--UPDATE, ADDS BROKER COMMENTS--
Shanta Gold (LON:SHG) has found traces of gold in 24 of 26 holes drilled at the Askari target, 14 km northwest of its New Luika mine in Tanzania.
Results from the phase 1 programme included four holes with grades of 7.2g/t to 31.2 g/t at depths of 61m to 108m and over widths between 3 and 8m.
Broker SP Angel, in a note, said: “These are great results by any standards and vindicate Toby Bradbury and Scott Yelland’s move to reinstate Shanta’s outlying exploration program.
“Longer term we see Shanta as centred within a rich gold bearing district with the geological potential to support a number of high-grade gold pits and underground gold mines.”
Shanta tested a 300m strike of which approximately 250m exhibited mineralisation with higher grades concentrated in a 100m stretch.
Phase 2 drilling at Askari target will include step-out and in-fill drilling.
New Luika comprises nine deposits in the south of Tanzania. Shanta is exploring a number of satellite deposits to boost its mine life, with new resources recently defined at the Elizabeth Hill prospect.
Currently the mine’s probable reserves at both surface and underground are 2.65Mt at 5.9 g/t gold or 506,000oz.