UK's Tertiary Minerals Announces Zambia Drilling Results and Launches Deep Drilling

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On November 9, UK mineral exploration company Tertiary Minerals announced the final batch of assay results from Phase 4 drilling at its Mushima North project in Zambia, covering eight reverse circulation (RC) drill holes in the Discovery Zone and Western Zone. Six holes in the Discovery Zone intersected near-surface silver, copper and zinc mineralization, while two holes in the Western Zone confirmed shallow copper mineralization. The company commenced Phase 5 diamond drilling on November 8, planning to test the down-dip extension of the mineralized bodies with four deep holes.

The main results from the Discovery Zone came from holes 078 and 079. Hole 078 intersected 70 m from 10 m depth averaging 31 g/t silver, 0.29% copper and 0.25% zinc, including 6 m from 34 m grading 84 g/t silver. Hole 079 intersected 68 m from 17 m depth averaging 27 g/t silver, 0.15% copper and 0.52% zinc, including 17 m from 63 m grading 53 g/t silver. Both holes ended in mineralization, with the down-dip extent of mineralization exceeding the boundaries covered by the previous exploration target model.

In the Western Zone, hole 076 intersected 24 m from 19 m depth averaging 0.29% copper, including 5 m from 32 m grading 0.60% copper. This represents copper mineralization from recent reconnaissance drilling in the area, providing a drilling basis for the project to identify new mineralized areas outside the Discovery Zone.

The eight holes announced represent the final batch of laboratory assay results from the Phase 4 RC drilling program. A total of 39 holes were completed in this phase for 3,639 m, of which 37 holes have reported laboratory assay results and two holes have not submitted laboratory analyses. Drilling followed a staged hole layout: Discovery Zone holes were arranged along east-west lines with north-south line spacing of approximately 100 m, hole spacing along the same line of approximately 50 m, and a maximum vertical drilling depth of approximately 128 m.

Phase 5 drilling began on November 8, with approximately 1,000 m of diamond drilling planned, initially comprising four holes of approximately 200 to 250 m each, at dip angles of approximately minus 60 to minus 70 degrees, targeting a vertical depth of approximately 200 m. Unlike Phase 4, which focused on shallow infill exploration using primarily RC drilling, the new program will focus on testing the deep extension beneath the higher-grade mineralized zone in the Discovery Zone and investigating the potential transition from shallow oxide mineralization to primary sulfide mineralization at depth. The drill core will also be used for subsequent metallurgical testwork and geological studies of the orebody.

Follow-up project work will proceed in parallel with the deep drilling. Tertiary Minerals expects to announce the first batch of metallurgical test results shortly and plans to complete the project's first JORC-compliant mineral resource estimate by the end of 2026. The company previously announced an exploration target for the Discovery Zone of 15 to 30 million tonnes at 40 to 60 g/t silver equivalent.