Tertiary Minerals plc returned “thick, near-surface” intervals of silver mineralisation, extended 225 metres farther northwards, from two follow-up drill holes on target A1 at Mushima North in Zambia.
TONNAGE
The target is a large copper-in-soil anomaly measuring 3.1km by 1.7km, associated with a 1.7km by 0.5km zinc anomaly and coincidental to 1.3km by 0.3km silver-in-soil anomaly.
The two holes were drilled during phase II’s 1,116 metres of combined air core and reverse circulation drilling, completed in August, as part of the overall 1,500m programme.
Tertiary reported intersections of downhole widths that included 73m at 32 g/t silver, 0.16% copper and 0.24% zinc from 11m downhole in drill hole 25TMNAC-025.
The same hole results included 21m at 66 g/t silver, 0.21% copper and 0.30% zinc from 50m downhole.
The company said that the highest grades of both silver of 223 g/t and 1.01% copper were from certified laboratory analytical results.
Laboratory results also show that mineralisation remains open to the north and at depth.
Further results for four other holes, testing strike and width continuations, are expected in the coming weeks, after which Tertiary will begin initial mineralogical and metallurgical work.
Managing director Richard Belcher added that the findings were supported by recent portable X-ray fluorescence results, which indicated “a larger mineralisation footprint” of at least 350m by 300m.
“The results, albeit for only the first two drill holes of the programme, are very encouraging
and provide further support for the potential of target A1 as a primarily silver target.
“Wide intervals of near surface silver with higher-grade intervals, for example 73m at 32 g/t silver, including 11m at 94 g/t silver, support our bulk tonnage, open pit silver exploration model.
“These silver grades and widths (supported by copper and zinc values) are comparable to
silver grades and widths from open pit silver deposits elsewhere in the world.”