Stratex International (LON:STI) today said it hopes to deliver real value from its African gold assets this year after latest drill results from its prospects in the east of the continent.
The miner said it had been “incredibly busy” in Africa in recent months and “2012 is a year where we hope to realise solid value for shareholders through monetising gold assets".
David Hall, executive director for the region, added: “We have a clear focus on developing majority and wholly owned assets in East and West Africa, in particular our Blackrock gold project in Ethiopia."
In Ethiopia, Stratex has a joint venture with Centamin (LON:CEY) at Shehagne as well as an epithermal gold project at Blackrock.
At Shehagne, the company said that a 1,000 metre drilling programme last year made several positive intersections and returned grades of 1 to 2 g/t gold over widths up to 9.6 metres within long intervals of low-grade gold mineralisation.
This included 25 metres grading 0.4 g/t gold. Stratex now owns 60 per cent of this project and is in discussions with Centamin over the next steps for the exploration programme.
Stratex can increase its stake by a further 20 per cent and vest its interest at 80 per cent once a feasibility study is complete.
At Blackrock, Stratex said half of a 5,000 metre drill programme is complete with drilling and water supply issues resolved.
Hall said the programme so far had thrown up “enhanced potential on a number of fronts”.
“The definition of blind veins under gravels has extended our target strike length considerably, results from surface sampling of other structures has returned more high gold grades, and we have now defined a new style of mineralisation in rhyolite domes.
We are intersecting thick classic epithermal veins north of the reported holes here and look forward to results from these by end of April,” he added.
Hall also said the group was “fast-tracking” exploration work at its Afar prospect with joint venture partner Ashanti Thani commencing an airborne magnetic survey over Tendaho and Djibouti.
New veins had been discovered in regional work outside the Thani Ashanti joint venture area, carrying up to 17.65 g/t gold. Licence applications for these areas are pending, Hall said.