AUR.L Share News (AUR)

Shares in gold miner Aurum jumped 23% this morning after it announced it had had significant success with drilling at its Spanish joint venture.The firm said it had seen excellent assay results from the first two holes drilled on the ''El Facho'' structure of its Zamora gold project.Aurum said the assay results provided further strong evidence of a significant gold structure at the El Facho prospect.The technical details included:- High grade intersection of 12 metres grading 3.4 grammes per tonne ("g/t") gold within an overall interval of 30 metres grading 1.6g/t gold from first hole. - 10 metre intersection grading 2.1g/t gold and a 5 metre intersection grading 1.9 g/t gold from second hole. Of the nine holes drilled by Aurum's joint venture partner, Ormonde at El Facho to date, eight have now encountered gold mineralisation grading in excess of 1g/t across multiple intersections.Sean Finlay, Aurum's chairman, said the latest results represented the best mineralised intervals to date on the El Facho structure. "The joint venture is now planning a more expansive work programme at El Facho and I look forward to reporting on progress from this programme, and the initial work on the highly prospective Peralonso permit area, in due course," he said.Under the terms of the joint venture with Ormonde, Aurum can earn a 60% interest in two permits in the Zamora Province and a 54% interest in a further two permits in the Salamanca Province, by spending €500,000 on exploration activities over an 18 month period.