A massive soil sampling exercise at recently reopened mines owned by Orogen Gold has identified several gold anomalies that are worthy of further investigation.Access to the two Deli Jovan shallow underground mines in eastern Siberia is improving, and extraction of water continues to expose deeper production levels for further exploration. Chief executive officer Ed Slowey said: "The company's main focus is on the re-opening of access to the previously worked mines to facilitate detailed structural mapping and sampling. We are very pleased with the operational progress to date and the good condition of the underground workings which will facilitate our exploration programme."The company has sampled around 3,000 soil samples, which have shown several "potentially significant" features of interest for follow-up. Sampling over the Gindusa gold mine area has shown a substantial gold anomaly, while two additional separate gold anomalies, covering strike lengths of around 300 metres each, may represent hidden mineralised structures, the firm added. Slowey professed himself "delighted with the results we've received to date". "Whilst there is yet no guarantee that anomalies discovered will lead to a direct increase in our asset base, we could well have uncovered significant extensions to the historically worked deposits as well as previously unknown gold-bearing structures at Deli Jovan," he added.With the market in free-fall, the company chose an inopportune day to release a generally upbeat statement, and the share price fell 21.74% to 0.81p in early trading. NR