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.

Sunridge Gold Corp. (SGC/TSX.V) is pleased to provide results from newly received assays from ten diamond drill holes from the company’s Debarwa copper-gold-zinc deposit located on the Asmara Project, Eritrea. The drill results from the current program (along with results from 35 drill holes completed in late 2009) will be used to update the resource estimate for Debarwa which is scheduled to be completed in March 2011 as part of the ongoing Debarwa feasibility study. Approximately fifty diamond drill holes have been completed to date in this current phase of drilling and approximately five more are planned before completion of this phase of work.

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.

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.

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.

Sunridge Gold Corp. (SGC/TSX.V) is pleased to provide an update on the current drilling program being conducted at the Asmara Project, Eritrea. Two diamond drills have recently completed the first 35 diamond drill holes as part of definition drilling at the high-grade copper-gold-zinc Debarwa VMS (volcanogenic massive sulphide) deposit. Most holes drilled so far have intersected strong VMS-style mineralization from the copper-enriched supergene zone as well as the primary copper and zinc zones. It is expected that assays from this drilling will be received by Sunridge in early February.

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.

THE NEW YORK TIMES –  KIPTUSURI, Kenya – For Sara Ruto, the desperate yearning for electricity began last year with the purchase of her first cellphone, a lifeline for receiving small money transfers, contacting relatives in the city or checking chicken prices at the nearest market.

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.”

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

Sunridge Gold Corp. (SGC:TSX.V) is pleased to report encouraging results from the initial exploration program on the gold/copper/zinc Besakoa project, Madagascar.

Recent work has identified numerous volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) targets which have strong similarities to the Company’s Asmara Project in Eritrea where the Company has been successful in defining large amounts of copper, zinc and gold. Sunridge management believes that the Besakoa project may represent a new emerging VMS district.

Highlights of the Initial Exploration Program:

• Surface mapping and sampling has identified over 30 gossans on the project which represent the surface expression of VMS systems – see map at the end of this release.
• Over 9,000 soil samples have been taken from the property and results show at least 10 strong copper, zinc, gold, and lead geochemical anomalies between 1 and 4 kilometres in length many of which are coincident with VMS gossan outcrop.
• A ground gravity survey was conducted for the first time over large areas of the property. The results have defined numerous large (longer than 1 kilometre) strong (0.5 to 1 milligal) gravity anomalies many of which are coincident with elevated base and precious metal values.
• Many of the geochemical and gravity anomalies are coincident with electro-magnetic (EM) anomalies defined in a previous airborne EM survey.
• An AMT (Audio-Magneto-Telluric) geophysical survey is currently being conducted over most of the anomalies with the goal of outlining electrical conductors created by massive sulphide mineralization.
• Most of the anomalies have never been drilled and Sunridge plans to start a drilling program at Besakoa early next year.

“We are extremely encouraged with the results from the initial exploration program” states David Daoud, Sunridge’s Exploration Manager.

“The coincident surface gossans, strong soil and gravity anomalies as well as airborne EM conductors are very similar to the initial exploration data collected at both the Asmara Project and Nevsun’s Bisha Project in Eritrea. We look forward to drilling what could be a new VMS district at Besakoa.”

The Besakoa property covers over 60 square kilometres and is located in south central Madagascar and can the accessed by road from the port city of Toliara. Geologically the property is underlain by Neoproterozoic volcano-sedimentary shield rocks, a geological setting similar to Sunridge’s and Nevsun’s VMS projects in Eritrea. Sunridge has had great success discovering and developing large VMS deposits at their Asmara Project over the past 5 years. Sunridge geologists have applied the same exploration techniques used in the discovery and development of VMS drill targets in Eritrea to the initial exploration program at Besakoa. The “high priority” targets at the Besakoa Project are comprised of strong linear gravity anomalies coincident with strong base metal soil geochemical anomalies, linear airborne EM conductors and are located adjacent to VMS gossans — the weathered surface expression of VMS-style mineralization.

The western part of the Besakoa property is considered by Sunridge management to be prospective for vanadium as it represents a northern extension of Energizer Resources Inc.’s (EGZ:TSX.V) adjacent Green Giant vanadium deposit. A one kilometre wide by two kilometre long area of vanadium mineralization associated with graphitic meta-sediments has been defined by Sunridge geologists by soil geochemistry sampling and rock prospecting.

History

A large gossan similar to those found on the Asmara project was discovered in the 1950s by the French Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières (BRGM). Subsequent drilling by the BRGM established the presence of primary sulphide mineralization underlying the gossan outcrop. In addition, Majescor Resources Inc. (MAJ:TSX.V), drilled another 8 short holes in 2007 to verify the BRGM drilling. However, the majority of the property has not been systematically explored particularly by gravity surveys and until recently most of the gossans outcropping on the project had not been sampled or drilled.

Agreement

Sunridge can earn a 100% in the Besakoa project. Sunridge will earn an initial 50% interest by spending $2,000,000 ($500,000 spent) by September 2011 and by issuing 500,000 Sunridge shares (200,000 issued) to Majescor. Upon acquiring a 50% interest in Besakoa, Sunridge will then have the right to acquire an additional 25% (aggregate 75%) by spending an additional $2,500,000 by September 15, 2012 and by issuing an additional 500,000 Sunridge shares.

Upon acquiring a 75% interest in the Besakoa project, Sunridge will have a one-year period in which to elect to acquire the remaining 25% interest at the fair value determined at that time by an independent valuation or as agreed between the parties in cash or, at the election of Sunridge, in the equivalent value of Sunridge common shares subject to regulatory approval. If Sunridge acquires a 100% interest in the Besakoa project, Majescor retains a 1% net smelter return royalty, half of which can be purchased by Sunridge for $1,000,000. If the Besakoa project is brought into commercial production, Sunridge will be obliged to pay the original owners of the project $1,000,000.

Disclosure

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 97 million shares outstanding and approximately $14.4 million in cash. Upon the close of the private placement announced on October 14, 2010, Sunridge will have approximately 115 million shares outstanding with $30.5 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.

“Michael Hopley”

Michael Hopley, President and Chief Executive Officer

JetLink Express

Kenya’s second-largest airliner by jet-size fleet, Jetlink Express, has announced an ambitious expansion programme that will see it acquire a new jet to service new routes from mid this month.

The company plans to launch direct flights to Mwanza, Tanzania on November 15, and has applied to the Eritrean Government for air traffic rights to operate direct flights to Asmara.

The MD of Jetlink Express, Captain Elly Aluvale, says they are hopeful the licence will be granted and the airliner will become the first local air company to operate direct flights to Asmara.

“We have a large fleet that comprises up to nine modern jets. This means that we can do several flights in a day. We mainly target business travelers, and we hope to grow our customer base even further by serving the new routes diligently,” says Captain Aluvale.

The company’s focus on business travellers, targeted expansion of fleet, and strict adherence to time schedules has guaranteed phenomenal growth for the airline, which saw it defy recent global recession to increase its turnover by more than 100 per cent last year.

Newer routes

The delivery of the new jet will help it serve the newer routes. The company, however, admits that recent huge increases in fuel prices have been a challenge, but says it will always do its best to navigate the problem in order to keep its fares affordable to its customers.

Currently, Jetlink flies six times to Mombasa. It also flies daily to Eldoret and Kisumu. Mwanza will be its third international destination after Juba and Khartoum where it also flies scheduled flights.

“We hope the coming into effect of the East African Customs Union will help expedite the process of acquiring air traffic rights and open up the region to more direct flights,” said Aluvale.

Source: The Standard

Sunridge Gold Corp. (SGC/TSX.V) (the “Company”) has issued 20,000,000 common shares and 10,000,000 common share purchase warrants (“Warrants”) to raise gross proceeds of $10,000,000 pursuant to a non-brokered private placement announced September 24, 2010.

The Company is pleased to acknowledge the continued support and participation of Lundin Mining Corporation (“Lundin”) in this private placement as Lundin exercised its pre-emptive rights and acquired 2,255,728 units.

Each Warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one common share in the capital of the Company at a price of $0.75 until October 26, 2012.

The common shares issued, and any common shares issued pursuant to the exercise of Warrants prior to February 27, 2011, are restricted from trading until February 27, 2011.

The Company paid finder’s fees to persons who introduced it to private placement investors consisting of $422,800 cash and 467,800 common shares and 158,900 Warrants.

The securities offered have not been registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or any state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from the registration requirements.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

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. Upon the close of the private placement announced on October 14, 2010, Sunridge will have approximately 115 million shares outstanding with $30.5 million in cash. Sunridge trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol SGC.

The proceeds of the financings will be used to fund the Company’s work programs at the Asmara Project in Eritrea, exploration work at the Besakoa Project in Madagascar and for general corporate purposes. Work programs at the Asmara Project in Eritrea will include a full feasibility study for the Debarwa high-grade copper-gold deposit, a pre-feasibility study for the combined Emba Derho, Adi Nefas, Gupo and Debarwa deposits, for drill programs at the Gupo Gold and Medrizien gold projects.

Eritrea

Chalice Gold Mines Limited (ASX: CHN) advises that it has taken a major step towards production at its Zara Gold Project in Eritrea with the completion of the Social & Environmental Impact Assessment (SEIA) and Social & Environmental Management Plan (SEMP) for the 840,000oz Koka Deposit at Zara.

The SEIA and SEMP have been lodged with the Eritrean Ministry of Energy & Mines. These reports form a key component of the documentation required to secure a mining licence for the Koka deposit. They represent the culmination of two and half years of environmental, socio-economic and community studies.

The studies were conducted by independent consultants Knight Piésold and Global Resources Development and Management Consultants (GREDMCO) in line with internationally accepted standards.

Chalice will press ahead with planning for the development of the Koka mine, with first production scheduled for early 2013. Koka is forecast to produce at an average annual rate of 104,000 ounces at a cash cost of US$338/oz.

DR DOUG JONES

Managing Director

About the Zara Gold Project

The Zara Project comprises four Exploration Licences and two Prospecting Licences (the latter currently undergoing conversion to EL’s) covering an area of 615km2 situated in northern Eritrea, approximately 160km northwest of Asmara city. Chalice holds a 100% interest in the project subject to government participation rights.

The Koka Gold Deposit within the project contains a Probable Reserve of 4.6 million tonnes of ore grading 5.1 grams of gold per tonne and containing 760,000 oz of gold. This is contained within an Indicated Resource of 5.0 million tonnes grading 5.3 grams of gold per tonne containing 840,000 oz of gold.

Competent Persons’ Statement

The information in this report that relates to Exploration Results is based on information compiled by Dr Doug Jones, a full-time employee and Director of Chalice Gold Mines Limited, who is a Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and is a Chartered Professional Geologist. Dr Jones has sufficient experience in the field of activity being reported to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2004 edition of the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Minerals Resources and Ore Reserves, and consents to the release of information in the form and context in which it appears here.

The Mineral Resource estimate was prepared by Mr. John Tyrrell who is a Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Mr. Tyrrell is a full time employee of AMC and has sufficient experience in gold resource estimation to act as Competent Person as defined in the 2004 Edition of the ‘Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (the JORC Code)’. Mr. Tyrrell consents to the inclusion of this information in the form and context in which it appears.

The information in this statement of Ore Reserves is based on information compiled by Mr David Lee who is a Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and a full time employee of AMC. Mr Lee has sufficient relevant experience to be a Competent Person as defined in the JORC Code. Mr Lee consents to the inclusion of this information in the form and context in which it appears.

Sunridge Gold Corp., (SGC/TSX.V) announces that it has commenced a new exploration drilling program on the exploration areas of the Asmara Project, Eritrea. This program consists of at least 3,000 metres of diamond drilling and is targeting areas that have the potential for large new discoveries. In addition, Sunridge has mobilized a reverse circulation drill rig to Eritrea in order to commence a 4,000 metre drill program at the Gupo Gold deposit and a 1,000 metre program at the new Medrizien gold target within the next four to five weeks.

Sunridge Gold Joint Venture Drilling Program

The new joint venture drilling program is operated by Sunridge and funded by Antofagasta Minerals and is focused on drilling new targets with the potential for significant new discoveries. Drilling will target the following areas:

Adi Watot. This is a large area measuring approximately 1,200 metres long and 400 to 500 metres wide where Sunridge and Antofagasta geologists have identified swarms of quartz veinlets in an area that has elevated copper geochemical values.

Adi Kubulo. The geology of this area is similar to Adi Watot although somewhat smaller measuring some 400 metres long and approximately 200 metres wide.

Adi Watot — Adi Kubulo Corridor. This target is a corridor between the Adi Watot and Adi Kubulo targets that measures some 3,500 metres long by approximately 400 to 500 metres wide and in which mapping has shown continuity of quartz veinlets in an area with elevated copper values.

Adi Rassi. Drilling will test a possible northern extension of Adi Rassi that is associated with structurally controlled malachite showings. Assay results, from the previous drilling program showed long intervals of copper and gold mineralization e.g. drill hole AR-002D which had 84 metres with an average grade of 1.32 g/t gold and 0.84% copper; the results indicate that a potentially large new copper and gold zone has been discovered at Adi Rassi. Geological mapping and sampling shows that alteration associated with copper mineralization is visible over a zone that measures about 80 metres wide along a strike length of approximately 500 metres. Copper and gold mineralization at Adi Rassi is associated with quartz veins and breccia zones along a major shear zone that trends northeast for over 3 kilometres and dips steeply to the west.

Adi Lamza. Surface and previous drill hole information from this prospect has identified a large area of phyllitic alteration which will be drill tested.

Adi Tsenaf. A large area of quartz-vein stockwork measuring over 300 metres long will be drill tested.

First results from this new joint venture drilling program are expected to be received in November and will be announced on receipt.

Sunridge Gold drill program

The recently mobilized reverse-circulation drill rig is expected to commence drilling at Sunridge’s 100% owned Gupo Gold and Medrizien Gold areas within the next 4 to 5 weeks and will consist of 4,000 metres at Gupo and 1,000 metres at Medrizien.

Gupo Gold Project. The objective of the program is to upgrade the existing gold resource at Gupo, currently 189,000 ounces contained in 1,965,000 tonnes at an average grade of 2.99 g/t gold, from an Inferred to an Indicated category and to possibly increase the size of the resource. The gold resources at Gupo are considered to be a potential source of open pit feed for any future mining operations at the northern projects area of the Asmara Project (Emba Derho, Adi Nefas and Gupo).

Medrizien Gold Prospect. The objective of the Medrizien drill program is to make a new gold discovery on the Asmara Project. A gold discovery and development of a resource could provide future feed to any mining operations in the northern area of the Asmara Project. A total of fifty-seven rock samples were taken from the surface showing of mineralized quartz veins and altered halo of volcanic rocks. The results showed 10 samples with assays over 1 g/t gold with the highest assay being 74.7 g/t gold. In addition, eight rock samples taken from the old underground workings range from 0.14 g/t up to a value of 319 g/t gold. The gold mineralization in the Medrizien Gold prospect occurs in a stockwork of quartz veins associated with pyrite and chalcopyrite within a surrounding halo of sheared volcanic rocks with sericite and pyrite. This zone varies in width from a few metres up to 25 metres over a 3.5 kilometre strike length.

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 has approximately 76 million shares outstanding and approximately $4.5 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.

NOTES:

A Quality Assurance/Quality Control program was part of the sampling program on the Adi Rassi copper-gold and Medrizien gold prospect. 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.

Samples were prepared at African Horn Testing Services (Eritrea) and analyzed at Genalysis Laboratories (a NATA registered laboratory) in Perth, Western Australia.

The results of the Adi Rassi copper-gold prospect drilling and the Medrizien gold sampling 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 Chief Executive Officer of Sunridge.

SUNRIDGE GOLD CORP.

“Michael Hopley”

Michael Hopley, President and Chief Executive Officer

For further information contact:

Don Halliday, Executive Vice President

Email: donh@sunridgegold.com

Tel: 604-899-1505 (direct)

Greg Davis, VP Business Development

Email: greg@sunridgegold.com

Tel: 604-688-1263 (direct)

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 press release contains forward-looking statements about the Company and its business. Forward looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and include resource estimates. The forward-looking statements in this press release are subject to various risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause the Company’s actual results or achievements to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by forward looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and other factors include, without limitation risks related to fluctuations in gold prices; uncertainties related to raising sufficient financing to fund the planned work in a timely manner and on acceptable terms; changes in planned work resulting from weather, logistical, technical or other factors; the possibility that results of work will not fulfill expectations and realize the perceived potential of the Company’s properties; uncertainties involved in the interpretation of drilling results and other tests and the estimation of gold resources; the possibility that required permits may not be obtained on a timely manner or at all; the possibility that capital and operating costs may be higher than currently estimated and may preclude commercial development or render operations uneconomic; the possibility that the estimated recovery rates may not be achieved; risk of accidents, equipment breakdowns and labor disputes or other unanticipated difficulties or interruptions; the possibility of cost overruns or unanticipated expenses in the work program; and other factors identified in the Company’s filings with Canadian securities regulatory authorities. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, opinions and expectations of the Company’s management at the time they are made, and other than as required by applicable securities laws, the Company does not assume any obligation to update its forward-looking statements if those beliefs, opinions or expectations, or other circumstances, should change.

You can also view this News Release on our website at:

http://www.sunridgegold.com/s/PressReleases.asp?ReportID=422323