Variscan (ASX:VAR) returns more high-grade zinc for Spanish restart
March 4, 2024Variscan Mines’ underground drilling has returned another batch of high-grade zinc intercepts as it turns toward an upscaled campaign and resource estimate for a San Jose mining restart at its Novales-Udias project near Cantabria in northern Spain.
The new results, boasting a highlight intercept of 14.5 metres at 8.93 per cent zinc and 0.5% lead confirm the potential for more extensions and lenses below the existing Novales-Udias resource model after drilling late last year discovered a thick new lens of high-grade zinc.
Variscan Mines Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Stewart Dickson said the results came as the company continued to define and develop one of the highest grade development stage zinc deposits on the continent.
“The (Varsican) Board have decided that the underground drilling campaign will continue until mid-2024. Using our own portable drill rig and staff enables us to conduct this program efficiently, cost-effectively and with a high degree of flexibility,” Mr Dickson said.
“This is in contrast to the wider junior mining sector which is signalling reduced drilling activity. In short, we are drilling when others aren’t or can’t.”
Mr Dickson added Varsican looked forward to reporting the next batch of assays from testing cross-cuttings of structures beyond the existing resource model.
“Our drilling campaign together with other exploration activities continue to support our overarching objective to assess the re-start potential of the San Jose mine,” he said.
Varsican’s expanded underground drill campaign is slated to continue through to the middle of 2024, directed at upgrading the existing indicated and inferred resources at Novales-Udias .
The company is intent on discovering new zones of mineralisation and adding fresh tonnage to the current resource of 1.1 million tonnes at 9.0% Zn and 1.2% Pb that it unveiled late last year.
Fruits from Varsican’s latest efforts are slated to be combined with results from a surface campaign in the June quarter, with a view to delivering the upgrade before year’s end.
Significant intercepts
- 14.5m @ 8.93% Zn, 0.50% Pb
- 11.6m @ 8.43% Zn, 1.61% Pb
- 7m @ 5.30% Zn, 0.04% Pb
- 6m @ 6.59% Zn, 0.62% Pb
- 3m @ 5.55% Zn, 0.41% Pb
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