Investigator Resources reports ‘eye-watering’ silver grades at Paris project
Investigator managing director Andrew McIlwain says 2022 is continuing to be an “exciting and successful exploration year” for the company.
Adelaide-based explorer Investigator Resources (ASX: IVR) has reported assays from the first nine of 276 holes at its Paris silver project with high-grade returns in this batch increasing confidence in the program.
The most significant results are 7m at 551 grams per tonne silver (including 4m at 916g/t), 10m at 328g/t, and 14m at 206g/t (including 5m at 412g/t).
The company calls Paris the highest-grade undeveloped silver project in Australia and, being a shallow one, is amenable to open pit mining.
Before this latest drilling program, Investigator had a JORC 2021 resource of 9.3 million tonnes at 139 grams per tonne silver and 0.6% lead for a contained 42 million ounces of silver and 55,000t lead.
The indicated component stands at 4.3Mt at 163g/t silver and 0.6% for a contained 23Moz of silver and 26,000t of lead.
Assay results to flow for three months
Of the planned 20,500m program, drilling has so far reached 13,941m.
It was initially set at 15,500m, but was increased by 5,500m, with the decision made last month after encouraging early results.
The company says these new results add further support to that decision.
Further assays from ongoing drilling will be delivered over the next three months.
Meanwhile, a pre-feasibility study is underway, with the report expected to be delivered in mid-2021.
The Paris silver project is located in pastoral country on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula, about 60km northwest of the town of Kimba. The ground lies within the Gawler Craton.
‘Eye-watering’ grades suggest increased resource
Managing director Andrew McIlwain says the initial and preliminary results support the company’s decision to undertake infill drilling to improve both the grade and confidence in the estimated resource.
“With some eye-watering grades seen in these early results, it bodes well for an increase in the average resource grade,” he added.
The initial 15,000m drilling program at Paris began in September, the majority by reverse circulation and about 700m of diamond drilling, with the latter to support quality assurance and control needed for any new resource estimate.
The additional 5,500m subsequently added to the program will be in two parts: first, 4,300m to test for additional mineralisation and, subject to success in that, a further 1,200m.
In 2016 a smaller infill drill program on the central 200m zone delivered a 20% increase in silver grade and 26% more contained ounces.