Shanta Gold (LON:SHG) today revealed what it described as ‘encouraging’ exploration results from its joint venture with South African firm Great Basin Gold in Tanzania’s Lupa goldfields.
The partners are exploring areas near the company’s New Luika mine, which began pouring gold in the past few days.
Through their early exploration work the partners have now found nine new mineralised prospects.
Sampling has yielded ‘encouraging' gold values, Shanta said. And a total of 3.59 kilometres of mineralised strike length has now been identified.
Three prospects have been the subject of ‘first-pass’ drilling and this has also yielded ‘encouraging’ intersections at depth. Shanta says this bodes well for the delineation and development of near surface ore resources.
"We are encouraged by the early stage exploration results achieved from tenements in the Shanta Gold-Great Basin Gold joint venture,” Shanta chairman Walton Imrie said.
"The partners have agreed to implement a phased approach to the exploration of the over 2,500 square kilometres of tenement area within the historic Lupa Goldfields, which hosted numerous shallow, high-grade gold mines during the colonial era.
“The venture represents significant exploration upside potential for Shanta Gold as the tenements are in very close proximity to the company's existing operations at New Luika."
Shanta can earn up to 80 per cent of any discovered resources in the joint venture area by spending at least US$12 million on exploration by December 2014.
Under the partners’ phased approach to the exploration venture the immediate 20 kilometre area surrounding the New Luika mine will be prioritised.
Beyond that, the partners are carrying out more ‘low-key’ reconnaissance work. They have now completed a survey over a 400 kilometre area, and the findings are now being processed.
In the meantime, in the priority zone, trenching and sampling work continues. Also a new drill programme is planned for the latter part of this year.