Glencar Mining will know by the end of 2009 whether one of its gold projects in Mali can be mined commercially.

Speaking at the group's annual general meeting in Dublin yesterday, chief executive Hugh McCullough said he was pleased with the progress at the Komana West project in Mali and it should proceed to feasibility stage by the end of next year. This process, which will map out the costs associated with extracting the gold, is expected to take between nine months and a year. Only then will the company decide whether to proceed with commercial extraction.

Mr McCullough said the results from the 100 holes that had already been drilled were "exceptional" in quality and this had given the company the confidence to believe that the deposit would prove to be commercial.