Both Ortac Resources Limited (LON:OTC) and Premier African Minerals Limited (LON: PREM), have revealed that Casa Mining Limited has started a 5,000 metre drill programme at the Akyanga gold deposit, part of the prospective Misisi gold project, in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Casa’s aim is to increase and upgrade the existing mineral resource estimate. Ortac has a 22.2% stake and Premier African Minerals has a 4.5% stake.
In 2014, UK consultant SRK reported an inferred mineral resource at the Akyanga deposit of 5.5 mln tonnes at a grade of 1.5 grammes per tonne gold for approximately 272,000 ounces of contained gold.
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SRK has further reported an inferred transition gold resource of 16.2 mln tonnes at a grade of 1.8 grammes for approximately 927,000 ounces.
Subsequently, MDM Engineering Projects Limited, in conjunction with SRK, completed a scoping feasibility study for an 80,000 oz year heap-leach operation at the Akyanga deposit resulting in an ungeared net present value at a discount of 8% of US$171mln and an IRR of 35%.
The first 2,200 metres in the current programme are expected to be completed during October 2017.
In late afternoon trading, Ortac shares were 8%, or 0.3p at 3.25p, while Premier African shares were steady at 0.48p.
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