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NILE VALLEY BLOCK
A – Gold (50% Gippsland)
Location
The prospect is located 1.5km northwest of the Um Garayat gold mine at Latitude 22º 34' 45" N and Longitude 33º 21' 50" E. Access to the prospect is via a desert track from the Um Garayat gold mine. The area is sometimes referred to as the B Workings in the early literature.
Historical mining
The prospect is the site of ancient mining activity and contains an extensive area of alluvial workings. A line of old workings predated work by the Nile Valley Company Ltd in 1902 in an area referred to as the B Workings. Ancient workings were intersected in two prospecting shafts at depths of 22ft (6.7m). Costeans and four prospecting shafts dug by the previous miners extended for about 2000ft (609m). On the western side of the ridge is probably the most extensive alluvial workings found in Wadi Allaqi region.
The Nile Valley Company Limited conducted limited exploration and mining during the early 1900s.
Geological setting:
The country rocks consist of a series foliated metasediments intruded by diorite in the southern part of the prospect. The gold occurrence consists of quartz vein, which can be traced intermittently over a distance of 270 m striking N and dipping E at angles ranging from 50º to 60º. The width usually exceeds 1 m. In places the vein splits enclosing lenses of highly ferruginous country rocks up to 80 cm in width. Wall rock alteration is negligible.
Mineralisation
The mineralisation is controlled by a regional shear structure which also passes through the Um Garayat mine to the south. The workings consist of narrow linear diggings following an outcrop of massive blue quartz vein. Quartz veins are small and discontinuous, more or less accompanying the foliation of the country rock. The strikes are northwest to northeast with sub vertical dips.
Exploration
Exploration has included geological mapping and trenching. A single 64m trench was excavated at Block A located 1.8km to the north of the Um Garayat workings. The assays included 7m at 0.76g/t at the eastern end of the trench.
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