Shares of Scotgold Resources Limited, the gold exploration and production company, rose another 17% on Monday after it published an update for shareholders about its activities and “encouraging results” at the Cononish Project and Grampian Project in Scotland.

The company said it has been “making new discoveries” in its Cononish mine area including “identification of gold and silver anomalies to the north east of the mine that are consistent with the ‘Mother Vein’ structure.”

It said the Cononish Gold and Silver Mine is on course to become Scotland’s first commercial gold mine by November 30, 2020 — but added it has advanced “the gold and silver anomalies identified at Beinn Udlaidh and Inverchorachan” and is making “new discoveries” at the company’s extensive option area on the Dalradian belt.

Shares of Australia-based Scotgold Resources, which trade on AIM in London, have soared about 240% in the past 12 months to Monday’s 130p to give the firm a stock market value of about £65 million.

“Since the last exploration update of 15 January 2020, Scotgold geologists have continued to utilise the Ionic Leach method as further detailed in the company’s RNS of 1 April 2019, both to stream sediment sampling and soil sampling programmes across its option areas,” said Scotgold.

“Subsequent exploration work has been focused on extending the soil sampling grid at Cononish as well as extensions to the soil sampling grids over the Beinn Udlaidh and Inverchorachan prospects, which lie within the adjacent Glen Orchy Central and Inverliever East option areas respectively.

“Additionally, the regional stream sediment sampling programme has continued, with samples collected from within 10 of the 13 option areas.”

Scotgold CEO Richard Gray said: “Scotgold is now at an exciting juncture, with first gold expected from the Cononish Gold and Silver Mine by 30 November this year and a growing portfolio of exploration anomalies and targets. 

“We look forward to advancing our systematic exploration program, which holds out the promise of; increasing our mineral resources within reach of the Cononish Mine, identifying new orebodies at Beinn Udlaidh and Inverchorachan and of course making new discoveries over the rest of our extensive Option Area on the Dalradian belt.”