At the AGM Pat Volpe talked about his recent trip to Botswana...

At the AGM Pat Volpe talked about his recent trip to Botswana and the JV with Gallery gold. He specifically told us that the vein talked about in todays Age newspaper crossed into the CNN tenement and hence the urgency for Gallery to secure the CNN tenement. This could be good after all. The article is attached.




Explorer believes African discovery is good as gold
December 9 2002
By Eli Greenblat




The project may be Botswana's biggest gold haul.



Junior explorer Gallery Gold is poised to announce this week that its tenements in Botswana contain at least 700,000 ounces of recoverable gold.

The initial results from a feasibility study of its Mupane gold project should confirm it as the largest discovery made in the small African state.

Earlier studies by Gallery Gold have suggested that one million ounces of gold could lie beneath the ground at its mining operations in Mupane, located in north-east Botswana.

To date the prospect has thrown up two quality gold deposits: the Tau ore body containing more than 500,000 ounces of open-pit mineralisation and the smaller Tolo deposit, which is estimated to contain upwards of 100,000 ounces of gold.



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Gallery Gold managing director Keith McKay said yesterday the Perth-based company would soon start negotiations with banks on the back of the positive findings. If all went to plan the first gold bars from its Botswana prospects should start rolling off the production line in 2004.

Gallery Gold would need as much as $24 million to transform its operations from gold exploration to full-scale production, and had already had some interest from financial institutions in South Africa and Europe, Mr McKay said.

Gallery Gold's obsession with Botswana began in 1994 when a small syndicate - not linked with the current management and company - began prospecting for resources in the southern state. which is sandwiched between Namibia and Zimbabwe.

In 1996, the most promising tenements were bought from the near-bankrupt explorers for just $3000, and with the backing of Gallery Gold's 43 per cent owner, Lion Selection Group, the new management spent $14 million getting the project on its feet.

Mr McKay said Botswana had fantastic mining and resources potential, and was a stable place to conduct business.

Botswana has been independent since 1966 and is a multi-party democracy.

Locally listed Gallery Gold shares closed at 28.5 cents on Friday. Lion Selection Group shares, also traded on the ASX, closed at $1.10.