Solomon Gold restarts work on Solomon Islands projects, reports positive results from Queensland

Australia and Solomon Islands operating gold and copper explorer Solomon Gold (LON:SOLG) reported strong progress and further encouraging results from its Queensland exploration projects, while announcing the recommencement of work on its Solomon Islands tenements.

The company has recommenced trenching and sampling at eight priority targets outlined by the recent airborne magnetic and electromagnetic survey on its wholly owned Fauro Island project in Solomon Islands, while Solomon’s Guadalcanal JV (joint venture) with Newmont Mining Corp (NYSE:NEM) has started exploration activity, focusing on a drilling programme on copper gold porphyry targets.

At Guadalcanal, the JV is focused on drill testing the porphyry targets at Chikora, which has already commenced, advancing the Mbetilonga and Kuma projects, and conducting regional reconnaissance sampling within the Central prospecting licence.

A ground pole-dipole IP program will be conducted over the area to identify chargeability anomalies, particularly at the Levisivisi Prospect which will identify regions of strong copper sulphide in the host porphyry rock, following high grade copper discoveries in 2009. Additional channel sampling is also planned at the Chikora, Levisivisi, Vurakara and Kolohaipoto areas to further define drill targets.

The first 88 rock and BLEG (bulk leach extractable gold) samples from Fauro have been dispatched to Australia for analysis. The eight priority targets are being followed up with trench sampling. During that initial work, rock chip samples taken indicated grades of up to 169 g/t gold and in some cases visible gold was present. BLEG sampling will also commence on the neighbouring island of Masamasa and Piru.

A total of 125 soil samples, part of the soil geochemistry and PIMA survey, have been taken to date with the aim of covering the entire peninsular with a 100m by 100m grid. Work commenced in the Hornbill and Meriguna area, before moving to the northern area of Fauro.

At the Mt Perry projects in Queensland, Solomon is preparing for a drilling campaign that is set to begin in September to test targets defined by geochemical surveys undertaken at Augustine, Nicko’s Reward and Spring Creek, with the latter defined as a significant drill target. Assay results from Spring Creek are currently pending.

Three elongated breccias to the south of Nicko’s Reward and nine mineralised vein targets east of Augustine has firmed as drill targets with numerous rock values up to 40g/t gold. Confirmation surface sampling has proved very successful in defining an open zone of strong gold currently named Spring Pig, which extends for several hundred metres and has the strongest and largest geochemical anomaly for gold of all the Mt Perry prospects.

At Rannes, where a 200,000 oz (ounces) maiden gold resource was reported in June, the drilled resource at Crunchie has been extended to the east into the El Dente prospect where it is not closed off. Drilling results from Crunchie included intersections of 4 metres at 1.28 g/t (grammes per tonne) gold and 81.8 g/t silver and 2.56 g/t gold equivalent and 6 metres at 0.61 g/t gold, 47.1 g/t silver and 1.35 g/t gold equivalent.

Assay results from the latest drilling at Homestead, which was designed to test an old gold open-put mine and confirm the interpreted south westerly pitch of separate mineralisation, are pending.

The next drilling campaign set for September/October will focus on targets defined by geochemical surveys undertaken at Police Camp Creek and Pinnacles. Solomon is aiming to deliver an increased resource by the end of the year.

The company said there were potentially economic intersections in five prospects in the Rannes area, Crunchie, Homestead, Kauffmans, Cracklin Rosie and Porcupine Pie.

“The Company is pleased to report that the current phase of drilling at Crunchie, Central Queensland, Australia, where the company reported the 200,000oz gold equivalent maiden resource in early June continues to provide positive results. Management is continuing to work towards the delivery of an increased resource by the end of the year. Results from the other Central Rannes area prospects are encouraging and the Company aims to include resource estimates from these targets by year-end,” said Chief Executive of Solomon Gold Nicholas Mather.

Back in July, the company conducted a successful placing to raise £1.65 million.