Just a month after outlining its maiden JORC-compliant mineral resource for the high-grade Rupice deposit in Bosnia, Adriatic Metals has churned out more impressive drilling results further to the northwest at its newly approved concession area.
New drill intersections included 38 metres grading 6.2% zinc, 3.8% lead, 174g/t silver, 1.9g/t gold, 0.4% copper and 33% barite from 208m down-hole, including 12m @ 13.2% zinc, 7.8% lead, 154g/t silver, 2.4g/t gold, 0.6% copper from the same depth.
The same hole also included what looks to be a second 20m wide lode going 2% zinc, 2.8% lead, 96g/t silver, 0.3g/t gold and 0.6% copper from 254m.
Another hole to the south appears to extended the defined mineralisation a further 20m down-dip with an 8m section grading 2.5% zinc, 1.8% lead, 143g/t silver, 1.4g/t gold, 0.6% copper and 18% barite from 230m down-hole.
Adriatic Executive Director Paul Cronin said: “These drill hole results released today demonstrate that the high-grade mineralisation continues north into the new concession area, and remains open.”
“We will continue step-out drilling to the north and with the results of our geophysical survey, also focus on new target areas to search for possible repetitions of the mineralisation at Rupice, as well as specific drill targets at our Jurasevac-Brestic and Borovica prospects.”
The company recently tabled a mineral resource of 9.4 million tonnes grading 5.1% zinc, 3.3% lead, 1.8g/t gold, 183g/t silver, 0.6% copper and 31% barite at Rupice, which extends over a strike length of some 400m and to a depth of about 300 metres from the surface.
Adriatic said that Rupice is Bosnia’s highest-grade polymetallic base metal resource, with significant precious metal credits and 80% of the estimate defined in the higher confidence “indicated” resource category.
The company also recently generated an updated mineral resource estimate for its Veovača deposit, southeast of Rupice, where drilling at that prospect added more silver and gold mineralisation into the global resource.
Veovača is estimated to host 7.4 million tonnes grading 1.4% zinc, 0.9% lead, 0.1g/t gold, 41g/t silver and 13% barite, with 71% of that tonnage classified at the indicated status definition.
Adriatic will now utilise the new and updated mineral resource estimates at its Vareš project, together with ongoing metallurgical, geotechnical and hydrogeological studies to underpin a scoping study, as a precursor to a feasibility study at the impressive looking project.
The company currently has five drilling rigs churning away in Bosnia and is aiming to expand the limits of the ore systems further, particularly to the northwest of Rupice, where mineralisation remains well and truly open.
Exploratory drilling is also planned in new areas to search for analogues to the Rupice mineralisation, aided by the interpretation of encouraging results from recent ground geophysical induced polarisation surveys.
The work has defined a strong chargeable anomaly located 200m west of the Rupice resource and is potentially a “blind” concentration of further base metal sulphide mineralisation in the district according to the company.
Management said one drill rig would also be moved to the Brestic-Jurasevac prospect shortly to commence work on a chargeable anomaly there, which lies immediately north and off-set from the historical underground workings.
This week’s new results from Rupice will no doubt encourage Adriatic to keep pushing the envelope in Bosnia, as it seeks to expand its footprint in this underexplored, yet strongly prospective region of the Balkan Peninsula.
By Matt Birney
