mmg.com.au

A local mining company is hoping to strike gold in Nagambie soils.

At least a dozen landowners have been approached by Nagambie Mining, which is seeking to carry out sampling and potential drilling.

Company chief executive officer Colin Glazebrook said ‘‘at least 15 or 20’’ letters had been sent to property owners in the Longwood area.

A letter dated January 10 mentions the company holds a ‘‘recently granted Exploration Licence ... and is looking to carry out a low-impact soil sampling program’’.

‘‘This could lead to aircore drilling at a later stage,’’ the letter reads.

It says some soil testing already took place in November and December.

Information about the company and its environment policy is included with the letter, as is a list of compensation rates.

If a person signed up to the compensation agreement, they would be offered $10 per day for use of the property, and up to $100 for drilling, depending on what kind of drilling was done.

In the agreement, the duration, area, access points and work times are left blank for the landowner to complete.

It also promises there would be no permanent marks on the land.

Mr Glazebrook said the general response from landowners had been ‘‘good’’.

‘‘For our company, we’re not a large company so this would be a medium-sized project,’’ he said.

‘‘We have, of course, been operating in the Nagambie area for quite some time and we’re quite optimistic about the prospects.’’

He said the soil sampling process involved taking a small amount from the topsoil and covering it back over again, while a wooden plug would be put two to three feet under the ground and covered back over after drilling.

Mr Glazebrook said both of these processes were set down by the Department of Primary Industries, and compensation rates were determined with the assistance of the Victorian Farmers Federation.

The company expected to begin sampling as soon as consent from the landowners was granted.

If the sampling proved successful, drilling activity would typically begin two to three months later, Mr Glazebrook said.

While the letter does not state start and end dates, Mr Glazebrook said the standard agreement-outlined activity would continue until the end of the exploration licence for the area, which was typically five years.

The company holds licences for about 400sqkm of land in the Nagambie area.