A Vancouver-based prospecting company, Kent Exploration Inc, says it has finished its first stage of exploration on the Alexander River, 25km southeast of Reefton, and will begin a "minimal impact" diamond drill programme immediately after the Christmas/New Year break.
Geological consultant Nancy Reardon sampled 26 of the 28 trenches sampled by Macraes Mining during a 1988-1993 work programme which identified gold-bearing mineralisation around the early mined reefs at rates as high as 24.12g/tonne.
The 177 samples from the trenches have been submitted to SGS Laboratories and in New Zealand for assay, which are expected early in the New Year, said company president, Graeme O'Neill, in a statement to the Toronto stock exchange.
The 2669-hectare Alexander River gold prospect encompassed the historic Alexander gold mine, which produced 41,091 ounces of gold from 47,726 tonnes of quartz before closing in 1943.
Kent Exploration Inc. also owns the Paparoa and Lyell gold projects in the Reefton gold field.
