The recent discovery of a new and untapped prospect within its Wellington Project serves as further confirmation that it is not wasting its time focusing solely on the region taking in Dubbo, Forbes, Orange and Wellington.

The Tomingley Gold Project, Dubbo Zirconia Project and McPhillamys prospect, part of the Orange District Joint Venture now led by gold mining giant Newmont, are also the results of Alkane’s “routine exploration” in the nooks and crannies of the central west.

The region is widely considered “mature” when it comes to exploration, suggesting prospectors big and small have traversed its entirety.

The new ‘Carinya’ prospect in the Wellington Project again suggests otherwise.

Alkane Resources managing director Ian Chalmers has told the Australian Securities Exchange that surface sampling of the previously unexplored area had shown high-grade gold, silver and copper along with molybdenum, used as an additive for steel.

“We have a geologist going around belting rocks with a hammer,” Mr Chalmers told the Daily Liberal.

“That’s how we found Carinya after a landholder showed us to it.”

Mr Chalmers emphasised that despite the interesting find, “low-level prospecting” of the hammer kind would continue.

The company currently was pouring most of its resources and energy into the Tomingley and Dubbo zirconia projects, he said.

A feasibility study on the proposed gold mine at Tomingley is scheduled to be completed mid-2009.

A demonstration pilot plant in Sydney is producing samples of zirconium and niobium for perusal by the world market.

Drilling has taken place at only a couple of the 15 identified copper and gold prospects within Alkane’s Wellington Project and the 10 prospects within the company’s adjoining Bodangora Project.

kim.bartley@ruralpress.com