Rome Resources Begins Drilling at Kalayi Prospect in DRC
Aim-listed Rome Resources has commenced drilling at its Kalayi prospect in North Kivu province, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Kalayi, along with the Mont Agoma and Mont Agoma Northwest prospects, forms part of the Bisie North projects.
Local contractor Mole Drilling Congo has completed site setup and staff orientation and has initiated drilling at Kalayi’s first diamond core drill hole.
Two more diamond core drill rigs are scheduled to be deployed to additional sites, one at Kalayi and another at Mont Agoma, with drilling expected to begin within the next two weeks.
The drilling program will be adjusted based on ongoing results, with completion expected early in the fourth quarter. Rome anticipates reporting all results and a potential mineral resource estimate by year-end.
The initial resource drilling at Kalayi consists of up to 12 diamond core drill holes, targeting mineralization at two levels, approximately 50 meters apart, over a 700-meter stretch of a high-grade tin-in-soil anomaly exceeding 80 ppm.
Two holes will be drilled on each section, spaced roughly 100 meters apart, aiming to define tin mineralization down to depths exceeding 100 meters.
Previous drilling at Kalayi yielded significant results, including 2.5 meters at 2.6% tin from 79 meters in hole KBDD002 and 12.5 meters at 1.05% tin from 40.5 meters in hole KBDD003. A narrow cassiterite vein was also exposed during pad clearing, confirming the presence of mineralization to the northwest.
“We are thrilled to reach this milestone so soon after our market admission, demonstrating our team’s efficiency in executing operations in the DRC.
The Kalayi prospect has already shown promising grades of up to 7.2% tin in prior shallow drilling, with strong similarities to Alphamin’s nearby Mpama South mine, where tin grades improve with depth,” said Rome CEO Paul Barrett on August 5.
