Stone said the discovery of a semi-continuous 93m mineralised zone grading 2.33 grams per tonne beneath the Bepkong deposit - including 9.9m at 8.42gpt from 295m - was "a credit to our entire geological team".

 

The drilling is part of a A$4 million multi-target campaign aimed at lifting resources and reserves with the objective of delivering a commercially robust, development-ready project by the third quarter of 2019.

 

Azumah said the exploration programme had been "developed by renowned orogenic gold specialist, Dr Jon Hronsky, and exploration manager, Paul L'Herpiniere", founding partners of Ibaera Capital, a Perth managed private equity group earning up to 47.5% interest in Wa for expenditure of US$13.5 million.

 

A reserve statement and feasibility update are due next month.

 

Wa's current reserves total 624,000 ounces in mineralisation grading 2.14 grams per tonne, with resources standing at just over two million oz.

 

Azumah started the current quarter with about A$2.3 million cash.

 

Shares in the company (ASX: AZM) were up 9% to 2.4c in morning trade, capitalising Azumah at about $19 million.