LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Exploration and development company Empire Metals updated the market on the Eclipse Gold Project on Thursday, reporting that the initial work programme had increased its confidence in the project's potential to host a profitable small-scale high-grade open pit gold mine.
The AIM-traded firm had now completed the acquisition of 75% of the project, located 55 kilometres north east of Kalgoorlie in the state of Western Australia.

It said further significant assay results received to date included 14 metres at 3.78 grams of gold per tonne from 22 metres on hold ECRC20_022, including one metre at 21.4 grams of gold per tonne and one metre at 16.65 grams of gold per tonne.

That hole included three different clusters of quartz veining, mainly associated with the higher grades, confirming there was more than one mineralised structure.

At hole ECRC20_027 it reported eight metres at 2.27 grams of gold per tonne from 32 metres, including three metres at 5.27 grams of gold per tonne, while on hole ECRC20_032 it found five metres at 6.5 grams of gold per tonne from 26 metres, including three metres at 9.29 grams of gold per tonne.

On hole ECRC20_017, it reported three metres at 3.18 grams of gold per tonne from 49 metres, including one metre at 6.49 grams of gold per tonne, and at hole ECRC20_026 it found one metre at 6.93 grams of gold per tonne at surface, and one metre at 4.50 grams of gold per tonne from 10 metres/

Finally, at hole ECRC20_021, it reported 14 metres at 1.70 grams of gold per tonne from nine metres depth, including one metre at 7.76 grams of gold per tonne at nine metres and four metres at 2.37 grams of gold per tonne from 19 metres.

Empire said an additional work programme would start before the end of the year, including infill and extension drilling at Eclipse, in a bid to better define the near-surface potential resource and extensions at depth and along strike, in addition to target testing at Houdini and others defined from geochemistry.

It also confirmed the completion of the 75% acquisition of Eclipse, through the execution of an option agreement following its fundraising completed on 24 November.

"We are pleased to have now exercised our option to acquire a 75% interest in Eclipse which, coupled with the company's recent placing, allows us to push ahead with developing the project," said chief executive officer Mike Struthers.

"These additional drill results in the uppermost 50 metres of Eclipse are very encouraging, and add further to our confidence in the potential for a profitable small-scale and high-grade open pit operation.

"This is very attractive, but the fact that the Eclipse mineralisation is also open at depth is particularly interesting and will be a key element of further work as we continue to advance the project."

Struthers said the company was also expecting to receive a permit in the near term for drilling further to the north west along the strike of Eclipse, in the vicinity of the other old workings of Jack's Dream and Steinhobel.

"These lie 200 metres to 300 metes north west of the Eclipse shaft, on the same mineralised structure.

"Jack's Dream was worked in the early 1900s and produced 197 tonnes at 23.8 grams of gold per tonne, and whilst there are no records of the production at Steinhobel, old stopes are visible at surface indicating that historically it produced gold.

"We are now focusing our efforts on preparing for the next phase of drilling and look forward to providing further updates on the continued work at Eclipse over the coming weeks."

At 1141 GMT, shares in Empire Metals were up 4.69% at 3.35p.

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