LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Brazil-focussed mining company Serabi Gold provided its first development update on the wholly-owned Coringa Project in the Tapajos region of Brazil's Para state on Friday.
The AIM-traded firm said the first of the three veins in the Serra Zone had been intersected by underground development, with the sampled vein recording assays of 2.94 grams per tonne over 3.63 metres, including 12.44 grams per tonne over 0.86 metres, using results from its in-house laboratory.

It said that the initial area of the vein would form the ramp pillar, and was not expected to deliver the same grade and widths as other parts of the vein.

Thus, the company said, the initial intercept was "highly encouraging", adding that as anticipated the vein was sub-vertical, which it said was "highly beneficial" for mining.

The detailed engineering design of the Coringa process plant, meanwhile, was said to be "advancing well", with Brazilian engineering consultancy Icone Technology & Engineering, expected to complete their work in the second quarter.

Serabi said the process plant was already at the Coringa site and ready for installation following completion of the detailed engineering and award of the installation licence, which was expected "imminently".

The application for the licence had been submitted, and was being reviewed by the State Environmental Agency, 'SEMAS'.

At the same time, the firm said it had been working with Brandt Environmental to complete an indigenous study, which it expected to finish early in the second quarter, around the same time as the award of the installation licence.

"These initial results from Coringa represent a significant milestone achieved and excellent progress continuing at the project," said chief executive officer Mike Hodgson.

"Coringa has over 50,000 metres of drilling already complete, but this is the first exposure of the mineralisation by underground excavation.

"The underground development will be continued on this level to expose the other veins of the Serra ore body and will be followed up by on-lode development to gain further underground exposure as well as to extract a significant bulk sample for further testing."

Hodgson said the company felt the underground exposure would allow Serabi to optimise the mining methodology currently being considered, with the bulk sample to be used to undertake ore sorting testwork, using its facility 200 kilometres to the north at Palito.

"Coringa does appear to be amenable to ore-sorting and this would bring the prospect of reducing process costs and diminishing tailings required for filtration, a huge plus for the project.

"With a drilled resource of approximately 500,000 ounces, we will now develop through some of these ore zones.

"As this development continues, we will continue sampling and assessing the geometry of the orebodies as well as completing various studies."

At 1132 GMT, shares in Serabi Gold were up 1.74% at 55.45p.

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