Oliver Kazunga
Senior Business Reporter
PAMBILI Natural Resources said the initial assay results from its ongoing drilling programme at the Golden Valley Mine project near Bulawayo have confirmed continued mineralisation at depth at potentially economic grades.
In a statement, the Toronto Stock Exchange-listed mining group, which brought the production plant at Golden Valley Mine project back on line towards the end of last year, said the assays were conducted at Antech Laboratories, an accredited laboratory in Kwekwe.
โThe company is pleased to announce the results of the first assays from its ongoing drilling programme at Golden Valley Mine in Zimbabwe,โ said Pambili.
โThe results indicate that the down-dip extension of gold mineralisationโฆover significant widths and at potentially economic grades.โ
In November last year, the mining group announced it had entered into a share purchase agreement to acquire the Golden Valley project from White Satin Investments the firmโs growth plan.
Meanwhile, Pambili has signed a 12-month Option Agreement with Long Strike Investments (Private) Limited to acquire the Londo Wall group of gold claims and surrounding mines in Gwanda, Matabeleland South Province.
During the term of the Option Agreement, Pambili will conduct extensive due diligence and exploration of the claims, and should the mining group exercise the option, the total acquisition cost of the mines and claims will be US$1 million.
The amount would be satisfied through a combination of cash and Pambili shares.
A โRight to Mineโ agreement, signed as part of the option, would allow Pambili to commence gold production at London Wall Mine, initially by processing tailings and sands, before moving into underground mining operations.
The group anticipates to bring at least one of the acquired mines back into production within the term of the Option Agreement.
Zimbabwe has witnessed a resurgence in gold mining activity in recent years, leading to record-breaking production levels last year.
In addition to Golden Valley, other notable examples of the resurgence include the reopening of Eureka Gold Mine in Guruve, Mashonaland Central Province, and the ongoing redevelopment and expansion of Pickstone Peerless Mine in Chegutu, Mashonaland West Province.