geology of shangalon gold and copper deposit
the shangalon prospect lies in the jurisdiction of the Kawlin Township, sagaing Division. Shangaing Village is located some 27kilometers sounthwest from Kawlin and can be accessed via a parially surfaced all weather road.From Yangon the shangalon area can be accessed by flight to Mandalay (approximately 1.5 hour flight)and then either by vehicle (7 hours) or train (10 hours) to kawlin. The area can be accessed through the monsoonal period (Jun-November).
PREVIOUS INVESTIGATIONS
1920’s:Earliest known work was undertaken by an indian ieaseholder
Conducted prospecting and testing(shallow shafts,adits,test pits and trenches) in areas of visible secongdary copper .Small nature of wor that only very small scale mining,
If any at all was carried out. No records of production exist.
1954-1955
Achinese lease holder undertook similar exploration activities as the previous holder. The area was studied by the Burma Geological Department with the assistance of the Yugoslav government. Jurkovic and Zalokar described eighteen occurrencess of hydrothermal altered zones controlled by a NW-SE striking fault system.
Achinese
1974-1977
The Geological Survey and Exploration Department (United Nations Development profgramme)WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF THE Department of Geological Studies and Exloration (ministry of Mines,Burma) conducted detailed exploration over the Shangalon area.Work included:
Gridding 200m spacing with infilling in areas of interest.
Geological and topographical mapping.
Geophysics,including induced pioarisation,resisivity,self,self potential,magnetic and radiometric surveys.No conclusive results were obtained from the geophysics Magnetic and radiometric surveys proved to be a useful mapping tool.
Gridding 200m
Geochemical soil and rock sampling.
Extensive drilling 8784 feet. Drilling was undertaken using Boyles
BBS-15(6195 feet) and Winkie GW-15(2589 feet).34 holes were drilled in todal.Core recovery averaged 89.7%.
Results of the drilling indicated possible ore reserves of 9 million tonnes @0.23%Cu.
The programme was adandoned after these discouraging results.
Early 1980’s
Active gold extraction by local miners commenced.Locals began mining oxidised vein material and ultimately narrow high grading mesothermal quartz-sulphide veins.Panning and exploiting thehigh grade veins was still being undeftaken at the time of this report writing .All workingwere very small small scale and were largely undertaken to supplement other,froms of income.
1985
DGSE undertook investigation of high grade vein areas in Shangalon area.Investigations were carried out over three small areas were some small scale mining actinity was present.One of the areas that was investigated was Myet-Yaung-Gon Gold prospect which is in approximately the same location as DDHSLL of the current programme being reproted.Outcrop mapping,16 test pits and 32 trenches were completed.Total tonnage of ore was calculated at approximately 5197 tonnes@ 1.6 g/t Au,this refects the narrow nature of the high grade mesothermal veins in the Shangalon area.
11995
Ivanhoe Myanmar Holdings Ltd (Exploration) in joint venture with the Department of Geological Survey and Exploration (DGSE0 of the Ministry of MINES COMMENCED SYSTEMATIC EXPLORATION of the wuntho-Kawlin-Kyaikthin (Block 5) area mid-October 1995. Reconnaissance work redefined the area of porphyry alteration in the Shangalon area which was in vestigated by the UNDP.Follow-up work included gridding,lithological,alteration and structural mapping,soil-auger sampling,trenching and outcrop-float sampling.
Soil sampling was undertaken on a 25m×100m spacing with a total of 794 samples being collected.An anmalous zone of copper mineralisation was delineated with gold assays being sporadic.The elevated gold values in the vivicnity of DDHSLL are attributed to contamination caused by exploitationg of narrow mesothermal quartz-sulphide veins by local miners.Contoured copper and gold soil assays are presented in figures 3 and 4.
Trenching provided encouraging copper results but poor gold values.location of drill hole sites was planned largely on the results of this trenching exercise and to some extent on the results of the soil samping and field observations.
Gold was found to be spatially related with sulphides.Maximum gold value obtained was 66.0ppm.
This value was attained within a quartz+chalcopyrite+pyrite+molybdenum vein of 380mm thickness (KUI 30.70-31.08m).Sampling over a 3m interval,including the interval above produced a value of Au 9.53ppm and Cu 10000ppm.There was no dissemination of the gold within the wall rock with the gold being tightly structurally controlled,with sample 33-36(KUI),the adiacent sample yielding a value of Au 0.02ppm and Cu554ppm.
The density of quartz-sulphide veining was also a determining factor on the grade of the gold.The gold assays however still remained low in the zones of strong,fine sheeted fracturing with values rarely exceeding 1ppmAu.The only siginficant gold values were obtained in the rare shallowly dipping
mesothermal quartz+chalcopyrite+pyrite+molybdenum vein that attained a width of at least 100mm.
Within the oxide zone values were reduced due to the modilisation / leaching out of the gold when the suiphides were oxidised. DDHSS produced the most elevated gold values within the oxide zone with an interval of 18m @ 0.10ppm Au and 3950ppm Cu
DRILLING ACTIVITIES
Several drill holes were done in Shangalon targeting for pophyry copper deposit.Only a singal hole is conducted tergetting for gold at Kyungalon Prosfeet(Wagauk tawgon)i.e kv1. The gold veins are intercepted at 27m up to 33m depth. The assay results at 27m-30m is 4.28ppm and from 30m to 33m is 9.76ppm; total drill drll are length is 6m long. Unfortunately drilling program stopped due to contract terms so planned hole were aborted.
CONCLUSION
However present invertigution never that the localized prospects of Shangalon (myat taung gon);Kyaengalon (Wakauktowgon) and Letpangyin were formed in the same trend running NW-50 direction sbout 3 km long and 6m width.
Another drill in ter section is also correct at S5.hole about 70m depth with 3m length @ 5.9m/ton which is believed to be the same mingalization zone of Kyungalon prospects.
