Tantalum project developer Gippsland Limited (ASX: GIP, DB: GIX) has secured three prospecting licenses in Eritrea covering 300 kilomtetres of ground in an area which it said had the potential to host high grade gold and metal deposits similar to recent discoveries in the south.
The areas in the Adobha region covered by the three prospecting licenses granted to Gippsland’s wholly owned subsidiary Nubian Resources are said to have similar geological settlings to the Bisha gold-base metal deposit with a resource of 1.44 million ounces (Moz) of gold and 0.39 million tonnes (Mt) of copper and structural settings similar to that of the 0.94 Moz Zara gold project, located just 65 kilometres to the south.
An initial sampling programme is slated for October-November this year wand will focus on eleven target anomalies identified during the interpretation study. The samples will be analysed for copper, lead, zinc and gold.
Gippsland noted that the north-western part of Eritrea covered the Precambrian Nubian-Arabian Shield, which included the 9.91 Moz Sukari gold deposit and Gippsland’s 138 Mt Abu Dabbab-Nuweibi tantalum-tin deposits, as well as the aforementioned Bisha and Zara deposits.