Ariana Resources to start drilling at Dokwe Gold Project

(Sharecast News) - Ariana Resources on Wednesday that said drilling is set to begin at its 100%-owned Dokwe Gold Project in Zimbabwe, with a reverse circulation rig now mobilising from South Africa for the first phase of an 11,000-metre exploration campaign. The AIM-traded firm said the programme, led by specialist contractor Torque Africa, would initially comprise 26 holes totalling around 4,000 metres targeting extensions of the Dokwe North and Dokwe Central deposits, which together host a resource of 1.1 million ounces of gold at 1.52 grams per tonne.

It said drilling would also test a significant gold-in-soil anomaly northeast of Dokwe North and follow up on historical intercepts near Dokwe Central. Initial assay results are expected before the end of the year.

"We are pleased to have appointed Torque Africa as drilling contractors for the initiation of our exploration programme at Dokwe," said managing director Dr Kerim Sener.

"We will be utilising an RC drilling rig capable of drilling to depths in excess of 300m to test several targets identified in our recent work programmes in the Dokwe North and Central areas."

He added: "Following the results of this initial phase of drilling, we anticipate either extending the RC programme or commencing a programme of diamond drilling as a prelude to JORC Resource upgrade, targeted for 2026.

"The company is excited to be starting this drilling programme following its successful ASX listing and looks forward to continuing to update the market as the programme progresses."

Ariana said site preparation, including access roads and drill pads, had been completed, adding that Torque's Thor 5000 rig had the capability to reach the required depths and angles for the priority targets identified through recent soil, geophysical and drilling data analysis.

At 1148 BST, shares in Ariana Resources were up 5.56% at 1.9p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.