Galileo Resources PLC Share News (GLR)

(Sharecast News) - Galileo Resources released its first exploration update and information on drill planning over its option and joint venture project covering the Shinganda Copper-Gold Project in Zambia on Monday.

The AIM-traded firm entered the option and venture at the end of last year, which consists of a large-scale exploration licence and gives it the right to earn an initial 51% interest in the project.

It said it engaged a local drilling contractor to undertake a drilling programme to test the Shinganda pit workings, where "very limited" historic drilling was reported to have intersected 1.07% copper over a true width of 28.3 metres at shallow depth within supergene copper oxides.

Galileo said it would test for gold as well as copper, adding that previous holes were not assayed for gold, although anomalous gold was known to occur at other prospects on the property.

Systematic mapping and prospecting traverses by Galileo had identified nine targets of interest, most of which were subjected to recent small-scale artisanal pitting and excavation, with rock grab samples collected and dispatched for copper and gold assay.

Prospects sampled included the Shinganda pit workings, and a small pit to the south with reported historic assay values of 10.45% copper and 11 grams of gold per tonne.

Drill core from previous explorers, including Vale of Brazil, which was focussed on the north-west of the project area, had been located in storage and were available for follow-up logging and sampling.

A detailed ground magnetic survey totalling 383 line kilometres, meanwhile, was completed over the area to the west of the mineralised Shinganda pit workings, with the structural interpretation of that to be used to guide future exploration.

"I am very pleased with the outcome of our initial work at the Shinganda project," said chairman and chief executive officer Colin Bird.

"There is much indication of the presence of copper and gold, with gold being more elevated in grade than most projects I have been involved with in Zambia.

"There appears to be potential for our target of a small open pittable resource, with our initial drilling programme giving an indication of the larger potential along strike and to depth."

At 1443 BST, shares in Galileo Resources were up 4.76% at 1.1p.

Reporting by Josh White at Sharecast.com.