Cardero Resource Corporation and Emmaland Ghana Limited on Monday announced receipt of the final batch of high-grade drill results from Phase I drilling at the Company's Sheini Hills Iron Project in north eastern Ghana, which is positive and encouraging.
The Phase I drill programme was completed in August 2012 and all results have been received in full.
"We are delighted to have completed what was a very successful Phase I exploration and drill program at Sheini," Mr Michael Hunter, Cardero's President and CEO, stated in a statement to the Ghana News Agency in Accra.
Highlights include Hole 063, which returned 51.60 metres from surface grading 48.50% iron, including 16.00 metres grading 50.81% iron.
Four of the seven cross-sections reported in this release (1014950N, 101440N, 1013050N and 1012800N) have weighted averages ranging from 41.1% iron to 43.92% iron, reflecting the generally higher-grade results returned from the northern portion of the drill area.
The program focussed on a core 9 kilometre-long zone of outcropping haematite-ironstone ridges with peripheral surface ferricretes. A total of 67 diamond drill holes have been completed with results received for all holes (58 diamond drill holes were submitted for assay, while 9 holes were drilled for geological interpretation and metallurgical testing).
According to the statement, regional work, including satellite interpretation, airborne geophysical surveys and verification mapping have identified an additional 24 kilometres of potential ironstone deposits, which will be drill-tested in Phase II.
The work programme at Sheini is supervised by Christopher White (Cardero Resource Corp.) and Dr. Karel Maly (Aurum Exploration Limited), who together are responsible for all aspects of the work, including the quality control and quality assurance program.
On-site personnel at the project rigorously collect and track samples which are then security sealed and shipped to ALS Laboratories, Kumasi, Ghana, for sample preparation, and onward to OMAC Laboratories (an ALS Group company), Ireland, for analysis.
OMAC's quality system complies with the requirements for the International Standards ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 17025: 1999. Analytical accuracy and precision are monitored by the analysis of reagent blanks, reference material and replicate samples.
Quality control is further assured by the use of international and in-house standards. Blind certified reference material is inserted at regular intervals into the sample sequence in order to independently assess analytical accuracy.
The common shares of the Company are currently listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (symbol CDU), the NYSE-MKT (symbol CDY) and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (symbol CR5).
Mr Emmanuel Kwesi Ababio, Chief Executive Officer of Emmanland Resources Ghana Limited, told the GNA in an interview that through the exploit of the two companies, Ghana had rejoined countries that produce iron ore which is one of the most valuable minerals on the World Commodity market.
He said the iron ore deposit, which is located at Sheini in the Northern Region, holds huge potential as other minerals are being discovered in addition to the iron.
There has been an increase in the demand for iron ore on the world market more than gold which has been the country’s leading mineral in terms of export and Ghana stands to gain tremendously in the discovery and positive drill exercise.
He said "Iron Ore is even bigger than gold and there are a lot of things we are going to do which would give Ghana lots of income. We are going to build railways, we are going to build ports and lots of stuff.
Mr Ababio said thousands of jobs would be created and that the venture into mining of iron ore marks the beginning of a new era for Ghana's economic development.
Mr Ababio said as part of their social responsibility even before they fully take off, the company had graded the road to link Zabzugu to Sheini, rehabilitated the abandoned Presidential Lodge at Zabzugu and equipped the district assemblies with computers.