Caracal Gold PLC (LSE:GCAT) said it has discovered a new high-grade gold zone at Kilimapesa Hill in Kenya.
The new deposit lies above the current underground workings and above the areas drilled as part of the resource estimate.
Mining commenced at the zone on 9 March 2023, and material is being processed at the rate of 360 tonnes per day. The daily average grades of the material have been running at between 3.31 grams per tonne and 4.74 grams.
At present six zones have been identified. A mining plan is now in place which supports throughput of high-grade ore through the milling plant for the rest of March and on into June.
The exploration team is extending the work on the high-grade zone to define the full extent of the strike.
This will be followed by trenching and sampling and ultimately drilling with the goal of defining high-grade ore for long-term processing through the milling plan, to include the ounces into the Kilimapesa Hill resource estimate.
"The Caracal and Kilimapesa exploration teams have always believed that significant high-grade zones exist within the Kilimapesa Hill deposit,” said Caracal chief executive Robbie McCrae in a statement.
“As we open and expand the open cast mining pits, to support the expansion project, we expect to find more of these zones. The potential size of this high-grade zone is encouraging, and is further confirmation and validation of our understanding of the Kilimapesa Hill deposit and our development strategy," he added.
Production is likely to run at 790 ounces per month from the milling plant and 160 ounces per month from the heap leach pilot plan, the company said.