Australian mining firm Geopacific Resources Ltd has made a new discovery of high-grade gold and silver mineralisation during exploratory drilling at a remote site in northern Cambodia, the company said in an announcement yesterday.

Test drilling at Prospect 190 on its Kou Sa project in Preah Vihear province revealed gold grades ranging from 10.93 g/t to 17.14 g/t in samples taken about 90 metres below the surface, and silver deposits from 121.65 g/t to 193.87 g/t.

The assay results reinforce earlier drilling, which identified a gold-silver mineralised zone believed to be part of a network of epithermal deposits commonly associated with shallow, high-grade metal deposits.

One anomalous core sample from another section of the strike revealed a gold concentration of 51 g/t – an exceptionally rare high grade.

Ron Heeks, managing director of Geopacific, said the latest drilling results confirm the presence of high-grade gold and silver epithermal mineralisation at Kou Sa.

“They also reinforce the potential of the area to host a significant, deeper source that has shown multiple mineralisation styles over a widespread area,” he said.

The Kou Sa project is located on a 158-square-kilometre tenement in Preah Vihear province that Geopacific purchased in 2013. Geomagnetic surveys and test drilling have revealed high-grade copper deposits, as well as gold and silver mineralisation at several sites.

Geopacific holds 85 per cent interest in the project, while the local Cambodian partner, Royal Group, has a free-carried 15 per cent interest until a decision is made to mine.

The company is currently proceeding with a maiden scoping study to determine the potential for taking the Kou Sa project into commercial production.

Richard Stanger, president of the Cambodian Association for Mining and Exploration Companies (CAMEC), said Geopacific is one of the most active mineral exploration firms in Cambodia and there is mounting evidence it is sitting on a “fantastic” deposit.

“They have something pretty substantial there,” he said.