Tertiary Minerals (LSE:TYM), the AIM-listed exploration company, said preliminary field analysis of the first 12 drill holes at Target A1, part of its Mushima North project in Zambia, suggests a higher-grade copper zone extends through the north of the target area.
The project sits within Zambia's Iron-Oxide-Copper-Gold belt, 28km from the historic Kalengwa copper-silver mine, and hosts an existing exploration target of 15 to 30 million tonnes at 40 to 60 g/t silver equivalent within near-surface oxide mineralisation.
Portable X-ray fluorescence testing, a preliminary on-site technique, returned intersections including 45 metres at 0.41% copper and 0.28% zinc from 12 metres downhole, and 73 metres at 0.29% copper and 0.38% zinc from 25 metres downhole.
Indicative silver readings reached as high as 214 g/t, though the company cautions these pXRF silver values are semi-quantitative and require laboratory confirmation.
Samples have been sent to ALS Global's South African laboratory for certified analysis, with results expected within weeks.
"These results suggest the higher-grade copper and silver mineralisation intersected in drill hole 25TMNRC-043... in the last programme likely continues," said Richard Belcher, Managing Director.
The company has completed 22 of a planned roughly 4,000-metre, approximately 4,000 million reverse circulation drilling programme, with pXRF results from a further 10 holes expected imminently.
News Intelligence what this means for the company
Tertiary Minerals' Phase 4 drilling at Mushima North Target A1 has returned preliminary pXRF readings suggesting a higher-grade copper zone extends northward through the target, with intersections of 45 m at 0.41% copper and 73 m at 0.29% copper, plus indicative silver values to 214 g/t. The company has completed 22 of ~4,000 metres of planned reverse circulation drilling; certified assays from ALS Global are pending within weeks and will determine whether these field readings translate into resource-grade continuity.
Whilst preliminary field data alone cannot move the needle in terms of the existing 15–30 Mt exploration target nor support resource estimation, they can suggest potential for exploration upside. The investment case turns on whether certified laboratory assays confirm the pXRF grades and extend the higher-grade zone across enough of the target to materially improve the project's economic profile.
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