Please enjoy this quick discussion of a satellite image of the Waayrah prospect at the Abu Marawat Concession owned by Aton Resources (TSX.V:AAN). This image was included in a news release issued by the company in June and it shows many interesting features, which I discuss with Mr. Tim Neall, Project Geologist, in the following interview.
Peter Bell: Let's talk briefly about this picture from the news release about Waayrah. This picture is a satellite image of the area. To start with the appearance of the rock, this area is looks like volcanics.
Tim Neall: Yes. On the left-hand side of the photograph, it's a thick pile of andesite tuffs, that's like volcanic ash, cut by andesite intrusions. When you get into the mineralized horizon, it gets more complex. You've still got the tuffs, but now they are associated with coarse tuff breccias, areas of intense alteration and possibly hydrothermal breccias.
You can see some light brown zones running from the southeast up to the top center, they are marked with red lines on the map. Those red lines represent what we call carbonate dykes. We're not exactly 100 percent sure about what they represent. They're very abundant in this area, but they're completely unmineralized here. We think they're related to some tectonic activity and possibly dissolution and migration of the ophiolites. They're basically leaching magnesium and calcium out of the ophiolites, they’re composed of iron-bearing dolomite. They're all over the place, and they shed pink fragments when they weather, which is why you get the scree slopes covered in pink material in the photograph. The dikes themselves are quite narrow.
Peter Bell: These ophiolites sound very interesting. I believe they are related to continental crust margins and are particularly important for the presence of gold. Exciting to be hearing mention of that here. The grades in some of these gold samples and the geological model there with the enrichment and the mass wastage really concentrating the gold. Very exciting area.
Tim Neall: Notice that there are 3 mineralized horizons. We're not sure the eastern one is actually a VMS horizon. It appears to be a structural zone, a fairly steep shear zone. The other 2 are more interesting, particularly the western one on the left side of the photo. It is clearly a VMS horizon. The central one we're not sure about as its outcrop is poor, partly hidden under scree and talus from the workings on the western zone. I think the best thing is to concentrate on these VMS horizons, particularly the western one. The better gold grades are associated with the VMS horizons.
Peter Bell: And this is an area where you've used satellite imagery again to identify targets.
Tim Neall: Yes, we identified it from satellite imagery.
Peter Bell: Is this photo one of the images that you would have been looking at?
Tim Neall: Yes, that would have been one of them. This one's actually from Google Earth.
Peter Bell: Wow.
Tim Neall: There were also spectral anomalies associated with them from the Landsat-ASTER study. It was a combination of the spectral anomalies and looking at the imagery and seeing the pits and the modern workings that drew us into this area.
Peter Bell: Good to hear. It's an interesting area, quite far from other areas you've been working at. It is almost on the boundary of the Concession.
Tim Neall: Yes it is, but it's worth mentioning that we've got similar VMS style mineralization elsewhere on the Concession. Some of these other targets are not classic VMS, and we know we've got some VMS-hybrid mineralization over at Hamama but we haven't actually seen this type of mineralization anywhere else in the area. At Waayrah, we went out, discovered the ancient pits and found a new style of mineralization in a different part of the license area.
Then, we looked more closely at the Miranda area. We started to appreciate the difference between the IOCG mineralization that we were seeing at Miranda Southwest and what we saw at Miranda Southeast. It is a completely different style of mineralization at Miranda Southeast, it is actually VMS-style mineralization there. When we looked at the spectral imaging, we can see a stratigraphic trend between Waayrah and Miranda Southeast. What we're seeing is potentially a stratigraphic VMS corridor between Waayrah and Miranda Southeast, which is a completely new concept that we've developed within the last few months.
Peter Bell: Thanks. I see that VMS trend marked on the map of the Concession. I see that there is something similar at Hamama, as well.
Tim Neall: Yes, there is an indication that a VMS trend runs through Hamama. That stratigraphic trend could be a different VMS belt from the one that runs between Waayrah and Miranda.
Peter Bell: In terms of deposit type, are all three instances of VMS?
Tim Neall: Waayrah looks like a classic VMS, whereas Hamama is more of a hybrid epithermal-VMS type rather than a classic one. From a preliminary look at Miranda Southeast, it looks more like Hamama. With this VMS mineralization it is important that they are located in the same stratigraphic sequence that runs between Waayrah and Miranda Southeast.
Peter Bell: Thank you for reminding me about Hamama as a hybrid epithermal VMS. I had heard that before but had forgotten.
Tim Neall: We knew that there was VMS style mineralization at Hamama, but we hadn't appreciated that there was any VMS potential anywhere else within the license area until the guys went out and found this thing.
Peter Bell: Great, thank you Tim.
Please note that I have been compensated to prepare and distribute this promotional material.
This document contains statements that are forward looking statements and are subject to various risks and uncertainties concerning the specific factors disclosed under the heading “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in the Company’s periodic filings with Canadian securities regulators. Such information contained herein represents management’s best judgment as of the date hereof based on information currently available. The Company does not assume the obligation to update any forward-looking statement.
