Missamana and Gueliban Permits (500 km²)

JOINT VENTURE WITH NAVASOTA RESOURCES

Summary

In October 2004 Mano River announced the signing of a Letter of Agreement with Navasota Resources Ltd (NAV:TSX-V) (Navasota), for Navasota to acquire up to a 60% interest in Mano's Missamana and Gueliban gold properties in Guinea.

The properties cover 498 square kilometres of highly prospective Proterozoic Birimian Terrane, which hosts the majority of the large gold mines in West Africa. The property is centred 30 km east of Kankan, a major regional centre in Guinea and 700 km east of Conakry, the capital city of Guinea.

The Missamana prospect was the focus of mining activity for thousands of artisanal miners in the late 1980s, following the discovery of gold-bearing quartz veins close to surface. Recent exploration at Missamana and Gueliban by Mano during 1996 and 1997 under the supervision of independent technical consultants ACA Howe International included soil geochemistry, trenching, airborne geophysics, and 4,000 metres of reverse-circulation drilling. Most of the trenching and drilling were completed on the Missamana Prospect, and forms the basis for an indicated resource of 1,063,400 tonnes grading 1.77 grams per tonnes gold equating to 60,520 ounces.

Other prospective target areas include the Brouni and Kerkour zones on the Missamana permit and the Madou, Diamona, and Gueliban East zones on the Gueliban Permit. Target areas have been defined by the presence of artisanal workings, anomalous soil geochemistry, and airborne magnetic and radiometric highs.

See news release of 07 October 2004 for further information

Project Information

The Missamana prospect was the focus of mining activity for thousands of artisanal miners in the late 1980s, following the discovery of gold-bearing quartz veins close to surface. The presence of artisanal workings rapidly led to the identification of further targets at Brouni to the ENE and Madou, to the WSW of Missamana. Regional exploration on the two permits is almost complete with Landsat interpretation, photo-interpretation, geological mapping, geochemistry, fixed-wing aeromagnetic and radiometric geophysical programmes.

The main area of interest within the two permits, as defined by tectonic analysis, airborne geophysics and the known position of artisanal workings, is an east-south-east trending gold belt stretching from the Brouni prospect, through Missamana and into the Gueliban Permit. All the important target areas lie within this zone, or exist on related structures, which branch out from this zone. The exploration programme has now defined six high priority prospect areas. These are at Missamana, Brouni and East Kerkour in the Missamana permit, and Madou, Diamona and Gueliban East in the Gueliban permit.

Detailed evaluation work of the Missamana prospect in parallel with the regional programme culminated in a 4,000 metre programme of preliminary exploratory reverse circulation drilling. On the main mineralised zone, every trench and drill hole intersection was positive. Gold assays included intersections of: 7.24m @ 2.90g/t, 11m @ 2.08g/t, 28m @ 2.2g/t and 6m @3.02g/t. Additionally, every single sample beneath the zone of oxidation contained significant sulphide mineralisation. The mineralisation is hosted by a composite porphyritic granodiorite, within a country rock of schists and quartzites.

The drilling and trenching have defined an indicated gold resource of 530,000 tons @ 2.4 g/t within a total indicated resource of 1million tons @ 1. 8 g /t. The area so far studied is around the site of the main artisanal mine, in which several thousand miners have exploited a number of quartz-sulphide veins with grades up to 100 g/t gold. However, although the granodioritic host rock is rich in sulphides and anomalous in gold (0.1-0.5 g/t), the rock is not strongly sheared and the economic mineralisation is generally confined to secondary shear zones. These shear zones cut the centre of the grano-dioritic body, which for the most part has resisted the deformation. Intuitively, higher levels of disseminated gold mineralisation are to be expected on the edges of porphyries which have been more strongly sheared.

A geochemical programme has been completed over new targets at Gueliban East, Diamona and south-east of Madou. These tectonically and geophysically defined anomalies have the potential to be superior to the anomalies evaluated to date, with the outline of intrusive bodies suggesting larger porphyry bodies and stronger shear zones. It is thought that disseminated mineralisation is likely to exist in the porphyries which may contain significant gold. Plotting, collating and interpreting these results from this project is in progress as part of an ongoing research programme into maximising the benefit of Mano's regional and prospect scale geochemical programmes. The project is being undertaken in association with the University of Southampton.

Satellite and air-photo interpretations, together with airborne geophysical surveys, have defined a pattern of intense shearing associated with probable granite porphyry intrusions within the Brouni-Gueliban gold belt. The regional geochemical programme was targeted on the gold belt, but although the known mineralisation at Missamana produced some anomalous readings, significantly better geochemical anomalies are seen to be associated with some of the other target areas. Targets defined by geochemistry include :

An important zone of shearing east of the known mineralisation at Missamana. This zone is thought to be associated with the eastern contact of the Missamana porphyry.

An anomaly associated with a major zone of mylonitisation and shearing, extending from the known alluvial workings at Brouni to the east to Kerkour. In-fill geochemistry to further define details is in progress and ground geophysical work is being considered to clearly define the boundaries. A trenching and rotary air blast/reverse circulation drilling program on these anomalies is being planned.