Minrex Resources (ASX:MRR) returns to drilling at Serbia’s Barje Deposit

Minrex Resources has commenced a fully funded drilling campaign at the Barje Deposit in southern Serbia, marking the first drilling activity at the project since 2018 to 2019 and the first conducted by the company.

The program centres on Barje, the cornerstone of the Tlamino Gold Project, where historical drilling returned shallow gold and silver intercepts that underpin the existing mineral resource and highlight the deposit’s continuity and expansion potential.

Highlights

The commencement of drilling follows a period of approximately seven years since the deposit was last drilled by the project’s previous owner, Medgold Resources Corp, subsequently Electrum Discovery Corp.

Drilling has commenced within the north eastern contours of the Barje Deposit, where previous drilling intersected shallow gold silver mineralisation, including 30.0m @ 5.45 g/t Au and 11 g/t Ag from 74m, including 9.0m @ 14.17 g/t Au, and 38.2m @ 3.98 g/t Au and 158 g/t Ag from 19.8m.

Drillex International has commenced drilling at Barje, with the program designed to complete infill drilling to support an updated Mineral Resource Estimate with a higher proportion of Indicated Resources.

The program will also test step out extensions of mineralisation to the east and west of the existing resource envelope and assess the southern Barje Liska corridor, where more than 1km of prospective strike remains untested by drilling.

Barje hosts a near surface NI 43 101 Inferred mineral resource of 670Koz Au Eq @ 2.9g/t Au Eq, comprising 7.1Mt at 2.5 g/t Au and 38 g/t Ag containing 570,000oz Au and 8.8Moz Ag, although the estimate is a foreign estimate under the ASX Listing Rules and has not been reported in accordance with the JORC Code.

The company stated that the current drilling program is designed to support an updated Mineral Resource Estimate and underpin an updated economic study.

Minrex Chief Executive Officer Max Piirto said the focus of the campaign was to increase confidence in the existing resource through tighter drill spacing.

“The commencement of drilling at Barje is a pivotal moment for Minrex and represents the first drilling at the deposit since the 2018 to 2019 program. We are beginning with infill drilling in the north eastern region of Barje, where shallow, high grade gold silver mineralisation has already been intersected. By tightening drill spacing across the deposit, the program is designed to lift confidence in the resource and support its conversion from the Inferred to the Indicated category.”

The company stated that the drilling program is designed to underpin an updated economic study at contemporary metal prices, building on the Preliminary Economic Assessment completed at Tlamino in 2021.

Initial assay results are expected during the September quarter, with an updated Mineral Resource Estimate and refreshed scoping study targeted thereafter.

The commencement of drilling marks the beginning of Minrex’s planned sequence of 2026 milestones, with upcoming milestones identified by the company including initial assay results, an updated Mineral Resource Estimate and a refreshed scoping study as work progresses at the Tlamino Gold Project.