LSE- and TSX-listed Centamin has delivered an “encouraging” set of maiden drill results across several targets within the Nugrus block on its Eastern Desert Exploration (EDX) landholding, which is adjacent to its operating Sukari gold mine in Egypt.

The EDX blocks comprise 3 000 km² of greenfield exploration tenements within Egypt’s Nubian Shield –  a highly prospective geological belt which has not been explored using modern exploration methods.

“Supported by a pending new mining regulatory and fiscal regime, these results underpin Egypt’s emergence as an attractive exploration jurisdiction which Centamin is uniquely positioned to leverage given our experience and long-standing position in-country.

“We have an exciting work programme budgeted for 2024 which includes delineating potential resources and further drill targets in Egypt as part of our growth strategy, which has already increased pre-depletion group reserves by 3.5-million ounces over the last three years,” says CEO Martin Horgan.

Centamin completed a 16 216 m reverse circulation (RC) maiden drill programme across eight targets on the Nugrus block which is located adjacent to the Sukari mining concession.

Significant drill intercepts are included at the Little Sukari prospect (28 km west of the Sukari gold mine); and at the Umm Majal prospect (23 km west of the Sukari gold mine).

Detailed geological mapping and ground geophysical surveys are to be conducted over the Nugrus prospects, Little Sukari and Umm Majal in half one 2024.

Up to 15 000 m of RC and diamond core drilling is budgeted for follow-up drill testing at Little Sukari and Umm Majal, alongside preliminary metallurgical testing, a conceptual resource estimate and optimisation study to steer ongoing drilling.

This programme may be expanded to include first pass drill testing of potential new Nugrus targets generated through ongoing exploration fieldwork.

A results-driven exploration programme on the Um Rus block will be determined after receipt of the soil geochemistry results, expected in half one 2024.

A bulk leach extractable gold drainage sampling programme started on the Najd block in late December 2023 and will be ongoing throughout half one 2024.

Generative exploration will continue across all the exploration licences, including soil geochemistry, rock chip sampling over gold-in-soil anomalies, and detailed geological mapping with the objective to identify new drill targets.