THE small Irish exploration company, Ormonde Mining, has, said that it expects to start drilling at its Mexico gold prospect next month. Ormonde said drilling at the La Dura property in Sonora, Mexico, showed the gold mineralisation to be structurally controlled and plunging westwards. A new target has also been outlined at the southern end of the licence area and drilling on both prospects will begin next month.

The company has also said that it has carried out further work on its licences in Tanzania which confirmed their prospectivity for gold, and acquired two additional Tanzanian properties covering 352 sq km. One of the new licences contained two former gold mines which were producing in the early part of this century. "Both have the potential for disseminated bulk mineable mineralisation," according to Ormonde,, which obtained a listing on the Exploration Securities and Market in February.