Strategic Minerals (AIM:SML), the AIM-listed international mineral exploration and production company, has received planning permission from Cornwall Council to expand its infill drilling programme at the Redmoor tungsten-tin-copper project in Cornwall, paving the way for what the company believes is the largest continuous diamond drilling campaign conducted in Great Britain this century.
The approved programme covers 22,500 metres across at least 44 drillholes and permits up to three years of continuous operations, though the company expects to complete the expanded work by the second quarter of 2027.
Permission allows the mobilisation of two additional drill rigs alongside the existing rig, with an option to add a fourth later in the year to further accelerate progress toward an Indicated resource classification and pre-feasibility study.
Drilling is designed to infill the existing mineral resource, test the Exploration Target for potential conversion into Mineral Resources, and simultaneously collect geotechnical, metallurgical and hydrogeological data to limit the need for separate study programmes later.
The most recently completed hole, CRD044, reached 526.10 metres on 25 June, intersecting the full thickness of the Redmoor Sheeted Vein System and entering the Kit Hill granite roof zone, where cassiterite and chalcopyrite mineralised structures were identified, supporting continuity of mineralisation at depth.
"We now have the flexibility to build upon the encouraging results received to date and further accelerate development at Redmoor," said Mark Burnett, Strategic Minerals' Executive Director.
Site setup, including water connections and drill rig compound preparation, will follow submission and approval of pre-commencement documentation by the Local Planning Authority.
