IOCG) style mineralisation. An IOCG deposit is defined by iron oxide rich hosts, regional scale alteration and a close relationship to I or A type granites. They are associated with large pre-existing crustal scale structures, needed to produce the carbonate alteration ground preparation and the plumbing for the mineralising fluids. Mineralising fluids are often magmatic derived, iron rich and sulphur poor leading to the iron oxide rich nature of the ore. The emplacement of the intrusives and mineralisation are broadly contemporaneous with a compressional or transpressional event.

The nearby Guelb Moghrein deposit in the central Mauritanide region is thought to be an example of this style. Mineralisation is hosted as sulphides in Ferro-Magnesian carbonate pods, with copper occurring as chalcopyrite in lenses, veins and disseminations. Outside the main sulphide zone magnetite is prevalent. Magnetite mineralisation accompanies the sulphide mineralisation and is the dominant mineral phase. At Guelb Moghrein the main sulphide zone has a resistant supergene iron-silica cap and an enrichment of copper oxides and gold within an oxide blanket. At Guelb Moghrein as with other IOCG deposits worldwide an early structurally controlled carbonate alteration phase is thought to be an important pre-cursor to mineralisation.

Current Work Programme

The area is under-explored, and in line with this, a four phase exploration programme is underway to advance the licences. Two of the phases have now been completed by leading Consultants SRK Exploration Services. The Board believes the Zreibya and Wad Amour licences have the most potential with highly prospective exploration targets. Having delineated two defined copper anomalies with strike lengths of over 800m and 900m at the Wad Amour licence, the Company is likely to implement a scout drilling programme to improve understanding of the mineralisation at the licence areas.