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From: Biniam Tekle (biniamt@dehai.org)
Date: Fri Oct 01 2010 - 18:44:52 EDT
September 30, 2010
Sunridge Gold Should Start Direct Shipping Of High Grade Copper Ore
>From Its Debarwa Project In Eritrea Next Year
By Charles Wyatt
‘Quirky, but with immense potential’ might be a fair description of
Canadian listed Sunridge Gold. Quirky, because chief executive Michael
Hopley took the company into Eritrea back in 2003 when this war
ravaged strip of land between the Red Sea and Ethiopia was certainly
not the destination of choice for many. Michael, however, appreciated
the prospectivity of the country sitting as it does on the Nubian
Arabian Shield and he well knew the advantages of first mover status
that might accrue. Since then things have moved on apace from a mining
point of view in Eritrea and the companies, big and small, now
operating there had their own mining conference in the capital of
Asmara a couple of weeks ago. The big boys on the block include
Antofagasta, Lundin Mining and Thani Ashanti, part of AngloGold
Ashanti. Barrick Gold is said to be sniffing around. Sunridge’s
original move was made in joint venture with Sub-Sahara Resources and
Africa Wide Mining, but it managed to buy both of these companies out
in 2006 in order to consolidate its 700 square kilometre Asmara
project which, as the name suggests, is conveniently near the
capital.Quirky also because, in his quest for early cashflow, Michael
Hopley is planning to export copper ore, grading as high as 20%, for
treatment elsewhere. This ore would come from the copper supergene
zone at the Debarwa deposit, one of the four significant deposits
identified to date on Asmara. Debarwa has a head start: it already
boasts a shaft, headframe, and two levels of underground workings, all
constructed in the 1970s. This zone is only 40 metres below surface
and runs over a strike length...
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