AUSTRALIAN mining company Southern Gold announced on Tuesday it had hit a "significant" quantity of gold deposits at its Snuol concession in southern Kratie province.

The Adelaide-based miner said in a statement that it had found gold mineralisation close to the surface following shallow drilling at its wholly owned, 100-square-kilometre Anchor prospect, which lies within the larger Snuol concession.

Southern Gold said the find also showed "high levels of other metals ... associated with the gold mineralisation" including silver, copper and zinc.

"I am delighted with the results of this first-pass drill programme," said Southern Gold managing director Stephen Biggins in the statement, "and look forward to aggressively following up these results with further drilling to better understand the potential of this area for a significant mineral discovery".

Southern Gold's shares (SAU: ASX) rose 5 percent in Sydney Tuesday to 10.5 Australian cents on the news.

Southern Gold announced last month it would raise up to A$1.6 million (US$1.26 million) with an offering of 16 million ordinary shares, partly to fund ita Cambodia operations.

The company said on Tuesday it would drill deeper at the Anchor prospect during the next phase, which is expected to begin in November.

Southern Gold owns seven mining concessions in Cambodia - in Kratie, Mondulkiri and Ratanakkiri provinces. Three are joint ventures with Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp.