JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The share price of Africa-focused exploration firm African Eagle Resources surged in Johannesburg on Wednesday, after the company announced that it had calculated an “in-house” figure of 700 000 oz of gold at its Igurubi project, in Tanzania.

The company’s share price rose 27% to 65c a share in Johannesburg, from Tuesday’s closing price of 51c a share.

The London- and Johannesburg-listed African Eagle would be looking for a joint-venture partner to develop the project, as it would focus on the development of its nickel discovery at Dutwa.

“Although the drill data are not detailed enough to support a formal resource estimate, the modelling gives strong indications of the potential for at least 700 000 gold ounces,” said MD Mark Parker on Wednesday.

African Eagle based its calculation on a polygonal deposit modelling using data from 2005 to 2008.

“These results do not constitute a resource conforming to the joint ore reserves committee or South African mineral resource committee codes because the drilling is relatively widely spaced and continuity of the mineralisation could not be established with full confidence on some sections. Nevertheless, the result indicates that the area has a significant gold endowment and would be very likely to reward further exploration,” the company said in a statement.

To make an in-house estimate of the potential size of the deposit, African Eagle’s geologists conducted polygonal deposit modelling using Micromine software, constructing 54 sections along the principal mineralised vein set. They then interpolated the outlines of the ore shells along strike between the sections and extrapolated them down dip to between 100 m and 150 m depth.

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