Peel Mining uncovers high grade zinc at NSW project

As zinc supplies diminish, Peel Mining (ASX: PEX) has made a fortuitous discovery with zinc grading 31.02% uncovered at its Wagga Tank project in western New South Wales.

Assays from the Southern Nights prospect including 21m grading 31.02% zinc, 12.05% lead, 258 grams per tonne silver and 1.43 grams per tonne gold.

Drilling in ongoing at the project with the near-surface mineralisation remaining open in all directions.

With this latest discovery, Peel Mining believes the Wagga Tank project potentially hosts a major, high-grade, base and precious metals mineral system.

To-date, 11 holes have been drilled at Southern Nights.

Situated 130km south of Cobar, historical drilling at the Wagga Tank project returned gold grading up to 3.11 grams per tonne, zinc grading up to 10.39%, lead grading up to 4.43% and silver grading up to 470 grams per tonne.

Peel Mining acquired the project in December 2016 and completed a maiden 18-hole drilling program which returned assays similar to the historical results mentioned above.

Peel Mining is exploring for base and precious metals across Western Australia and New South Wales.

Zinc market

As demand for zinc outstrips supply, the commodity’s price has risen in recent months, with the commodity commanding A$4,298.91 per tonne on the 23 October 2017 – up from A$3,750 per tonne in mid-September.

The recent zinc revival has seen multiple ASX-listed stocks dusting off projects that were previously put aside, with several zinc explorers fast-tracking project development to take advantage of the new market dynamics.

A combination of China’s stricter environmental regulations leading to a curtailment of zinc mining and processing and little investment in the past decade into finding new zinc projects has eroded the commodity’s stockpiles at the London Metals Exchange.

According to Teck Resources, one of the world’s largest zinc miners, more than 4.3 million tonnes per annum of additional zinc production was needed to meet consumption by 2025.

On the back of today’s high-grade zinc discovery announcement, Peel Mining’s share price surged 40% in late morning trade.