Romios drills Scossa

Proceeds from a private placement are keeping the drills turning at the high-grade Scossa gold property, in Nevada’s Pershing Cty.

In April, Romios Gold Resources (RGRI-C) raised $250,920 by issuing 73.8 units to arm’s-length subscribers. Another 14.2 units had to be canceled, owing to the offering’s expiry.

Each unit consisted of 10,000 shares priced at 34 each and 10,000 warrants. One warrant entitles the holder to buy an equivalent number of shares at 45 apiece until April 5, 2001, or at 60 in the ensuing six months.

The underwriter received $340 in cash and is being paid, subject to regulatory approval, another $12,580 by way of warrants. Those warrants are exercisable at 45 till April 5, 2001.

The preliminary drill program is targeting an epithermal system mined during the 1930s. Since the financing, seven shallow holes have been sunk in the vicinity of the old workings, which were thoroughly mapped and sampled last year. This brings to nine the number drilled since the program’s start, in January, and immediate plans call for another 10 to be sunk.

Mineralization at Scossa is associated with several parallel structures characterized by gold-bearing quartz veining. The structures dip steeply and range in width from several metres to more than 3 metres.

Results have proved encouraging for the first five holes — the only ones for which they are currently available. All (plus two more) were collared to test the downplunge extension to the main zone of historical mining. Holes 8 and 9 tested another structure to the east.

Significant gold values varied from less than one gram to more than 364 grams per tonne, while silver ran as high as 85.71 grams. Higher grades appear to be associated with brecciation. Selected results include the following:

3.35 metres (roughly 43 metres down-hole) grading 200 grams gold and 25 grams silver in hole 2. About 17 metres farther down, 1.8 metres ran over 35 grams gold and 3 grams silver.

1.46 metres (at 59 metres) grading 68.91 grams gold and 85.71 grams silver in hole 5. A second interval, starting another 10 metres down-hole and correlating with the deeper zone of hole 2, averaged more than 18 grams gold and 17 grams silver before having to be abandoned as a result of caving.

0.4 metre grading 3.63 grams gold in hole 4. The section is thought to represent the edge of the shallower zones encountered in holes 2 and 3; it was stopped in an old, unmapped stope.

Visible gold is noted for some of the intersections.

Romios President Thomas Drivas says his company is encouraged by the results and believes they reflect only the top of the system: “We feel the veins might converge at depth.”

Scossa covers 130 ha and lies several miles southeast of the Rosebud and Hycroft gold mines. The former, a high-grade underground operation, is split equally between Helca Mining (HL-N) and Newmont Mining (NEM-N), whereas the latter, an open-pit mine, is wholly owned by Vista Gold (VGZ-T).