Stockwatch snippet Howard Miller's Avnel Gold Mining Ltd.(AVK), up one-half cent to 26 cents on 396,000 shares, has received assays of up to 29.7 grams of gold over 11 metres from the south-central part of Kalanako, a gold prospect in southwestern Mali. The new assays are from 60 holes of the company's 82-hole drill program at Kalanako, which is shaping up to be a satellite deposit for the company's Kalana project, less than three kilometres to the southwest. Several other holes yielded high-grade gold hits, including a 15-metre interval that averaged 22.6 grams per tonne in the north-central portion of Kalanako.
Those high-grade hits, and several others, occurred beyond the area included in a 2015 resource estimate. That resource was minuscule, with just 380,000 tonnes inferred at 5.55 grams per tonne providing 70,000 ounces of gold. Mr. Miller, chairman and chief executive officer, says the purpose of the drilling was to support an updated resource estimate of Kalanako. He says the latest assays are very encouraging since most of the promotable hits occurred beyond the existing resource pits, which should bode well for an expanded inferred resource, while the existing inferred rock is likely to be upgraded to indicated. Investors should know within a month; he says Avnel is looking forward to a new estimate in mid-April. It all helps, although Kalana Main is still the key to Avnel's Mali plans. It hosts a reserve of 21.7 million tonnes at 2.8 grams per tonne, or nearly two million ounces.
The London-based Mr. Miller had been getting an annual salary of 217,000 British pounds for the past few years but a year ago, the company began paying him in U.S. dollars. A raise came with the switch, as he was earning $406,250 (U.S.) at last report.