Aim-listed Rome Resources has started drilling on its Kalayi prospect in the North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The Kalayi prospect, together with the Mont Agoma and the Mont Agoma Northwest prospects, make up the Bisie North projects.

Local company Mole Drilling Congo has now completed site establishment and local staff orientation and has started drilling at the first diamond core drill hole at Kalayi. Two additional diamond core drill rigs will now be mobilised to additional identified drill sites, one at Kalayi and one at Mont Agoma, where drilling is expected to begin within the next two weeks.

The drilling programme will be fine-tuned as results are received, with Rome expecting to complete it early in the fourth quarter, with all results and a potential mineral resource estimate reported before the end of the year. 

The initial planned resource drilling programme at Kalayi is comprised of up to 12 diamond core drill holes, which will test mineralisation at two levels about 50 m apart over 700 m of the core high-grade tin-in-soil anomaly of more than 80 ppm.

Two holes will be drilled on each section spaced about 100 m apart. Drilling is expected to define tin mineralisation down to depths of more than 100 m below surface.

An initial four drill holes were completed previously at Kalayi, where significant tin mineralisation intersected two holes.

One of these holes KBDD002, yielded 2.5 m at 2.6% tin from 79 m, including 1 m at 4.68% tin from 79 m. At KBDD003, 12.5 m at 1.05% tin was intersected from 40.5 m, including 1 m at 7.21% tin from 51.5 m. Hole KBDD003 yielded 3 m at 1.92% tin from 70 m.

A narrow cassiterite vein, confirmed by a hand-held X-ray fluorescence analyser, was exposed during pad clearing of the first drill pad of this campaign at KBPC003, confirming mineralisation is open to the northwest.

"We are extremely pleased to have reached this milestone so soon after admission, demonstrating the Rome team's ability to execute operations in the DRC. The Kalayi prospect has already yielded grades of up to 7.2% tin in previous shallow drilling and has striking similarities with Alphamin's nearby Mpama South mine, where tin grades increase with depth,” Rome CEO Paul Barrett said on August 5.