Resources round-up: Fastnet, SolGold, Botswana, Firestone

Fastnet Oil and Gas has welcomed the publication of independent technical reports on the Molly Malone Basin and Mizzen Basin in the Celtic Sea as it confirms the company's estimates. The best case unrisked in-place resource estimates for the Mizzen Basin is around 2.4bn barrels of oil equivalent (boe) (gas case) or 957m boe (gas case), and for the Molly Malone Basin is around 12.5bn barrels (oil case) or 3.6bn boe (gas case). The firm believes that the basins could present a high impact opportunity to potential major industry players.

SolGold has reported drilling results of 8.0m at 1.1g per tonne (g/t) gold and 7.0g/t silver from its wholly-owned Rannes gold-silver Project in Queensland, Australia. This included 2.0m at 6.75g/t gold and 27.3g/t silver. The firm has been drilling outside the previously reported resource block model and is targeting potential higher grade zones. The intersections are interpreted to be from two parallel lodes, which combine into the main central lode to the northwest.

Botswana Diamonds has recovered a two carat diamond at its sampling project at Libongo in the Cameroon. The diamond is a low value, near gem quality stone. A sample has been taken and is currently being processed. The discovery has enabled the company to make its presence in the remote site more justifiable, saying "the stone is of industrial quality, but proves the concept".

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Firestone Diamonds sold 45,773 carats, realising $4.14m, duing the second quarter of 2012. Production at the pitol plant was 9.0% above forecast at 152,422 tons, with 49,240 carats recovered at a grade of 32.3 carats per hundred tonnes. The firm said it has a strong cash position of around $16.3m at June 30th, following the improved performance and restructuring of the company.

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