Adriatic Metals strikes highest-grade polymetallic intercept at Rupice
The Mayor of Vareš Zdravko Marošević has welcomed Adriatic Metals’ mineral exploration activities in the region, saying he hoped Vareš will become a “powerful economic centre” near Sarajevo.
UK-based explorer Adriatic Metals (ASX: ADT) has made its highest-grade intercept to date during an ongoing drilling campaign at the Rupice zinc, lead, silver, gold, copper and barium deposit within the Vareš project in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Assay results from two new drill holes have confirmed the continuity of thick, high-grade mineralisation and precious metals content not previously examined through historical drilling.
The first hole intercepted a thick zone of high-grade mineralisation over 42m, returning 14.1% zinc, 8.4% lead, 245 grams per tonne silver, 5.7g/t gold, 1.4% copper and 34% barium sulphate from 222m.
The second hole was drilled in a south-westerly direction at –65 degrees and targeted up-dip mineralisation to the west of the high-grade zone.
It intersected a wider interval of mineralised breccia, returning 12m at 1.4% zinc, 2.8% lead, 228g/t silver, 0.8g/t gold, 0.3% copper and 16% barium sulphate from 74m.
Adriatic said both holes confirmed the precious metals content at Rupice and the need to ensure activities target areas around historical drilling which was mostly not assayed for silver and gold.
The holes contained significant gold and silver grades over an interval of 24m at 8.6g/t gold and 332 g/t silver from 226m.
Consistent mineralisation
Mineralisation at Rupice is interpreted to be dominantly strata-bound and hosted in a folded sequence of brecciated and sheared sediments dipping approximately 45 degrees to the northeast of the deposit.
Consistent with most of holes drilled in previous campaigns, the mineralisation has been determined as visually distinct from the host rock, and consists of galena, sphalerite, chalcopyrite and barite.
The new assays join results reported earlier this month from holes which intercepted a 66m-thick zone of high-grade mineralisation.
All results will be incorporated into a maiden mineral resource estimate for the Rupice project targeted for release in early 2019.
Concession expansion
During August, Adriatic was granted approval from the Vareš Municipal Council for a concession expansion of Rupice and the nearby advanced Veovaca deposit, allowing the company’s exploration program to continue through to the northern extension of the Rupice orebody.
The expanded ground includes areas of known historical mineralisation. The company said the expansion will enable better access to the Brestic-Jurasevac prospect, 1km southeast of Rupice, and testing of prospective anomalies such as Borovica, which have been identified through geophysics and geochemical soil sampling.
“The extension areas include land where [we have] identified key drill targets and where additional drilling could identify extensions to known mineralisation or where historical or recent data indicates the potential for new discoveries,” the company stated.
“[We are] fortunate to have acquired a significant amount of historical data detailing exploration conducted in the Vares region between 1950 and 1990, and [we have] been able to validate that data to a level of confidence which warrants the inclusion of those areas in our expanded concession application.”
At midday, shares in Adriatic Metals were trading 14.02% higher at $0.61.