Measurements to estimate gold resources at Okvau, in Mondulkiri province, are set to be finalised by mining company OZ Minerals in the first quarter of 2010.

According to the company?s fourth-quarter report released Thursday, structural and geological modelling at the gold deposit have recently been completed, and resource calculations are now under way.

The company hopes to outline an initial inferred resource by the first quarter of 2010, as part of its ?new discovery? programme, the report added.

The modelling followed a 5,800-metre drilling programme to test previously unidentified gold mineralisation at Okvau.

Last month, a spokesman for OZ Minerals told the Post it aims to identify at least 2 million ounces of gold at its Cambodian concessions by the end of this year.

Surface sampling and geophysical analysis is ongoing at the four other areas being explored by the company.

The areas, located close to Okvau, are Oput, Area 6, Granite Hill and Area 1. ?These prospects are currently being, or will be, drill-tested in 2010 to ascertain the district-scale potential in the Okvau region,? Thursday?s report said.

Australian-based OZ Minerals outperformed its estimates in the last quarter of 2009, according to the figures released. Copper and gold production exceeded expectations at its Primrose Hill site in Australia.

The company mined 36,497 tonnes of copper and 30,526 ounces of gold during the period.

OZ Minerals recently refocused on gold and copper mining in Australia and Southeast Asia following the June sale of US$1.35 billion of its zinc mines to China Minmetals Non-Ferrous Metals Co.

Sourced = The Phnom Penh Post