Monday, 01 February 2010
By Ellie Dyer
Phnom Penh Post
SOUTHERN Gold Limited (SGL) has launched an “aggressive exploration programme” at its mining assets in Kratie province, a fourth-quarter report has revealed.
The September-to-December review, issued Friday, showed that over the past three months the Australian firm started new exploration activities at many of its Cambodian gold and base metals fields.
Extensive drilling and soil-sampling has begun at tenements in South Kratie – part of a joint venture backed by US$4.5 million from the Japanese government-supported Japan Oils Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC) – and also its own mineral fields in Snuol.
“These operations herald the start of an aggressive exploration program scheduled over coming months by Southern Gold for its Cambodian projects,” the report said.
The company is hopeful of finding new gold deposits at the sites. Visual inspections have identified “several zones of alteration and quartz veining, which is generally a good indicator of gold mineralisation”.
Reserves identified during the new studies would add to “significant” gold mineralisation already found at Southern Gold sites in North Kratie and Snuol, following drill studies carried out in early 2009.
The results of the new exploratory work are expected by March, the report said. The company estimates it will spend A$1.4 million (US$1.24 million) on exploration in the first quarter of 2010.
Mining activities planned for the 2009 to 2010 season include collecting 4,000 geochemical samples, completing 8,500 metres of trenching and 7,000 metres of drilling.
By Ellie Dyer
Phnom Penh Post
SOUTHERN Gold Limited (SGL) has launched an “aggressive exploration programme” at its mining assets in Kratie province, a fourth-quarter report has revealed.
The September-to-December review, issued Friday, showed that over the past three months the Australian firm started new exploration activities at many of its Cambodian gold and base metals fields.
Extensive drilling and soil-sampling has begun at tenements in South Kratie – part of a joint venture backed by US$4.5 million from the Japanese government-supported Japan Oils Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC) – and also its own mineral fields in Snuol.
“These operations herald the start of an aggressive exploration program scheduled over coming months by Southern Gold for its Cambodian projects,” the report said.
The company is hopeful of finding new gold deposits at the sites. Visual inspections have identified “several zones of alteration and quartz veining, which is generally a good indicator of gold mineralisation”.
Reserves identified during the new studies would add to “significant” gold mineralisation already found at Southern Gold sites in North Kratie and Snuol, following drill studies carried out in early 2009.
The results of the new exploratory work are expected by March, the report said. The company estimates it will spend A$1.4 million (US$1.24 million) on exploration in the first quarter of 2010.
Mining activities planned for the 2009 to 2010 season include collecting 4,000 geochemical samples, completing 8,500 metres of trenching and 7,000 metres of drilling.
2 comments:
Do anyone know that the money will be accounted in Cambodian national treasury properly or it go straight to CPPs, clans ?.
True Khmer
More likely going to CPP clans. However, Southern Gold is an Australian company, so I think the Aust. govt. and Aust. public will put pressures on it to reveal its contracts and payments it made to Cambodia for the licence. Investments from Western countries are more accountable and more transparent than investments from rogue investors from China, Vietnam, Korea etc, etc.
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