Tertiary Minerals (LSE:TYM) has completed its Phase 4 drill programme at Target A1, part of the Mushima North project in Zambia, drilling 3,639 metres across 39 holes.
The AIM-listed explorer's preliminary field results, from portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) analysis, appear to back the previously reported exploration target of 15 to 30 million tonnes at 40 to 60 grammes per tonne silver equivalent, and point to a higher-grade zone within it.
Copper intersections included 15 metres at 0.53% copper from 100 metres downhole, with a higher-grade section running 7 metres at 0.77% copper.
Silver readings from the pXRF work, though less reliable than copper and zinc, reached 408 grammes per tonne in the high-grade zone and 135 grammes per tonne across the wider target, both in line with expectations.
Target A1 sits in Zambia's Iron-Oxide-Copper-Gold belt, 28km east of the Kalengwa mine, one of the country's highest-grade historic copper-silver deposits, now under redevelopment.
Samples have gone to certified laboratory ALS Global in South Africa for independent confirmation, with results due over coming weeks.
Metallurgical testwork is set to begin imminently, feeding into resource modelling.
"We eagerly await the remaining pXRF results and the first certified laboratory results," said Richard Belcher, Tertiary's managing director, adding the company aims to announce a JORC mineral resource estimate before the end of the year.
News Intelligence what this means for the company
Tertiary Minerals has completed Phase 4 drilling (3,639 metres across 39 holes) at Target A1 in Zambia, with preliminary pXRF field results aligning with the previously announced 15–30 Mt at 40–60 g/t silver equivalent exploration target and revealing a higher-grade zone within it. Copper intersections reached 0.77% over 7 metres in the high-grade section; silver readings hit 408 g/t in that zone. Samples have been sent to ALS Global in South Africa for certified analysis, with a JORC resource estimate targeted before year-end—a key milestone for converting exploration target into mineable resource.
Phase 4 completion and field validation of the exploration target advance the project toward resource definition, but the investment case remains contingent on certified laboratory results and metallurgical testwork outcomes over coming weeks. The company's ability to deliver the promised JORC estimate by end-2026 will be the next material test of execution.
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