European Cobalt picks up high-grade cobalt and silver projects in Slovakia

Europe-focused cobalt explorer European Cobalt (ASX: EUC) has picked up two high-grade Slovakian cobalt-copper-silver projects known as Kotlinec and Medzev that grade up to 7.1% cobalt and 2460 grams per tonne silver and are close to its flagship Dobsina project.

European Cobalt shared historic alt rock-chip sampling and recent rock-chip sample results for the two prospects in a statement released to market this morning.

The company called the acquisition of the high-grade cobalt-silver mines “synergistic” with Dobsina.

Managing director Rob Jewson said the company was being introduced to such a high calibre of projects through the networks it had established while working in the central European country Slovakia.

“The acquisition of these two additional projects is synergistic with EUC’s strategy of consolidating high-grade cobalt projects within Europe,” he said.

“We have added these projects to our regional exploration program for the European summer field season and will evaluate their respective scale potential.”

The European Cobalt leader said modern, systematic exploration methods had not been undertaken across the Kotlinec and Medzev prospects, 20 and 30 kilometres south-east of the company’s flagship Dobsina project.

The new exploration program is tipped to take place during Australia’s winter season.

Highlights from Kotlinec and Medzev

The Perth-based explorer described the Kotlinec mine as a “historical producer of cobalt-nickel-copper sulphide mineralisation” and featured “numerous significant (reported) cobalt grades” from historical adit rock-chip samples.

These historic gradings two samples from the Kotlinec mine passageway graded at 7.1% cobalt, another two at 3.1% cobalt, a fifth sample at 2.1% cobalt and a sixth at 17.1% cobalt.

European Cobalt said recent rock-chip sampling of Kotlinec waste dumps showed gradings of 0.72% cobalt and 437g/t silver, and 0.55% and 0.49% cobalt.

The Slovakian cobalt prospector said its other new pick-up, Medzev, was a “historical producer of iron-copper-cobalt sulphide mineralisation”.

European Cobalt shared three highlights from waste-dumps rock-chip sampling, reporting grades of 2460g/t and 1.11g/t silver in one sample, 0.38% cobalt and 667g/t silver in a second and 0.742% cobalt and 436g/t silver in a third.

Other pipeline projects

The St Georges Terrace company acquired the central Slovakian project Dobsina in in April 2017, which includes the Joremeny prospect where sampling returned 1.7m grading 2.10% cobalt and 4.42% nickel, and 1.7m grading 0.63% cobalt and 3.49% nickel.

A road cutting from the project returned 1.2 metres grading 4.39% cobalt, 6.21% nickel and 1.72% copper, including an intercept of 0.7m grading 7.3% cobalt, 10.45% nickel and 1.72% copper, the company reported in October 2017.

European Cobalt’s two other projects include the 100%-owned Kolba historical cobalt-copper-nickel-silver mine in central Slovakia, where gradings of 0.68% cobalt and 6.75% nickel and 2.04% copper have been reported from waste-dump-material sampling.

The other project, the cobalt-copper-silver prospect Jouhineva, is also 100% owned and is located in Finland. Some 14,000m of diamond drilling has been conducted in 199 drillholes at the site.

Jouhineva diamond-drill highlights include 5.55m at 1.19% cobalt from 23m, with two standouts from that assay featuring 0.45m of 5.63% cobalt and 4.7g/t silver from 23m, and 0.70m of 4.04% cobalt from 24.65m.

European Cobalt securities were up 4.71% to A$0.089 by late morning.