Awalé Resources Limited (TSX-V: ARIC) is pleased to report results from the last 2 holes of the maiden drilling program at the Empire high grade gold discovery (Figures 1 and 2).

The final step back diamond hole has intercepted target geology, alteration and mineralization to a vertical depth of greater than 200m (Figure 3).  Visible gold has been observed at the same mineralized intervals reported in Table 1, with grades of mineralization being atypical of these observations and the hole has fallen outside the plunge of the higher grade mineralization intercepted in previously reported holes on sections 2A (Figure 4) and 2(Figure 5). Hole OERC 0022 was drilled down dip of mineralization intercepted in OEDD0009 and OERC0021 is of lower tenor than intercepts in these holes, also suggesting this hole is outside the plunge of high-grade mineralization and therefore warrants follow up. These new results further extend the mineralized envelope down dip as well as confirm the internal continuity of mineralization at Empire.

This successful gold discovery from the maiden drill program at Odienné has covered a fraction of the of the 3km long soil anomaly (Figure 6) which extends toward the southeast. This anomaly is a primary target for further exploration this field season. Visible gold in fresh rock has been noted in every diamond hole that has intersected the mineralized diorite.

HIGHLIGHTS

Best intercepts from this batch of results include (see full list in table 1):

• OEDD0015 – Deep step back hole between drill lines 2 and 2A (Figure 2 and 3)
  • 17 meters (‘m’) at 0.7 grams per tonne gold (“g/t Au”) from 254m downhole
    • including 7.1m at 1.2g/t Au from 261.9m downhole.
• OERC0022 – Twin and extension of OEDD0010 (Figure 2 and 3)
  • 29m at 0.8 g/t Au from 140m downhole.
    • Including 8m at 1.9g/t Au from 148m downhole.

These results compliment the following previously reported results (see releases dated 19^th Nov. 2019, 23^rd Dec. 2019 and the 29^th Jan 2020):

• OEDD0001 (Figure 2 and 5)
  • 18.15m at 4.9 g/t Au from 40 m downhole,
    • including 10.4 m at 7.9 g/t Au from 40m downhole
• OEDD0002 (Figure 2 and 5)
  • 27 m at 3.1 g/t Au from 43.2 m downhole
    • including 9 m at 5.3 g/t Au from 43.2 m downhole.
• OEDD0003 (Figure 2 and 5)
  • 19m at 0.9 g/t Au from 151m downhole
    • including 1m at 4.54 g/t Au from 152 m downhole.
• OEDD0009 (Figure 2 and 4)
  • 17m at 2.6 g/t Au from 40 m downhole,
    • including 2.65m at 15.4 g/t Au from 40m,
  • 16.74m at 1.9 g/t Au from 74.26m downhole,
    • including 9.28m at 2.7g/t Au from 80.72m and,
  • 16m at 1.8 g/t Au from 98m downhole,
    • including 3m at 7.6 g/t Au from 111m downhole
• OERC0008 Step-back hole to Discovery Hole OEDD0001 (Figures 2 and 5)
  • 16m at 1.3 g/t gold (“Au”) from 81m downhole,
    • including 1m at 11.3 g/t Au from 94m downhole
  • 10m at 2.3 g/t Au from 109m,
    • including 5m at 3.9 g/t Au from 109m downhole
• OERC0021 Step-out hole 200m along strike from Discovery Section (Figures 2 and 4)
  • 32m at 0.9g/t Au from 32 m downhole,
    • including 2m at 4.8g/t Au from 53m downhole
  • 34m at 1.9 g/t Au from 96m downhole,
    • including 18m at 3g/t Au from 97m downhole and 2m at 15.5 g/t Au from 111m downhole
  • 29m at 1.2g/t Au from 134m downhole,
    • including 11m at 2.5g/t Au from 140m downhole and 2m at 5.6g/t Au from 140m downhole
• OEDD0003 extension (hole re-entered and extended Figure 2 and 6)
  • 3m at 4.5 g/t Au from 193m downhole
• OERC0005 twin of OEDD0001 (Figure 2 and 5)
  • 22m at 1.5g/t Au from 22m downhole
    • Including 1m intervals of 4.4 g/t Au, 6g/t Au and 16.6g/t Au, from 27, 41 and 46 m downhole respectively

Note; True width Intercepts are approximately 75 to 90% of the reported downhole interval downhole. The Broad intercepts above are calculated at a 0.2g/t Au trigger with included intercepts calculated at a 1 g/t Au trigger. All calculated intercepts include 3m of internal waste. Plans and Sections for these holes are shown in figures 2, 3, 4 and 5.

The Empire discovery and significant extent of mineralization remains open along strike and down dip with demonstrated high grade zones with 2^nd phase drilling planned for late March. Now that final results have been returned the company can complete studies on geometry of the mineralisation ready to test plunging mineralisation in the next drill program as well as step out along the current 3 kilometre geochemical anomaly that follows the Empire shear zone.  To note a 3,000meter Auger in fill program has already been completed over this 3km anomaly to further define drill targets at the Empire Prospect.

LINK: SEE FIGURES 1 TO 7:

http://awaleresources.com/_resources/maps/2020_02_24_OdienneDrilling_figuresfinal.pdf

Company CEO Glen Parsons commented today:

“These last results from the maiden drill program at the Empire prospect confirm continuity of mineralization within the main drill zone and we now have a robust 200m long and greater than 200m deep mineralized envelope. This forms the initial core of the system which remains open down dip and along strike, within the current 3km soil anomaly still to be tested.

Despite the deeper diamond hole falling outside the plunge of high grade mineralization, it has demonstrated continuity of alteration and mineralization style and intercepted the target geology from 153 to 300 meters downhole, extending the current dimensions of the system to greater than 200m vertical and 200m long and the width of the mineralized envelope ranges from 30 to 80m.

The company now has consistent target geology to chase in future drilling and has recently completed a 100x25metre Auger program to tighten the 3km soil anomaly for drill testing. Results from this program are expected in mid-March, after which a phase 2 drill program will commence at Empire.

Awale looks forward to news that will continue to flow from drilling at our exciting Empire prospect at Odienné as well as continued exploration results from Bondoukou, in the north east, where we continue to develop and progress multiple exploration targets for drill testing later this year.”

Concluding Remarks on a Successful Maiden Drilling Program

Empire is a high priority prospect that was discovered and systematically explored by Awalé, resulting in a coincident geology, gold/arsenic geochemistry, and ground geophysics (Induced Polarization, or “IP”) anomaly. The high order soil anomalism coincides with a mapped mylonite-bearing structure that has been intruded by a later diorite body. This diorite is the host of mineralization now drilled at the Empire prospect and is the primary target for future exploration programs.

The soil sampling completed by the company forms a 3km long > 18ppb Au anomaly which includes a 500m long >109 ppb Au core (Figure 6), artisanal mining activity commenced some months after the completion and reporting of the soil program. The high order core anomaly has formed that focus of phase 1 drilling and has delivered robust and continuous gold mineralization within this zone. Drill fences in this core zone are 100m apart and, and currently there is demonstrated gold mineralization to a vertical depth of 150m on the discovery section (OEDD003 returned 3m at 4.6 g/t Au from 196m) and in section 2A to a depth of 125m with OERC21 intercepting 11m at 2.5g/t Au from 140m. The mineralized envelope on section 2A is some 80 metres wide and 30 meters wide on section 2 (Figures 4 and 5).  

Hole OEDD0015 (Figure 3) intercepted the target diorite from 155m to 300m downhole with brittle ductile deformation evident from 190m to the footwall contact at 300m. Visible Gold has been observed in brittle ductile zones between 230 and 300 meters down hole, assay grades returned are atypical, and the hole is interpreted to lie outside the plunge of better mineralization intercepted in OEDD009 and OERC0021, hole OERC0022 intercepted lower tenor mineralization down dip of OERC0021 and is interpreted to lie at the margins of the plunging mineralization. 

The recently completed drilling program has confirmed the mineralization model developed by the company where gold is hosted in a brittle ductile orogenic shear zone setting at the margin of the diorite intrusion. The footwall contact of the diorite is strongly potassic altered (almost complete fine grained replacement of the protolith by biotite) and represents the main fluid pathway into the mineralized system. Gold mineralization appears to weaken distal from the footwall structure but persists up to 80m into the hanging wall. All drill holes that have intercepted diorite have exhibited brittle ductile deformation and are mineralized.

Further to this all diamond holes that have intercepted the brittle ductile deformation have contained free gold, with the first 2 holes returning very high grade intercepts(OEDD0001 returned 10.4m at 7.9 g/t Au, including 1m at 73.1 g/t Au and OEDD0002 returned 9m at 5.3 g/t Au), follow up drilling has also returned high grades with 1m at 11.3 g/t Au in OERC0008, 1m at 16.8 g/t Au in OERC0005, 2m at 15.5 g/t Au in OERC0021 and 2.65m at 15.4 g/t Au in OEDD0009. Potassic alteration is overprinted by a later phase of silica-sulfide alteration is associated with free gold and minor tellurides, there is also significant, early, calc-silicate alteration present in the system (epidote/pyroxene), carbonate alteration is also present. The sulfide mineralogy is dominated by pyrite with subordinate chalcopyrite and galena. Disseminated mineralization is present, but at low tenor (0.2 to 1 g/t Au) within the brittle ductile zone.

Follow – Up Exploration Plan at Odienné

The company plans to undertake a 5000m phase 2 RC/DD program in late March/early April, this program will both test the 3km soil anomaly as well as plunge test and define extents of mineralization in the recently completed phase 1 program.  To better target the extension drilling component of phase 2 drilling Awalé has recently completed a c. 3000m Power Auger program on a 100x25m spacing to tighten geochemical targets for the Phase 2 RC/DD drill program. The auger results are expected in the ensuing weeks.

Further to this an orientation ground magnetic survey is also underway over the Phase 1 drill area. Data from this survey as well as the IP completed over the same area is also being assessed against the Phase 1 drilling to determine if these geophysical methods would be effective in delineation of the target diorite unit in conjunction with the auger geochemistry program. Once this assessment is complete the geophysics surveys will be extended.

The company also plans to fly a permit wide aerial magnetic survey in late March or early April depending on timing of permitting and the selected contractor availability to complete the survey.

Table 1: List of Significant intercepts for the Empire Prospect

Note: All intervals calculated using a 0.2 g/t Au trigger value and include 3 metres of internal waste. Included intervals calculated at a 1 g/t Au trigger with 3m of internal waste except where individual assays are reported.

Note on Screen Fire Assays and Grade Variability

Assays above 1 g/t Au are now routinely assayed by the Company using the Screen Fire Assay analytical technique (see description below). Where a Screen fire Assay has been completed these results supersede Fire Assay results for reported intercepts.

Grade variability is evident from results received from the twin of OEDD0001 (OERC0005). OEDD0001 returned 18.15m at 4.9 g/t Au from 40m while OERC0005 returned 22m at 1.5 g/t Au from 27m. The main difference being a maximum value of 73.2 g/t Au in OEDD001 and only 16.8 g/t Au in OERC0005. Other intercepts are similar. Quarter NQ core duplicate samples taken within mineralized zones have also returned variable results, this is viewed as an example of the grade variability within the mineralization. For reporting purposes screen fire assays have been used rather than the fire assay results, screen fire assays have been systematically made for any sample over 1 g/t Au within the brittle ductile zones. The table below depicts this nugget gold variability in field duplicate samples.

Table 2: Selection of duplicate fire assay results within mineralized zones, Empire drilling.

Company geologists are also re-visiting the IP data collected over the area to see if the data can be ‘trained’ on the now know host rock geology and the footwall contact, if this is successful, further IP surveys may also be used a targeting tool in conjunction with the auger geochemistry.

Quality Control and Assurance

Analytical work for drill core and RC percussion samples is being carried out at the independent Intertek Laboratories Ghana Ltd. an ISO 17025 Certified Laboratory. Samples are stored at the company’s field camps and put into sealed bags; they are stored securely until collected by Intertek for transportation to Ghana. Samples are logged in the tracking system, weighed, dried and finely crushed to better than 70%, passing a 2 mm screen. A split of up to 1,000 g is taken and pulverized to better than 85%, passing a 75-micron screen, and a 50-gram split is analyzed by Fire Assay with an AAS finish. Blanks, duplicates and certified reference material (standards) are being used to monitor laboratory performance during the analysis. Due to the presence of free gold the lab was requested to run a quartz wash between each sample during preparation. Samples that have returned more than 1g/t Au have been Screen Fire Assayed.

Screen Fire Assay involves screening a nominal 1kg sample and firing the entire coarse fraction, including the screen cloth. Duplicate assays are carried out on the undersize fraction which is more reproducible due to the smaller gold particle sizes. The total gold content is calculated as a weighted mean of the measured grades of the two screen fractions.

Qualified Person     

The technical and scientific information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved for release by Andrew Chubb, the Company’s Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Mr Chubb is the Company’s Chief Operating Officer and holds an Economic Geology degree, is a Member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists (AIG), and is a Member of the Society of Economic Geologists (SEG). Mr Chubb has 18 years of experience in international minerals exploration and mining project evaluation.