London-based gold miner Red Rock Resources has found commercially viable ore samples in its Migori project after performing new exploratory drilling in the area.
The firm said in filings at the London Stock Exchange (LSE) that it drilled 20 holes in the Migori concession, with results from nine holes indicating an average yield of 1.49 grammes of gold per metric tonne of ore.
The firm requires a prospective mine to yield 0.5 grammes of gold per tonne to be considered viable.
“These first nine holes were extremely encouraging, and take us some way towards our objectives for the programme. Seven of the drill holes intercepted gold mineralisation, including five at good grades. We look forward to being able to announce the remaining results before long,” said Red Rock chairman Andrew Bell.
“The drill programme was designed to test possible extensions of the mineralised zones and to infill some possible gaps where holes might previously have been drilled too far apart to allow an assumption of continuity of mineralisation in the resource calculation.”
The samples are being tested at the SGS Limited facility in Mwanza, Tanzania which is a certified and accredited laboratory for sample preparation and analysis.
Red Rock is carrying out the additional exploratory work in the 245 kilometre square area to support its renewed bid for a mining licence for the gold project.
The government had earlier delayed issuing a mining licence to the firm, forcing it to retain a £5.2 million (Sh691 million) provision made for the operation. The company in 2018 settled a court case with the government, which had terminated its mining licence in May 2015.
“We are identifying and progressing a number of new or underexplored targets as well as working to expand the existing resource envelope and identify areas of higher grade within it or nearby. Previous diamond drilling at Konguru has been too widely spaced to allow a resource calculation, and our planned drilling there is a priority,” said Mr Bell last month.
Several multinationals have prospected for gold in western Kenya over the years but none has set up a thriving commercial venture yet.
Shanta Gold, which is exploring for gold in western Kenya, last year said it had found some high grade gold in Kakamega after drilling 11 exploratory holes in Isulu.
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