Australian firm

finds gold in Kratie

Australian gold and base metals explorer Southern

Gold Ltd announced the results of preliminary drillings in Kratie province, the

firm’s first foray into Cambodia.

In tests conducted in Snoul district, Southern Gold obtained readings of 3.45

grams of gold per tonne for one meter at a depth of 74 meters, according to a

company statement. Southern Gold managing director Stephen Biggins said the

test results were encouraging. “Southern Gold believes that the prospect for

gold deposits in northeast Cambodia

is substantial and that is why the company is funding such large exploration

projects.

“We expect to see more exciting results in coming

months,” he said. In 2006, Southern Gold reached an agreement with the

Cambodian government covering 959 square kilometers in Kratie and Mondulkiri

provinces, where the firm has the rights to eight concessions. In the coming

year, it also plans to conduct an airborne geophysical survey of the eastern

provinces, the first such survey to be conducted in Cambodia. Since it signed the

contracts, the price of gold has soared, hitting a record high of $1,032.70 an

ounce at the London Bullion Market on March 17. (Sebastian Strangio)