AN AUSTRALIAN firm is set to begin gold mining in the Alentejo following discoveries in the region of Montemor-o-Novo.
Iberian Resources (IR) is poised to extract a minimum of 10 tonnes over the next few years. The company’s administrator in Portugal, João Carlos Sousa, says that IR is currently investigating projects in the region of Montemor-o-Novo and Portalegre. Sousa said that, once a feasibility study had been carried out, gold mining could begin as early as 2007. The company has apparently identified a reserve of 500,000 ounces of gold (15 tons) within a 17 square kilometre area.
