Moto eyes resource upgradeBen SharplesWednesday, July 20,...

Moto eyes resource upgrade


Ben Sharples


Wednesday, July 20, 2005
MOTO Goldmines has started pre-feasibility work at its namesake gold project in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with production potentially starting around the end of 2007.

Moto chief financial officer Patrick Flint told MiningNews.net the company would look to releasing an upgraded resource statement by next month.

Flint said pre-feasibility work had started, with the company aiming to get a scoping study out by September, rolling through pre-feasibility and full feasibility by mid-to-late next year.

The Moto gold project currently has a resource of 43 million tonnes grading 3.1 grams per tonne of gold for 6.1 million ounces. The majority of the resource estimate falls into the inferred category.

The Moto project covers around 4700 square kilometres and is situated in the Moto goldfields in the north-east of the DRC. The tenements are situated within the Archaean Moto greenstone belt of the lower Kibalian system.

The DRC has come under the spotlight in recent months with fellow Australian company Anvil Mining embroiled in allegations implicating the company in a massacre, and confirmation AngloGold Ashanti employees made payments to militia to ensure their safety.

However, Flint said the company had been operating in the DRC since February 2004 and hadn't experienced any difficulty or security problems to date.

Infill drilling at the Sessenge prospect returned hits of 32m grading 2.96gpt of gold from 32m, 26m at 3.14gpt gold from 82m, 10m at 8.9gpt gold from 54m, 18m at 2.47gpt gold from 74m, 34m at 2.21gpt gold from 118m, and 50m at 2.1gpt gold from 96m.

Sessenge lies within the north-east/south-west trending Durba-Karagba corridor and is 1km south-west of the Karagba prospect. Moto said drilling at Sessenge had defined a series of stacked mineralised horizons averaging around 15-20m in thickness.

Shares in Moto, which had around $6 million in the coffers at the end of June, gained 2% during yesterday's trade to close at 51c. Shares gained a further 1% during midday trade today to 53c.