Aspiring Balkans polymetallic project developer Adriatic Metals has vectored in on another batch of thick, high-grade massive sulphide mineralisation at its Rupice Northwest orebody - an extension of its Rupice multi-commodity deposit in Bosnia & Herzegovina.
Diamond drilling at the site returned a broad 45.9 metre hit going 701 grams per tonne silver equivalent about 225m north-west of the company’s 12 million tonne resource grading 149 g/t silver, 1.4 g/t gold and 4.1 per cent zinc.
The 45.9m strike from 216m contains 102 g/t silver, 9.5 per cent zinc, 5.9 per cent lead, 1 g/t gold, 0.6 per cent copper, 53 per cent barium sulphate and 0.1 per cent tin.
Another hole returned a 21.6m intercept running a solid grade of 838 g/t silver equivalent from 221m confirming continuity of the mineralised zone to the north-west of the Rupice deposit.
A nearby diamond hole also hit mineralisation and delivered a 7.3m intercept going a remarkable 1449 g/t silver equivalent inside of a larger 30.3m strike at 932 g/t silver equivalent from 247.7m
The company previously suggested the stratigraphic sequence and mineralisation style in Rupice Northwest appears to be akin to the Rupice deposit itself. The resource defined at Rupice forms part of the company’s larger resource base at its Vares project in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Adriatic recently drew down the first US$30m tranche from a $142.5m debt package to fund the development of its high-grade Vares project which is has now seen its construction phase pass the halfway mark
The company has passed the halfway mark on construction of its high-grade Vares silver project in Bosnia & Herzegovina with its financial future seemingly secured following draw down of its first US$30m tranche from a $142.5m debt package. The company is looking to establish an underground mine and processing plant at Vares that is expected to produce about 800,000 tonnes each year.
A 2021 definitive feasibility study, or “DFS” evaluating the potential of bringing Vares into production delivered a cracking set of numbers including an average EBITDA of US$281.1 million per year in the first five years of concentrate production. The DFS also envisioned an extraordinary net present value after tax of US$1.06 billion and an internal rate of return of 134 per cent after tax.
Adriatic Metals Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Paul Cronin said:
“The sheer size of Rupice NW has meant that further drilling will be required to define the mineralized system. Drilling will therefore continue into 2023, to attempt to close-out mineralisation and connect Rupice NW to Rupice. A maiden resource for Rupice NW will be released once existing areas of defined mineralisation are closed-off and the scale of the mineralised system within Adriatic’s tenement holdings has been fully realised.”
Further drilling is now planned for the remainder of 2023 with the explorer aiming to define enough mineralisation to support at least 20 years of mining at Rupice.
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By Matt Birney
