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MINING | Compass Gold
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COMPASS GOLD On course for gold discovery in Mali
MINING | Compass Gold
Compass Gold Corporation was formed in late 2017 through its acquisition of five gold exploration permits in Mali, located within the highly prospective Sikasso region, which contains several multimillion ounce gold projects. The TSXV-listed company is led by a group of exploration and mining veterans with over 30 years of experience working in Mali, and is tightly owned by the management team along with another 30+ shareholders who collectively control almost 80% of Compass Gold. Not long after securing the five concessions at the Sikasso Property, the company raised $6 million through a private placement and immediately launched its first exploration drilling campaign in December 2017.
Rooted in Mali’s gold sector
Those individuals delivered hugely successful
The leadership of Compass Gold has been
returns for IAMGOLD through the discovery
involved in the Malian exploration sector
of the large scale Sadiola Gold mine, which
since 1989, when several members of the
remains in operation to this day as part of
management team and board of directors
a joint venture agreement with AngloGold
were part of the formation of IAMGOLD
Ashanti.
Corporation - including president and CEO Larry Phillips, who co-founded IAMGOLD.
Another key member of Compass Gold’s leadership team, Dr Madani Diallo, was the general manager of AngloGold’s
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Mali operations, adding another layer of
“He has had a hand in some of the largest
experience to Compass Gold’s advantage in
deposits that have ever been discovered in
the West African country.
Mali and has corporate experience through the AngloGold years too. Dr Diallo brings not
“Dr Diallo has also worked extensively with
only technical expertise to Compass Gold,
the Mali Chamber of Mines, and in that
but a good reputation with the government,
context he had access to and participated
technical service providers and other
in almost all of the regional work on gold
important subcontractors in-country.”
exploration in Mali,” says Phillips.
MINING | Compass Gold
“We’re an all-Malian exploration group. We don’t need to be sending expats into the country, so that gives us continuity, tremendous local knowledge technically and a great set of relationships that our team has built in-country for the last 20 years” Larry Phillips, president, CEO and director of Compass Gold
Resource Global Network As the company’s head of exploration, Dr Diallo has also assembled a first-class technical team to drive the exploration campaigns at the Sikasso Property, taking two senior geologists from the Sadiola mine who had been working with the IAMGOLDAngloGold JV for nearly 10 years. “We’re an all-Malian exploration group. We don’t need to be sending expats into the country, so that gives us continuity, tremendous local knowledge technically and a great set of relationships that our team has built in-country over the last 20 years.” During this period, the basic structure of Mali’s mining legislation, including its tax regime and investment benefits, has remained largely the same. This legislative stability has proven to be an attractive proposition for several high-profile investors, including B2 Gold, Resolute Mining and Hummingbird Resources, all of whom have recently commenced production at new gold mines. These new operations contributed to a 23% increase in gold production to 60.8 tonnes in 2018, which helped Mali enter the top tier of Africa’s gold producers, behind only Ghana and South Africa last year.
Diving into exploration After securing the Sissako exploration permits, Compass Gold wasted no time heading to the market in order to raise funds for exploration. The plan was to raise enough to fund the first year of exploration, and this was achieved through a single $6 million
MINING | Compass Gold “We made an extraordinary amount of progress in the first year and were able to significantly narrow down our targets for the next phase of drilling. Regardless of the amount of money available, I don’t think this could have been achieved by another group that was not on the ground and ready to go with all the contacts in place.” Just one month after completing its phase 1 exploration programme, Compass Gold embarked upon phase 2 in December 2018, which involved a first ever bedrock drilling campaign at the Sikasso permits. Thanks to the identification of drilling targets Larry Phillips, President, CEO and director of Compass Gold
at Farabakoura in the phase 1 programme, the company was able to take a selective approach across the large mineralised zone throughout phase 2. Despite drilling minimal
private placement. This allowed the company
metres in the campaign, the results revealed
to begin its phase 1 exploration programme
broad mineralisation that was enhanced by
in December 2017.
several high grade intercepts.
“We were able to lay out a plan for the year
“We had 60 metre intercepts which averaged
with the money in hand and moved very
1.42 g/t of gold. This is the kind of broad,
aggressively in terms of assembling the right
open pit-able, near surface grades that are
equipment and people. That was where
exactly what we were looking for in our
having the local people and relationships
search for a deposit here in Mali. And, within
played a big part,” notes Phillips.
that same initial zone, we had an intercept of 80 metres at 20.69 g/t, which is extremely
During the campaign, Compass Gold
high grade, especially for an open pit mine.
completed nearly 4,000 metres of auger drilling covering an area of almost 1,000
“The combination of broad mineralisation
km², which identified wide mineralised zones
in the right type of geology, as well as the
and intercepted significant gold grades in
indication that there may be these sweetener
several areas. Most notably, the programme
zones, in terms of high grade structures,
identified 19 bedrock drilling targets within
make it very exciting and that’s where we are
the Oussada and Farabakoura permits.
focusing our next drilling programme.”
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MINING | Compass Gold
Now into phase 3 of the drilling campaign
Bamako, with solid ties to the Australian
following on oversubscribed $2.6 million
exploration drilling industry. Since May 2019,
private placement in April 2019, Compass
Compass Gold has used London-listed Capital
Gold hopes to complete 3,000 metres of
Drilling as its new partner of choice.
RC drilling at Farabakoura before the rainy season arrives in late June, when it will
“Capital Drilling is set up with permanent
become difficult to undertake operations
installations in Mali and is very active in both
efficiently and safely.
development and operating projects. They’ve also taken on the role of strategic partner
The aim of this programme is to extend
after they made an investment into Compass
the current known strike length of the
Gold through our most recent private
mineralised zone beyond 700 metres, while
placement,” Phillips says.
also targeting high grade structures to the North of the zone, Phillips reports.
Next steps Following the conclusion of the rainy season
The initial drilling programmes were
at the end of Q3, Compass Gold aims to
conducted by Target Drilling SARL, an
begin resource definition and infill drilling at
independent and well respected exploration
Farabakoura, although this is contingent on
drilling company based in Mali’s capital
the results of the current programme and the analysis conducted in the next few months.
Resource Global Network explorer to developer and finally to becoming a gold producer. However, he warns that this process takes time and comes with a series of challenges. “One thing to note is that in 1991 there was nobody around us in Mali. Today, we are in the middle of a mining district with multiple mines in close proximity that are operated by quality producers who know us. “So, we might find ourselves working with a partner that already has infrastructure and capital investment, which offers advantages in terms of how quickly we can bring our discoveries to account for our shareholders. “It’s too early to tell which direction makes In addition, the company has identified more
the most sense, but I think we can say with
targets within the Sankarani zone, having
confidence that whatever results we are
seen extremely high, near-surface grades at
able to achieve under the ground, we’ll do
the Sodala prospect, as well as in a collection
the right and prudent thing on behalf of the
of artisanal pits at Yanfolila South.
shareholders above the ground.”
“We’d like to see those targets advanced with drilling in the fall after the rainy season and we’d like to get them to the same stage as Farabakoura.” Looking towards the long term, Phillips believes Compass Gold could potentially replicate the path taken by his former company, IAMGOLD, in progressing from
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Published by Anderson Murray Media Ltd
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