NORTHERN ETHIOPIA GOLDFIELDS
Geological setting
This goldfield came to the light of the modern world as recently as 1995, although prospecting first took place here in 1903. During the intervening period there is no record of any substantial exploration in the area. Lying at 1800 metres above sea-level on the western edge of the African Rift Valley, it is situated
within a late proterozoic geosyncline and mobile belt which runs parallel to the rift valleys in
a north-south direction between Mozambique and Egypt. It has the form of a series of stacked
and compressed "island arcs" which were emplaced on to the African Shield during repeated
plate collisions about 600 to 1000 million years ago. Within this belt there occur calc-alkaline eruptive
and intrusive rocks, obducted mantle slices and deep water sedimentary material, all of which have been metamorphosed at medium to low grade and intruded by syn-tectonic to post-tectonic
granitoids. Gold occurs throughout the belt, notably at the following localities.
1. In southern Ethiopia the Legadembi Mine (2.5 moz);
2. The old gold workings and artisanal mining areas in western Ethiopia;
3. The old gold mine Ugaro and the Bisha Prospect in western Eritrea;
4. The Asmera gold mines in Central Eritrea, namely
Adi Schumagelle, Adi Rassi, Hara Hot, Medrizien and
Adi Nefas
(about 0.3 moz, residual resource);
5. The mines of the Red Sea Hills and interior of Sudan, namely Gebeit Mine (0.2 moz, residual
resource), Ariab Mine (1.1 moz) and Hamissana deposit (0.3 moz);
6. The old gold mines at Sukari,
in Egypt (2.0 moz).
These deposits provide a combined total of over 6 million ounces. Past production in ancient times is likely to have been substantial and additional resources have yet to be drilled out.
East Tigray Goldfield
In East Tigray the gold mineralisation occurs as hydrothermal deposits associated with quartz veins emplaced into low grade schists, frequently near contacts with late tectonic granites. The mineralisation so far encountered is disseminated or distributed in sub-parallel, or en echelon, vein/shear mineral systems. On Sheba's tenements gold in soil anomalies of significant area and concentration have been discovered and are now being followed up by rock sampling in trenches or pits. Some of the more significant gold intersections from trenches are as follows:
04 metres @ 5.5 g/t (inc. 2m @ 10.5 g/t)
07 metres @ 1.8 g/t (inc. 2m @ 5.7 g/t)
08 metres @ 2.6 g/t (inc. 1m @ 9.9 g/t)
08 metres @ 1.4 g/t (inc. 2m @ 1.4 g/t)
48 metres @ 1.1 g/t (inc. 22m @ 1.8 g/t)
No drilling has been done yet but suitable targets are being discovered and it is likely that drilling will commence soon, subject to availability of venture capital.
Aside from the activities of Sheba described in this website, other gold and base metal prospects are being developed by National Mining Corporation and by Ezana Mining Development in Northern Ethiopia.
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