Coloured gemstone miner Gemfields is excited about the initial mineral resources estimate at its gold exploration project in Mozambique.
The project, located in Cabo Delgado in northern Mozambique, is housed within Nairoto Resources, which is 75% owned by Gemfields, and the analysis was conducted by SRK Exploration.
“This is exciting initial and early-stage news for our gold project in northern Mozambique. An Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate for TL5, just one of our target areas, infers noteworthy gold deposits of 103,000oz averaging more than 2g per tonne and lying within 80m of the surface,” said Kartikeya Parikshya, Gemfields’ MD for Mozambique.
“Given that we have yet to drill deeper to understand the depth extension, these results are a good first step as we continue our exploration to better understand both TL5 and our other target areas.”
All being well, we hope to provide an Indicated Mineral Resource for TL5 by the end of the year,” he said.Work will continue in other target areas, he added.”
It is worth raising that our gold project remains outside our core focus of responsibly mining and marketing coloured gemstones. Gold mining is not part of Gemfields’ long-term strategy and we will in due course, once we have further understood the resource, look for a purchaser or suitable partner for the project.”
SRK EX has identified 18 priority target locations, covering a 115km² area, based on the results of extensive regional soil sampling in conjunction with available geological and geophysical information. Nairoto intends to prioritise exploration in these target areas.
Nairoto is a joint venture between Gemfields (75%) and Mwiriti (25%), the group's existing partner in Montepuez Ruby Mine (MRM). Nairoto owns 12 licences located about 30km to the north of the MRM concession, covering an area of 1,957km².
The licences hold exploration potential for gold, ruby and allied minerals through a blend of prospecting and mining licences.
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