East Asia shares reach new high on Miwah drilling

East Asia Mineral (EAS-V) shares reached a new 52-week high today on drill results that show increasing thickness and grade at the Miwah zone of the company’s Miwah gold project in Aceh province, Northern Sumatra, Indonesia.

Hole EMD024 intersected 111 metres grading 3.96 grams gold per tonne, including 22 metres grading 15.74 grams gold at the end of the hole which reached 209 metres depth.

East Asia shares shot up nearly 20% today, or $1.24 apiece to $7.54 on a trading volume of 1.8 million shares, topping the stock’s 52-week high of $6.78, on April 6. The stock price has risen from 42¢ this time last year.

Drill rig limitations forced the company to terminate the hole at 209 metres depth with the penultimate and ultimate metre intercepts down hole grading 17.25 grams gold and 20.6 grams gold per tonne respectively.

This hole is the furthest north the East Asia has drilled on the Miway main zone so far, with the mineralization continuing to the end of the hole and beginning to firmly establish a link with the Moon River target.

The Miwah main zone is a thick tabular structure that’s been validated by drilling for 1.2 km east-west, 600 metres north south, and is still open in all directions. On top of that, sampling west of the Miwah main shows the east-west width may extend another 600 metres, the company says.

The Moon River area at Miwah has expanded the north-south potential to more than 600 metres from 400 while remaining further open towards Sipopok target to the north.

The company is planning to complete a resource estimate by mid 2010.

East Asia has an 85% interest in the Miwah project. East Asia began drilling the project in May 2009 though 3,000 metres of drilling was done by a previous operator in 1997.