Osino Resources Announces Recommencement of Twin Hills Drill Program and Provides Namibia Exploration & COVID-19 Update
- Government of Namibia announcement on April 30, 2020, allows exploration activities to resume with certain COVID-19 related limitations and precautions in place
- Osino field work to re-commence on May 5, 2020, with Twin Hills drilling scheduled later this week
- 20,000m drill program at Twin Hills Central Discovery commenced mid-March with four drill holes completed before activities were paused at the end of March due to COVID-19
- The remainder of the program will be completed before the end of 2020, in line with the February 2020 work program announcement.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 04, 2020 -- Osino Resources Corp. (TSXV: OSI) (FSE: RSR1) ("Osino” or “the Company”), announces the re-commencement of its 20,000m drill program and provides an update regarding the impact of COVID-19 related restrictions. The work program will re-commence on May 5, 2020, with diamond drilling and the IP survey at Twin Hills Central getting underway shortly after. Due to COVID-19, Osino’s field work was paused in late March, but some critical technical studies have continued during the lockdown which were aimed at refining the geological controls and planned drill program at Twin Hills.
Heye Daun, Osino’s Co-Founder and CEO commented: “We are very pleased that the lockdown restrictions in Namibia have been partially lifted, enabling Osino to re-commence our planned, intensive drill program. During the remainder of the year our primary objectives are to grow and better define the Twin Hills gold discovery and to accelerate our exploration activities in general. We utilized the downtime productively, by progressing some important technical work, including a structural geology review, hyperspectral core scanning and some other ancillary studies and we are therefore very excited to be re-commencing with drilling again within the next week or two.”
Despite being delayed, significant progress was made prior to, and during the shutdown of field operations:
- Four diamond drill holes (816m) of the planned 20,000m drill program were completed at Twin Hills Central. Three of these drill holes were submitted to the laboratory for analyses and the fourth is awaiting shipping to the laboratory from the sample preparation facility in Windhoek.
- The remaining drill holes will be completed over the coming months, with a ramping up of drill metres expected over the coming weeks, and completion of the program before the end of 2020.
- The IP/Resistivity survey covering Twin Hills Central and along-strike extensions is approximately 30% complete. Results to date indicate both chargeability and resistivity anomalies potentially related to gold mineralization and fault structures.
- The structural review of Twin Hills Central drill core has been completed, and Company geologists are reviewing the results prior to incorporation into the drill program.
- Samples for preliminary metallurgical test work of the Twin Hills Central gold mineralization were delivered to the laboratory prior to closure due to COVID-19 restrictions. The laboratory work will commence in May with results expected later in the month.
- Consultant geologists have been engaged to carry out an assessment of the Company’s 2019 drilling results and drilling and sampling procedures, with the aim of providing an independent review which will lead into the publishing of a maiden mineral resource estimate at Twin Hills Central.
- The Company has also completed preliminary hyperspectral drill core imaging of two diamond drill holes from Twin Hills Central. Preliminary results confirm logging and initial petrographic work, but also highlight several subtle alteration and lithological changes which could be of interest with regard to understanding the controls on higher-grade gold mineralization.
Status of Coronavirus Pandemic in Namibia
To date Namibia has recorded 16 confirmed cases with 8 recoveries. There has been no death as a result of COVID-19 thus far. Since April 5, 2020, no new cases have been recorded.
On April 30, 2020, Namibia’s Cabinet announced a four-stage strategy for Namibia to exit its coronavirus lockdown. The lockdown was initially announced on March 17, 2020 when President Hage Geingob declared a state of emergency which culminated in a 21-day lockdown beginning March 27, 2020, which was later extended to early May.
Stage 2 (of the 4 Stage lockdown exit strategy) will commence on May 5, 2020 and entails allowing all economic activities where effective social distancing and hygiene measures can be enforced. Certain restrictions on public gatherings and various sectors incl. hospitality and international travel remain in place and are expected to be lifted gradually as Namibia progresses towards completely lifting the lockdown over the coming weeks.
Osino’s Plans to recommence Operations
Osino plans to recommence with field operations and drilling in the days following May 5, with a measured increase in activities over the next few weeks.
Osino plans to implement stringent procedures in order to monitor and prevent the spread of COVID-19 on resumption of field operations. These procedures are guided by the Namibian Ministries of Health, Trade and Industry and Mines and Energy.
While the Company has been delayed by approximately one month of field work, the expectation is that the proposed work program press released in February will be achieved during 2020 as planned. Further updates will be provided in the coming months.
Qualified Person
The technical information of this news release has been reviewed and approved by David Underwood, a Chartered Professional Geologist (SACNASP), and a Qualified Person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101.
About Osino Resources
Osino is a Canadian gold exploration company, focused on the acquisition and development of gold projects in Namibia. Our 23 exclusive prospecting licenses are located within Namibia’s prospective Damara mineral belt, mostly in proximity to and along strike of the producing Navachab and Otjikoto Gold Mines. Osino is targeting gold mineralization that fits the broad orogenic gold model. We are actively advancing a range of gold discoveries, prospects and targets across our 6,577km2 ground position by utilizing a portfolio approach geared towards discovery.
Osino’s focus in 2020 is on further advancing the Twin Hills and Goldkuppe discoveries within the developing Karibib Gold District, testing our Otjikoto East and Otjiwarongo targets and generating new ones on our remaining licenses. Our core projects are favorably located north and north-west of Namibia’s capital city Windhoek. By virtue of their location, the projects benefit significantly from Namibia’s well-established infrastructure with paved highways, railway, power and water in close proximity. Namibia is mining-friendly and lauded as one of the continent’s most politically and socially stable jurisdictions. Osino continues to evaluate new ground with a view to expanding its Namibian portfolio.
Further details are available on the Company's website at https://osinoresources.com/
CONTACT INFORMATION
Osino Resources Corp.
Heye Daun: CEO
Tel: +27 (21) 418 2525
hdaun@osinoresources.com
Julia Becker: Investor Relations Manager
Tel: +1 (604) 785 0850
jbecker@osinoresources.com
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