Margosa continued to accelerate its exploration and development in Sri Lanka with the purchase of its first diamond drill rig; a MD600 from Alton Drilling Ltd, New Zealand. The drill rig arrived mid 2018 and was immediately put to work at the Company’s Ridee Ganga Vein Graphite Project, Pathakada. To coincide with the procurement of the new rig, internationally experienced Drill Manager, Murray Carpenter, joined Exploration Manager, Hamish Fraser, and his team in Sri Lanka, to supervise and train the drill team.

Since arriving in Sri Lanka, the MD600 rig has drilled over 11,000m of HQ core; working predominantly at the Ridee Ganga Project following up on the previous geophysical surveys and earlier drilling. The drill rig has also tested other geophysical targets identified during the Helicopter-borne Time Domain Electromagnetic (HDTEM) survey, and has succesfully intersected vein graphite. While these targets require further testing it has provided vital feedback about the success of the HDTEM survey. Exploration drilling continues to focus on Ridee Ganga, with infill and extensional drilling underway.

We are grateful to our team of local geologists; Suresh Rathnayake, Kavinda Dilshan, Dilan Rathnayake, Darshana Rasika, Kusal Kavishanka and Kasun Kariyawasam, as well as our local drill crew; Evan Fernando, Ranjith Wijerathne, Indunil Sooriyaarachchige and Laxman Madanayake, who have been working throughout the challenges of 2020 to continue our exploration drilling program.

New MD600 diamond drill rig set up at the Ridee Ganga Vein Graphite Project, soon after arriving in Sri Lanka in mid 2018

Margosa and LRM exploration and drilling teams, celebrating the arrival of the MD600 diamond drill rig at the Ridee Ganga Vein Graphite Project

LRM drillers operating the MD600 diamond drill rig at the Ridee Ganga Vein Graphite Project, 2020

LRM driller, Evan, and geologist, Suresh, measuring high-grade graphite core drilled at Ridee Ganga Graphite Project