Angkor Resources Corp. has begun a 20 line-kilometre Induced Polarization geophysical survey over the Gossan Hills target on its Andong Meas mineral exploration license in Ratanakiri Province, Cambodia. The survey, centered south of the Company's Canada Wall porphyry copper target, is designed to detect sulphide mineralization at depth, advancing one of Angkor's most compelling mineral targets toward a drill decision.
The survey employs a dipole-dipole IP configuration that measures chargeability, the tendency of certain minerals to briefly store and release an electrical charge when stimulated. Sulphide minerals, which host copper, zinc, and related metals, exhibit strong chargeability responses distinguishable from barren country rock. Data from the eight survey lines will be processed into 2-D cross-sectional images of the subsurface, providing the exploration team with a picture of the distribution, depth, and geometry of any sulphide-bearing zones before drilling begins.
Dennis Ouellette, VP Exploration, stated that the survey is centered over the Gossan Hills occurrence south of the Canada Wall porphyry copper target, expressing excitement about the potential results. The survey is expected to take approximately eight to ten days, weather permitting.
The Gossan Hills consists of northwest-trending sub-cropping calcareous metasediments that have been metamorphosed and are highly reactive to mineralizing fluids associated with copper porphyry systems. These rocks form a wide syncline into which the intrusive complex hosting the Canada Wall copper porphyry target has intruded, creating a skarn mineralized zone where hot, metal-bearing fluids from an intrusion react with surrounding carbonate rocks.
Ouellette described the Gossan Hills skarn as several hundreds of metres long, with geochemical zoning that graduates from iron oxide at the southern end to massive magnetite, then zinc-lead, and finally more copper-rich at the northern end. This systematic geochemical zonation from distal iron oxides toward proximal copper is a classic indicator of a well-developed, potentially economic skarn system.
The metasediments dip approximately 35 degrees eastward toward a deep, strong magnetic anomaly outlined by the 2022 ground magnetic survey. This geometry of surface mineralization dipping toward a subsurface magnetic high is consistent with a sulphide-rich body at depth and provides the primary rationale for the IP survey.
Geological interpretation of Gossan Hills has received independent scientific support from ITC researchers at Kyushu University, whose paper concludes that mineral presence suggests potential association with skarn-type or sulfide-related mineralization and that Gossan Hills is a promising target for further exploration, particularly for porphyry-skarn-related or polymetallic sulfide deposits.
The IP survey crew is led by a team from the Institute of Technology of Cambodia, comprising one professor and three students from its geoscience program. A fourth ITC student will participate in data interpretation, with results forming the basis of a fifth-year thesis, contributing to Cambodia's national capacity in applied geophysics. Angkor Gold employees work alongside the ITC crew as surveyors and line cutters, with ten local community members engaged to assist with cable layout and receiver installation.
This ITC collaboration on the Andong Meas mineral program runs parallel to a recently announced partnership between ITC and Angkor's energy subsidiary EnerCam, where students receive hands-on training in seismic interpretation tied directly to the Block VIII oil and gas exploration program. Together, these programs reflect the Company's commitment to building a skilled Cambodian technical workforce as an integral part of its exploration activities.
The survey represents a significant step in Cambodia's developing mineral exploration sector, potentially advancing understanding of the country's geological resources while providing practical training opportunities for local students. Successful results could lead to drilling decisions that might uncover economically viable mineral deposits, contributing to Cambodia's economic development through responsible resource extraction.
