AUSTRALIAN miner Indochine Mining Ltd yesterday announced initial results for its Kratie North concession that management described as largely positive for the company.

“That’s not to say we’ve discovered a huge deposit yet, but they are an encouraging start,” Indochine Chief Executive Officer Stephen Promnitz told The Post yesterday.

Initial results from the first of 16 holes in the area returned 0.3 grams per tonne gold extending over 200 metres with 0.5 grams to 2.6 grams per tonne gold at a number of 1 metre to 2 metres intervals, a company statement said.  Promnitz said further drilling results from all 16 holes, which are expected soon, may indicate a deposit or one nearby given the strong indications so far.

“It’s pretty unusual to get these sorts of results in your first hole.”

He pointed to large-scale gold and copper deposits in neighbouring countries, and said the fact Cambodia is still largely unexplored shows “the potential to find large deposits is still great”.

“I actually think the promise for the mineral industry in Cambodia is substantial, and that’s why we’re here,” he said.

Richard Stanger, president of the Cambodian Association of Mining and Exploration Companies, called Indochine’s initial results “promising”.

“Two hundred metres at 0.3 gpt ending in mineralisation certainly indicates the possibility of a larger-scale system there,” he said.