The Canada-based company said this was at The Hut prospect, where drilling the discovery had returned 70m at 0.9g/t gold and 828ppm cobalt, or 1.6g/t gold-equivalent, from 95.8m.

In another highlight, Mawson said drilling at Joki East, a blind discovery made in late 2020, had intersected high-grade mineralisation "at the shallowest levels yet found" - 1.5m at 18.1g/t gold and 1,696ppm cobalt, or 19.6g/t Au-eq, from 117.1m.

The explorer said The Hut and Joki East were 500m and 1,500m respectively from the closest resource areas.

"After an active few months in the field, this is a strong start, delivering both high grades and thick gold-cobalt mineralisation on new discoveries close to our already defined resource areas," chairman and CEO Michael Hudson said.

Further drilling results from the four rig programme are due ahead of a resource upgrade scheduled for July, aiming to "significantly expand" Rajapalot's inferred 716,000oz Au-eq resource.

Mawson is also exploring its projects in Victoria and Queensland in Australia.

The company had C$8 million in cash, according to a presentation last week.

It changed name from Mawson Resources to Mawson Gold in August, the same month the gold price reached a record high above US$2,000 an ounce.

Its shares (TSX: MAW) have ranged from 19.5-57c over the past year.

They closed up 3.8% to 27c yesterday, valuing the company at $69 million (US$55 million).