Asmara Bus

Asmara, 1 January 2011, Shabait – In line with the huge investments directed towards securing reliable and competent transport services to the public, busses that were imported recently have become operational in transporting people to and from Asmara and the regions of the nation.

In statements to ERINA, beneficiaries expressed their joy over the fact that they are using new and comfortable buses with the advent of the New Year.

They further said that the commencement of the new and modern buses within a short time of their importing is a leap forward to a higher stage of development.

The nationals further pointed out that the importing of the new busses that have become operational as of, is an indication of care and attention given to the people by their government.

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1. Consular Services Suspended in Asmara
2. Pushkin Monument Inaugurated
3. Eritrean President Expresses Support to Southern Sudan Aspirations
4. Toyota Cars in Eritrea
5. Steffi Graf Publishes Photo-Reportage about Children in Asmara, Eritrea

Eritrea Mining Zara

Asmara, 1 November 2011- The Eritrean government and Zara Mining Company today signed agreement at Denden Hall here in the capital.

The agreement was signed by the Minster of Energy and Mines, Mr. Ahmed Haj Ali, and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Zara Mining Company, Mr. Thimothy Gorder .

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Ahmed Haji Ali said that recently Bisha managed to develop and commence commercial production, while Sundridge is doing pre-feasibility and feasibility studies for the Asmara project, and South Boulder Mines announced the completion of a scoping study for the Colluli potash deposit. The Minster further explained that the signing of the latest agreement for a Zara mine is a wonderful and important addition to mining sector in the country.

The Chairman of the Board of Directors in Zara Mining Company, Mr. Thimothy Gorder, said that given the significant progress already made and the strong support afforded to the project by the Eritrean government, construction will get underway in the first half of next year. Gold production is also targeted to commence in late 2013.

Zara Mining Company is jointly owned by the Eritrean National Mining Corporation and the Australian Gold Mining Company, Chalice.

Source : Shabait

Related posts:

1. Sunridge Gold Provides update on Asmara Project Tour, Drilling Progress and Company Presentations
2. Eritrea: South Boulder Officially Granted Licence for Mining Project
3. Chalice Gold Mines Close Before Commencing to Look for Funding for Koka Project in Eritrea
4. Eritrea is the New Frontier for Mining Companies, Even in Spite Of UN Sanctions
5. Chalice Declares Maiden Gold Reserve for Eritrea’s Koka Deposit

Dr Gilchrist is an internationally renowned mining executive with over 30  years experience gained at senior management and director level within a variety of operating mining companies. Dr Gilchrist has significant  experience in potash and has successfully built large mining operations in  Africa. Since December 2010 he has been managing the Colluli Definitive  Feasibility Study (DFS) and travelling to Eritrea extensively. The DFS is due  to be complete in 2013 with production scheduled for 2016 or sooner.

Dr Gilchrist is currently a director of the consulting firm Gilchrist Mining  Ltd, based in Ireland, and has previously served on the boards of Kenmare  Resources plc and Cleveland Potash Limited.

CEO and Managing Director Lorry Hughes commented on the appointment.

 “Chris joining the Board of South Boulder is a very positive development for the Colluli Project and fits well with our expansion plans. His  experience is highly regarded in the potash industry and invaluable as

South Boulder transitions from developer to potash producer.  His expertise covers all facets of the mining life cycle including feasibility,  mineral processing, capital raising, contract negotiation, project  management, ramp-up and operations. Dr Gilchrist is based in Europe  which gives us a permanent presence in the key financial centre for African  mining projects.

This is a great endorsement for the Company and the Colluli Potash Project  in South Boulder being able to secure such a high calibre Director. ”

Ends

Related posts:

1. South Boulder Mines Confirms Significant Potash Deposit In East Africa
2. South Boulder Mines: Drilling Recommences at the Colluli Potash Project in Eritrea
3. Diggers and Drillers Article on Potash, South Boulder Mines, Eritrea and the Red Sea
4. South Boulder Mines: More Potash Assay Results Returned and Scoping Study Update
5. South Boulder Mines CEO Lorry Huges to Present at International Mining Convention in Cape Town

Geocongress Asmara

As part of the Arabian Nubian Shield, Eritrea is now being acknowledged for its substantial mineral potential that ranges from VHMS polymetallic deposits associated with NeoProterozoic rocks of this Shield, to epithermal gold and Potash deposits in the younger Red Sea Rift-related sedimentary and volcanic rocks of Tertiary and Quaternary Periods.

The commencement of commercial production of the first modern mine at Bisha and the presence of different advanced projects of gold at Koka (Chalice Gold Mines, Zara project), base metal and gold deposits at Debarwa, Embaderho and Adi Nefas (SunRidge Gold Corp., Asmara Project) together with that of the Potash deposit at the Denakil Depression (South Boulders, Colluli Potash Project) makes Eritrea an attractive destination for potential metallic and non-metallic minerals exploration and mining.

In an attempt to promote the exploration and mining activities of the country and the region in general, the Ministry of Energy and Mines is organizing the Second Asmara GeoCongress 2011, to be held in October 4-8, 2011 in Asmara. The Ministry hereby invites all interested parties to attend the Congress.

The objective of the GeoCongress is to bring together earth scientists, mining experts, investors, service providers and regulators, to share experiences and to discuss, on current activities of exploration, mining and on various topics of interest. The event will provide a good opportunity for the participants to gather valuable information on recent views on the evolution of the geology of the region, new techniques and approaches in exploration and mining for metallic and nonmetallic minerals, and the social, environmental, financial and legal challenges associated with exploration and mining activities.

The GeoCongress is also expected to promote the mineral resources of the Shield and enhance regional cooperation and coordination. SUNA reports that Sudan’s Ministry of Minerals is going to take part in the Geocongress in Asmara and that the two sides will secure the  border mining projects and share data and experience on the Arabian Nubian Shield.

Themes

• Geology and evolution of the Arabian Nubian Shield
• Geological, geochemical and geophysical techniques of Mineral exploration
• Mining Techniques in the region
• Social and Environmental Aspects of mining activities
• Financial and Legal aspects of exploration and mining activities

Activities (Programs)

• Two days of presentations
• Tour to exploration and mine sites
• Excursion to the pristine waters of the Red Sea Coast including a train ride to Massawa.

The Geocongress Asmara 2011 is organized by the Eritrean Ministry of Energy and Mines.

Related posts:

1. Asmara GeoCongress 2010 Due in September
2. Asmara Geocongress Journal 2011
3. London Africa Update: Report and Asmara Geocongress Presentation
4. Eritrea: South Boulder Officially Granted Licence for Mining Project
5. Eritrea: Stratex International Expands into Ethiopia

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South Boulder Mines Limited is an Australian-listed exploration and development company focusing on multiple gold, nickel and fertilizer prospects primarily located in Western Australia and Eritrea in North East of Africa.

One of South Boulder’s main areas of focus is on its Duketon Greenstone Belt projects which contain the exciting new Rosie NiCu-PGE discovery. The company owns 100% of all gold prospects and participates in a farm-out Joint Venture with Independence Group NL (earning 70%) for nickel sulphide prospects within the same area.

South Boulder Mines Ltd has a 100% interest in the Colluli Potash Project located in the Danakil Depression region of Eritrea (Africa), approximately 200km south east of the Capital Asmara. In January 2011, South Boulder announced the maiden JORC/43-101 compliant resource estimate for the Colluli Potash project. It reported a Measured, Indicated and Inferred resource of about 548MT @ 19% KCl including 119MT @ 23% KCl (total contained potash of 102MT) located at <100m depth. It plans to increase the exploration target to 750MT – 1250 MT @ 18-20% KCl including 450MT – 750MT @ 20-23% KCl in the coming quarters.

South Boulder is currently conducting an engineering scoping study to ascertain the optimum potash processing capacity from 1MT to 10MT per annum. Arrowhead believes that this is a significant landmark which reduces the resource risk and improves the upside potential for the company.

South Boulder also has three (90-100%) owned fertilizer exploration projects in Western Australia. Given due diligence and valuation estimations based on discounted cash flow method, Arrowhead believes that South Boulder mines limited fair share value lies in the AS$6.25 to AS$29.95 bracket. iv This valuation is based solely on the Duketon Nickel and Eritrean Potash project and does not take account of the potential value of the company’s Terminator Gold prospect. We have also presented a comparable valuation based on Enterprise Value/resource and Enterprise Value /proposed capacity to ascertain the value the Nickel and Potash prospects respectively.

South Boulder Mines – Arrowhead BID Due Dillegence and Valuation Report

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1. Due Diligence and Valuation Report South Boulder Mines
2. South Boulder Mines Amongst Top Ten ASX Listed Resource Companies
3. South Boulder Mines Managing Director to Speak at London Exhibition
4. SOUTH BOULDER MINES INVESTOR PRESENTATION
5. South Boulder Mines: Drilling Recommences at the Colluli Potash Project in Eritrea

Warehouse Asmara

Luca Gnecchi Ruscone was born in Rome, Italy, in 1982 to an Italian family with strong roots to Eritrea and Africa. His father lives in Kenya and his mother was born in Eritrea, where his grandfather had been living since the 1930’s. Luca’s grandfather was importing handmade sunglasses from Italy when he first moved to Eritrea.

After a visit to Eritrea in 2005, Luca tracked down a model of sunglasses from an almost forgotten era in an old warehouse in Asmara used by his grandfather to store imported sunglasses. He returned to Italy and found the original manufacturers and reopened the same plant, which closed down in 1968. Within a short time Luca established L.G.R Sunglasses successfully as a global premium sunglass brand in the exclusive fashion sector. The interview with Mr. Ruscone was conducted in January 2011.

Q: It is truly a fascinating story. What can you tell us about your grandfather (picture right), your parents and their life in Eritrea ?
A: My grandfather arrived in Eritrea in the 1930’s as a photographer for the Istituto Luce. He remained there until 1973. He began working in photography, opened a few stores (Foto Ottica Bini), one of which still remains open today in Via Lorenzo Tazaz. He soon moved into shoe making and opened a factory in Asmara, Bini Shoes.

Q: What made you do the trip to Eritrea in 2005 and what were your expectations?
A: My grandfather needed someone to accompany him because he is old. I was curious to find traces of stories that my mother always told me. I was expecting to find a desolate place devastated by the war. Instead I found a beautiful country full of smiles and pride.

Q: There can be no better marketing story for a product than yours. How did you stumble over the old warehouse in Asmara and your grandfather’s sunglasses?
A: Our house is just on top of the optical store and my grandfather’s office is downstairs. I was bored of always waiting for meetings to end and I started looking around the store, talking to the people that work there. I first discovered stories from the past of my family told by people that lived with them or worked for them for half a century. Then I started looking at old objects, photocameras, frames and sunglasses.

Q: How would you describe Asmarinos and what is your favourite place in Asmara?
A: I had the chance to encounter people who are proud, welcoming, and very open. I usually like to sit down at Café Vittoria and speak with the locals.

Q: When Eritreans re-build their colonial rail system, they used the same approach as you and re-activated the original rail workers to help them learn about the design, technology and architecture of a past era. How did you track down the original manufacturer of the sunglassses and  manage to finance and re-open the original plant as an entrepreneur?
A: I found an old invoice dating back to the 1950’s where there was the address and names of the manufacturers in Italy. I drove to the address once in Italy and found a house with a family living there. The grandparents were the manufacturers and they had produced for my grandfather. They named him and remembered him, I told them my story and they told me what happened and why they had closed. They did not have a production plant, they had a small laboratory with simple equipment. The most valuable tools were their hands, knowhow and experience. I put all the money I had to buy the materials and they did the rest.

Q: We heard you are designing parts of your sunglass collection yourself. Where did you learn the skills?
A: I am not a designer. I can’t even sketch a dog! I am a person sensible to beauty, able to recognize the essential. My skill is to keep things simple and mix them with quality and authenticity. I made a team and together we create, then I have the final word on everything.

Q: What are the names of your sunglass products branded with places in Eritrea?
A: http://www.lgr-sunglasses.com/sunglasses/

Q: What is L.G.R Sunglasses’ target market and who are your typical clients?
A: I am not deliberately aiming at the luxury market, but due to costs and final price to the customer (200-250 euros) L.G.R is considered a luxury item.

Q: Can you tell us more about your company’s business size and growth plans?
A: The more L.G.R grows the happier I will be. I am carefully placing the sunglasses in the most beautiful shops in the world and I hope that more and more people will learn about L.G.R.

Q: We learned that your sunglasses have been featured in Vogue France and are common across fashion show-rooms and up-market boutiques around the world. Can you imagine opening a L.G.R Sunglasses Boutique in Asmara?
A: It would be my dream to transform my grandfather’s old optical store, into an L.G.R flagship store.

Q: Do you personally know any Eritreans ?
A: Yes I do. I went to Eritrea many times and I will return there many more times.

Q: People who visited Eritrea once return to see the country again. Do you have any plans to visit Eritrea or Africa in the near future?
A: My grandfather goes every year and he needs someone to take him. We rotate in the family to go with him. I will return to Eritrea certainly. My father, on the other hand, lives in Kenya and I go often on holiday to visit him.

We look forward to see your business grow and maybe we will be able to buy your sunglasses one day in Asmara.
A: I really hope so and when it will happen I can say “I made it!”

Thank you.

Related posts:

1. Eritrea: Interview With Marco Barbon – Author of “Asmara Dream”
2. Eritrean Airlines Stops Flying Asmara-Frankfurt
3. “Asmara Dream” – Photography of Asmara, Eritrea
4. Why was the Kagnew Station in Asmara
5. Sudan to Take Part in Asmara Geocongress

Highlights from these latest drilling results are as follows:

• DEBD-130 – 31.85 m of 5.72 % Cu & 2.13 g/t Au, including 6.00 m of 17.99% Cu
• DEBD-131 – 9.29 m of 11% Cu & 4.19 g/t Au
• DEBD-132 – 13.45 m of 16.22% Cu & 3.22 g/t Au, including 5.00 m of 17.24% Cu & 3.3m of 26.04% Cu
• DEBD-133 – 16.70 m of 14.9% Cu & 2.15 g/t Au
• DEBD-135 – 25.45 m of 11.22% Cu & 1.75 g/t Au
• DEBD-136 – 11.45 m of 4.1% Cu & 2.18 g/t Au
• DEBD-138 – 16.50 m of 3.66 % Cu & 7.15 % Zn (Primary Zone)
• DEBD-139 – 4.50 m of 2.04 % Cu & 11.8 % Zn (Primary Zone)

The purpose of the ongoing diamond drill program at Debarwa is to better define and extend both laterally and at depth all zones of copper, gold and zinc mineralization as part of the ongoing Debarwa feasibility study that started in November 2010.

The first six shallow holes DEBD-130 to DEBD-133, DEBD-135 and DEBD-136 were designed to intersect the surface outcropping gold-rich oxide zone and/or the copper-enriched supergene zone which lies immediately beneath.

Within the supergene zone there exists a particularly high-grade copper zone, with grades greater than 15% copper; this zone is known as the “Direct Shipping Ore” or DSO zone. Four holes DEBD-134 and DEBD-137 to DEBD-139 were drilled deeper to intersect the primary zone of copper-zinc-gold mineralization.

The results of these new assays continue to confirm the high-grade copper grades in the supergene and DSO zones and the deeper holes have both confirmed and extended the depth of the primary zone of copper-zinc-gold mineralization at Debarwa.

As well as better definitions and extensions of the mineralized zones the purpose of the current Debarwa drilling program is to capture structural data from the oriented drill core and to gather more samples for ongoing metallurgical test work.

A summary of the assay results from these ten drill holes are as follows (click on image):

NOTE: See plan map at the end of this release and on the Company’s website – www.sunridgegold.com. There were no significant assays from drill hole DEBD-134.

The Debarwa Feasibility Study

The Debarwa feasibility study will consider a standalone process plant using flotation for the recovery of the base and precious metals and will study various mining options over a forecast life of mine of approximately 9 years. The study will further investigate a direct shipping option to mine high-grade copper mineralization (greater than 15% copper) to generate early cash flow and enhance economics of the deposit. The completion of this report is expected in the third quarter of 2011.

NOTES:

1. A Quality Assurance/Quality Control program was part of the sampling program on the Debarwa copper-zinc-gold deposit. This program includes chain of custody protocols as well as systematic submittals of standards, duplicates and blank samples into the flow of samples produced by the sampling.
2. Samples were prepared at African Horn Testing Services (Eritrea) and analyzed at Genalysis Laboratories (a NATA registered laboratory) in Perth, Western Australia.
3. The results of the Debarwa drill program have been reviewed by Michael J. Hopley the Qualified Person for Sunridge. Mr. Hopley is also the person responsible for preparation of the technical information contained in this news release and is President and CEO of Sunridge.

ABOUT SUNRIDGE:

Sunridge is a mineral exploration and development company focused on the acquisition, exploration, discovery and development of base and precious metal projects on the Asmara Project in Eritrea and exploration properties in Madagascar. Sunridge currently has approximately 117 million shares outstanding and approximately $25 million in cash. Sunridge trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol SGC. For additional information on the Company and its projects please view the slide show on our website at www.sunridgegold.com or call Greg Davis at the numbers listed below.

SUNRIDGE GOLD CORP.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on the Company’s current expectations and estimates. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as “plan”, “expect”, “project”, “intend”, “believe”, “anticipate”, “estimate”, “suggest”, “indicate” and other similar words or statements that certain events or conditions “may” or “will” occur. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from estimated or anticipated events or results implied or expressed in such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others: the actual results of current exploration activities; conclusions of economic evaluations; changes in project parameters as plans to continue to be refined; possible variations in ore grade or recovery rates; accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry; delays in obtaining governmental approvals or financing; and fluctuations in metal prices. There may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein.

Related posts:

1. Sunridge Gold Starts New Drill Program at Emba Derho Copper-Zinc-Gold Deposit, Asmara Project, Eritrea
2. Sunridge Gold Intercepts Strong Vms Mineralization At The Asmara Project, Eritrea
3. Sunridge Gold Drill Results 2009
4. Sunridge Gold Begins Drill Program at Medrizien Gold Target, Asmara Project, Eritrea
5. Sunridge Gold Begins New Drill Programme in Eritrea

Click on picture

The Northern Miner - 31 January 2011 – Nevsun Resources (nsu-t, nsu-x) has poured its first gold on time and under budget at Bisha, Eritrea’s first modern-day mine, the company reported on Jan. 4.

Ramp up to full commercial production will take place over the course of the first quarter.

The maiden gold pour was part of the plant commissioning process and yielded two doré bars or about 920 oz. gold.

“In the face of difficult capital markets during 2008/2009 and other obstacles overcome in 2010, we are proud of this significant accomplishment,” Cliff Davis, the company’s president, said in a statement.

Nevsun discovered the large precious and base-metal volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposit in January 2003.

The Main zone is a 1.2-km-long section characterized by precious metal oxides and base metal-rich (copper and zinc) massive sulphides, and the deposit is configured in three distinct layers.

The Oxide zone is a near-surface gold-silver rich bearing oxide with a reserve of 4.02 million tonnes grading 7.99 grams gold per tonne and 33 grams silver per tonne. This zone reaches from surface down to a depth of 35 metres.

The Supergene zone (35 metres to 65 metres) is a copper-enriched massive sulphide horizon that also contains gold and silver. This zone has a reserve of 6.35 million tonnes of 4.4% copper.

The Primary zone (65 metres to 450 metres) is an underlying primary massive sulphide containing copper and high-grade zinc zones with appreciable gold and silver.

The reserve in this zone has been estimated at 9.71 million tonnes of 7.21% zinc plus 1.14% copper. Nevsun anticipates Bisha will produce 1.06 million oz. gold, 734 million lbs. copper, 1 billion lbs. zinc and 9.4 million oz. silver over the course of its 10-year-plus mine life as an open pit.

The mine will be a low-cost gold producer in the first two years of its lifetime and a low-cost, highgrade copper concentrate and zinc producer in the remaining years.

Gold will be produced at an operating cost of less than US$250 per oz., with copper operating costs ranging from US54¢-US67¢ per lb., and zinc operating costs at US50¢ per lb.

Eritrea won independence from Ethiopia in 1993.

At presstime in Toronto, Nevsun was trading at $7.34 per share. Over the last year, it has traded in a range of $1.98-$7.54. The company has 195.92 million shares outstanding.

Related posts:

1. Canada’s Nevsun Gets its Eritrean Gold Mine Under Way with First Gold Pour
2. Nevsun Increases Mineable Reserves at Bisha by Fourty Percent
3. Junior Miner Surges on Gold/Silver Assays
4. Eritrea: Nevsun Resources Closes Debt Facility for Bisha Project
5. Bisha Mining Share company Signs Production Sales Contracts Metal Sales Contracts Secured for Copper Concentrates and Gold ore

Chalice Gold Mines

Minesite, By Alastair Ford - “We’ve done a lot in the last year or so”, says Doug Jones, managing director of Australian-listed Chalice Gold Mines, which is one of the trailblazers in the new mining district of Eritrea. The company is working up the Zara gold project in the centre of the country, a few hundred kilometres north of the famous Bisha mine, which has just been brought into production by Nevsun. And Chalice has been developing Zara at a fair old lick, as Doug is keen to point out.

“In August of 2009 we’d just completed the merger with Sub-Sahara. Then we cleaned it up to get a 100 per cent interest in the project, subject to the government’s option to purchase 30 per cent. Then we got the drilling done, produced a maiden reserve, got all the water drilling and environmental studies done, and then completed a feasibility study in July. We got through a TSX listing and did a couple of capital raisings.”

At times it’s been hard to keep up, such has been the whirlwind of activity produced by the company. But then the Chalice boys are like that. On their frequent visits to London they barely have time to touch the ground and raise a beer glass to their lips before they’re off to their next meeting with existing, or potential investors.

In any case, those same investors must be well satisfied at the moment with progress on Zara. The results of the feasibility study were released in August and showed that at the Koka deposit, the company has a project capable of producing 100,000 ounces per year over a seven year mine life, based on the current resource of 840,000 ounces. The study used a US$900 gold price, and assumed cash costs of US$338 per ounce from a basic open pit. So far so good, and perhaps not surprising that the company’s shares have doubled in the last 12 months or so to the current A$0.70 from a 52-week low of A$032 hit early in 2010. But now’s the time to be moving established gold ounces towards production, especially with costs likely to be so low, and given the complexities and uncertainties in the Australian tax system, it’s perhaps not surprising that local Aussie investors have in recent months favoured African developers over their local home-grown types.

That’s a big turnaround, but it hasn’t done Chalice any harm. Indeed it’s allowed the company to build up enough momentum to get the shares listed on the Toronto exchange too, a development which was ongoing in the final quarter of last year, and which was finally completed in the latter part of November, just in time for the big Mines & Money conference in London, at which Chalice’s had a particularly high profile.

The interest stems not only from the track record of success that’s now building up, but also from the possibilities on the ground at Koka, and at Zara, that still remain. There’s never been much doubt in Doug’s mind, nor indeed that of Chalice’s chairman Tim Goyder, that resources at Koka will go over the million ounce mark in due course. Doug talks of “big exploration upside” without hesitation, and adds that in addition to its existing ground Chalice will pick up further acreage before too long.

It will be helped along the way by a government that is enthusiastic, to say the least, about the potential of Zara and Koka. The government now looks likely to exercise its option to buy into Koka, although at what price remains to be seen. Negotiations are likely to be tough, but Doug is quite clear. “The government want to see this go forward”, he says. “The biggest question is how much they’re going to pay, and when they’re going to pay it”. But both sides have already agreed that if a deal can’t be thrashed out then the matter will be settled by independent arbitration. Whatever happens, with the government on board, the political risk will be much reduced, in what is still seen as a volatile area.

After that it’ll be a question of completing the permitting process, and raising the necessary funding to get Koka into production. Initial costs have been put at around US$122 million, and all options are still on the table. Some nice drilling results from the ongoing programme at Zara would certainly help build up a bit of a tail wind as far as that fundraising is concerned. But first, the negotiators will have to come to an agreement as to the precise terms on which the government will be allowed to participate. It should be an interesting year.

Related posts:

1. Chalice Gold Mines: First Assays From Koka Drilling
2. Chalice Gold Raised $4.401.000 for Project in Eritrea
3. Chalice Gold Announces Further Results From Koka Drilling
4. Koka Gold Project – Feasibility Study Full Summary Report
5. Chalice Plans Share Placement to up Stake in Eritrea Gold Project

These first 35 holes were drilled at the northern and middle sections of the deposit for a total of 4,640 metres as part of the recently commenced feasibility study at Debarwa. The drill program focused on further defining the potential “Direct Shipping Ore” zone (a zone of +15% copper within the copper-enriched supergene zone and referred to as the “DSO” zone) as well as seeking extensions to the south and to the east, to extend the primary zone in depth in the Main Zone, to capture structural data from the oriented core and to gather more samples for ongoing metallurgical test work. The program has about 1,400 metres remaining to drill, mainly in the Debarwa South zone.

A third drill will join the two existing drills at Debarwa in January to initially drill wells for the ongoing hydrological studies, part of the feasibility study, and then to move onto Sunridge’s near-surface gold targets at the Emba Derho and Gupo deposits as well as the Medrizien gold target located in the northern part of the Asmara Project.

The Debarwa Feasibility Study

The Debarwa feasibility study will consider a standalone process plant using flotation for the recovery of the base and precious metals and will study various mining options over a forecast life of mine of approximately 9 years. The study will further investigate a direct shipping option of the DSO zone to generate early cash flow and enhance economics of the deposit. The completion of the feasibility study is expected in the third quarter of 2011.

Michael J. Hopley the President and Chief Executive Officer of Sunridge is the Qualified Person for Sunridge and he is the person responsible for preparation of the technical information contained in this news release.

ABOUT SUNRIDGE:

Sunridge is a mineral exploration and development company focused on the acquisition, exploration, discovery and development of base and precious metal projects on the Asmara Project in Eritrea and exploration properties in Madagascar. Sunridge currently has approximately 117 million shares outstanding and approximately $25 million in cash. Sunridge trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol SGC. For additional information on the Company and its projects please view the slide show on our website at www.sunridgegold.com or call Don Halliday or Greg Davis at the numbers listed below.

SUNRIDGE GOLD CORP.

Related posts:

1. Sunridge Gold Provides update on Asmara Project Tour, Drilling Progress and Company Presentations
2. Sunridge Gold Reports More High-Grade Copper Drill Results From Asmara, Eritrea
3. Sunridge Gold and Antofagasta Minerals Exploration Joint-Venture Update, Asmara Project, Eritrea
4. Sunridge Gold to Conduct Production Study on Project in Asmara, Eritrea
5. Sunridge Gold and Antofagasta Minerals Commence Drilling at Daero Paulos, Part of the Asmara Project, Eritrea

Charging the phone was no simple matter in this farming village far from Kenya’s electric grid.

Every week, Ms. Ruto walked two miles to hire a motorcycle taxi for the three-hour ride to Mogotio, the nearest town with electricity. There, she dropped off her cellphone at a store that recharges phones for 30 cents. Yet the service was in such demand that she had to leave it behind for three full days before returning.

That wearying routine ended in February when the family sold some animals to buy a small Chinese-made solar power system for about $80. Now balanced precariously atop their tin roof, a lone solar panel provides enough electricity to charge the phone and run four bright overhead lights with switches.

“My main motivation was the phone, but this has changed so many other things,” Ms. Ruto said on a recent evening as she relaxed on a bench in the mud-walled shack she shares with her husband and six children.

As small-scale renewable energy becomes cheaper, more reliable and more efficient, it is providing the first drops of modern power to people who live far from slow-growing electricity grids and fuel pipelines in developing countries. Although dwarfed by the big renewable energy projects that many industrialized countries are embracing to rein in greenhouse gas emissions, these tiny systems are playing an epic, transformative role.

Since Ms. Ruto hooked up the system, her teenagers’ grades have improved because they have light for studying. The toddlers no longer risk burns from the smoky kerosene lamp. And each month, she saves $15 in kerosene and battery costs — and the $20 she used to spend on travel.

In fact, neighbors now pay her 20 cents to charge their phones, although that business may soon evaporate: 63 families in Kiptusuri have recently installed their own solar power systems.

“You leapfrog over the need for fixed lines,” said Adam Kendall, head of the sub-Saharan Africa power practice for McKinsey & Company, the global consulting firm. “Renewable energy becomes more and more important in less and less developed markets.”

The United Nations estimates that 1.5 billion people across the globe still live without electricity, including 85 percent of Kenyans, and that three billion still cook and heat with primitive fuels like wood or charcoal.

There is no reliable data on the spread of off-grid renewable energy on a small scale, in part because the projects are often installed by individuals or tiny nongovernmental organizations.

But Dana Younger, senior renewable energy adviser at the International Finance Corporation, the World Bank Group’s private lending arm, said there was no question that the trend was accelerating. “It’s a phenomenon that’s sweeping the world; a huge number of these systems are being installed,” Mr. Younger said.

With the advent of cheap solar panels and high-efficiency LED lights, which can light a room with just 4 watts of power instead of 60, these small solar systems now deliver useful electricity at a price that even the poor can afford, he noted. “You’re seeing herders in Inner Mongolia with solar cells on top of their yurts,” Mr. Younger said.

In Africa, nascent markets for the systems have sprung up in Ethiopia, Uganda, Malawi and Ghana as well as in Kenya, said Francis Hillman, an energy entrepreneur who recently shifted his Eritrea-based business, Phaesun Asmara, from large solar projects financed by nongovernmental organizations to a greater emphasis on tiny rooftop systems.

In addition to these small solar projects, renewable energy technologies designed for the poor include simple subterranean biogas chambers that make fuel and electricity from the manure of a few cows, and “mini” hydroelectric dams that can harness the power of a local river for an entire village.

Yet while these off-grid systems have proved their worth, the lack of an effective distribution network or a reliable way of financing the start-up costs has prevented them from becoming more widespread.

“The big problem for us now is there is no business model yet,” said John Maina, executive coordinator of Sustainable Community Development Services, or Scode, a nongovernmental organization based in Nakuru, Kenya, that is devoted to bringing power to rural areas.

Just a few years ago, Mr. Maina said, “solar lights” were merely basic lanterns, dim and unreliable.

“Finally, these products exist, people are asking for them and are willing to pay,” he said. “But we can’t get supply.” He said small African organizations like his do not have the purchasing power or connections to place bulk orders themselves from distant manufacturers, forcing them to scramble for items each time a shipment happens to come into the country.

Part of the problem is that the new systems buck the traditional mold, in which power is generated by a very small number of huge government-owned companies that gradually extend the grid into rural areas. Investors are reluctant to pour money into products that serve a dispersed market of poor rural consumers because they see the risk as too high.

“There are many small islands of success, but they need to go to scale,” said Minoru Takada, chief of the United Nations Development Program’s sustainable energy program. “Off-grid is the answer for the poor. But people who control funding need to see this as a viable option.”

Even United Nations programs and United States government funds that promote climate-friendly energy in developing countries hew to large projects like giant wind farms or industrial-scale solar plants that feed into the grid. A $300 million solar project is much easier to finance and monitor than 10 million home-scale solar systems in mud huts spread across a continent.

As a result, money does not flow to the poorest areas. Of the $162 billion invested in renewable energy last year, according to the United Nations, experts estimate that $44 billion was spent in China, India and Brazil collectively, and $7.5 billion in the many poorer countries.

Only 6 to 7 percent of solar panels are manufactured to produce electricity that does not feed into the grid; that includes systems like Ms. Ruto’s and solar panels that light American parking lots and football stadiums.

Still, some new models are emerging. Husk Power Systems, a young company supported by a mix of private investment and nonprofit funds, has built 60 village power plants in rural India that make electricity from rice husks for 250 hamlets since 2007.

In Nepal and Indonesia, the United Nations Development Program has helped finance the construction of very small hydroelectric plants that have brought electricity to remote mountain communities. Morocco provides subsidized solar home systems at a cost of $100 each to remote rural areas where expanding the national grid is not cost-effective.

What has most surprised some experts in the field is the recent emergence of a true market in Africa for home-scale renewable energy and for appliances that consume less energy. As the cost of reliable equipment decreases, families have proved ever more willing to buy it by selling a goat or borrowing money from a relative overseas, for example.

The explosion of cellphone use in rural Africa has been an enormous motivating factor. Because rural regions of many African countries lack banks, the cellphone has been embraced as a tool for commercial transactions as well as personal communications, adding an incentive to electrify for the sake of recharging.

M-Pesa, Kenya’s largest mobile phone money transfer service, handles an annual cash flow equivalent to more than 10 percent of the country’s gross domestic product, most in tiny transactions that rarely exceed $20.

The cheap renewable energy systems also allow the rural poor to save money on candles, charcoal, batteries, wood and kerosene. “So there is an ability to pay and a willingness to pay,” said Mr. Younger of the International Finance Corporation.

In another Kenyan village, Lochorai, Alice Wangui, 45, and Agnes Mwaforo, 35, formerly subsistence farmers, now operate a booming business selling and installing energy-efficient wood-burning cooking stoves made of clay and metal for a cost of $5. Wearing matching bright orange tops and skirts, they walk down rutted dirt paths with cellphones ever at their ears, edging past goats and dogs to visit customers and to calm those on the waiting list.

Hunched over her new stove as she stirred a stew of potatoes and beans, Naomi Muriuki, 58, volunteered that the appliance had more than halved her use of firewood. Wood has become harder to find and expensive to buy as the government tries to limit deforestation, she added.

In Tumsifu, a slightly more prosperous village of dairy farmers, Virginia Wairimu, 35, is benefiting from an underground tank in which the manure from her three cows is converted to biogas, which is then pumped through a rubber tube to a gas burner.

“I can just get up and make breakfast,” Ms. Wairimu said. The system was financed with a $400 loan from a demonstration project that has since expired.

In Kiptusuri, the Firefly LED system purchased by Ms. Ruto is this year’s must-have item. The smallest one, which costs $12, consists of a solar panel that can be placed in a window or on a roof and is connected to a desk lamp and a phone charger. Slightly larger units can run radios and black-and-white television sets.

Of course, such systems cannot compare with a grid connection in the industrialized world. A week of rain can mean no lights. And items like refrigerators need more, and more consistent, power than a panel provides.

Still, in Kenya, even grid-based electricity is intermittent and expensive: families must pay more than $350 just to have their homes hooked up.

“With this system, you get a real light for what you spend on kerosene in a few months,” said Mr. Maina, of Sustainable Community Development Services. “When you can light your home and charge your phone, that is very valuable.”

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Steam Train Veterans

The CNN iReport Global Challenge project lists Eritrea among the 10 most fascinating places worldwide. Railway enthusiast and iReporter George Hart travelled from the United Kingdom to Eritrea in 2009 to ride on the Eritrean railway.

The trains go from the highlands to the coastal lowlands of Eritrea passing through approximately 30 tunnels, 65 bridges and viaducts. The national rail line owes and operates solely antique trains, locomotives and rail-cars build by the Italians during Eritrea’s colonial occupation in the early 1920s and 30s.

Eritreans made tremendous efforts to rebuild one of Africa’s most nostalgic railways without external help, even recalling several train veterans from their retirement to support younger inexperienced generations.

By 2003, work on the rail line between the capital Asmara and Eritrea’s main port of Massawa was successfully finalized.

While the railroad was the high point of his trip, Hart told CNN, that he also enjoyed visiting the capital city of Asmara, an immaculate city — “not a scrap of litter to be found” — with Italian roots, Art Deco buildings, and an unusual open-air market selling household items made from scrap materials.

To find out more visit: iReport Global Challenge

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