A $14m exploration budget has been approved for FY 2021. Of this, $7m will be invested in and around the Wassa mine. This work will include the continued wide spaced drilling up and down dip of the current resources and reserves as well as drill testing of seven targets to the south and east of the main Wassa deposit. Approximately 28,000 meters of combined diamond and reverse circulation drilling has been planned. In addition, 9,000 meters of air core drilling has been planned to test the coincidental geophysical and geochemical anomaly over the eastern fold closure target.
A total of $6m has been allocated to further testing of the five HBB targets followed up in FY 2020 as well as five additional targets along the HBB corridor. Approximately 50,000 meters of air core drilling will be conducted over the soil geochemical anomalies defined last year and in past programs. Several of these targets will be further delineated with ground geophysics prior to drilling. Pending positive results from the air core drilling, approximately 15,000 meters of deeper reverse circulation with diamond core tails has been planned for initial follow up. Several of the historical open pits on Golden Star's Benso mining lease have never had any drilling beneath them and these deposits have higher grade cores that could potentially form underground targets. In light of this, a further 12,000 meters of reverse circulation and diamond core tails drilling has been budgeted to test below these pits on wide spacing.
The remaining portion of the FY 2021 budget allocation is for exploration equipment and supplies.
2021 Drilling Results