Sula Iron & Gold is set to carry out an extended drill programme on its Ferensola Gold Project located in north-east Sierra Leone after securing £500,000 in funding.
The company has also signed a contract for Energold Drilling to perform the drilling in November.
Under the agreement, Energold is set to to mobilise two drilling rigs on 1 November in the Ferensola licence area.
The drill programme will be overseen on-site by SRK Consulting and Howard Baker to ensure that the optimal technical structural data is gained from the programme.
According to Sula, the programme will consist of a total of 1,500m, which may be sufficient to formally engage with a potentially interested tier 1 international gold company.
Sula Iron & Gold CEO Nick Warrell said: "The extended drilling programme is an important factor in enabling Sula to potentially attract a Tier 1 gold producer.
"Further to the recent placing, the company now has the necessary funds in place to complete this programme."
The company is also waiting for the outcome of a loan application from the IFC, a member of the World Bank Group (WBG), for its Coltan project.
The WBG has mobilised around $1bn in financing for countries affected by the Ebola crisis, which is expected to include about $450m from the IFC to enable trade, investment and employment in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.
The 153km² Ferensola project is highly prospective for iron, gold and coltan.
Image: Sula Iron & Gold will carry out an extended drill programme from November. Photo: courtesy of duron123/FreeDigitalPhotos.net.