Variscan Mines Limited (ASX:VAR) has drilled further high-grade zinc intercepts from the ongoing underground diamond drilling programme at the San Jose Mine, near Novales, located in Cantabria, northern Spain.
The underground drilling programme at the San Jose Mine has been upscaled in duration and meterage. It is focused on expanding known zones of mineralisation and discovering new zones with a view to supporting an upgraded Mineral Resource Estimate in the future. Ongoing drilling is testing:
- prospective zones that have been identified from the development of our 3D modelling;
- structures within and beyond the defined Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) area which have seen limited exploration drilling; and
- above or below previously-mined stopes where historical production had ceased
Drilling supports existing structural interpretation and Mineral Resource Estimate model in the Central Zone of the San Jose Mine
The drilling results have targeted areas of known Zn-Pb structures that were previously underexplored or underexploited. The high-grade intercepts are mainly associated with the La Caseta Trend within the Central Zone of the San Jose Mine.
Current drilling is testing new structural targets in the San Jose Mine
The recently released geological assessment and structural targeting resulted in a significantly improved understanding of the controls on multi-phase Zn-Pb mineralization at the San Jose Mine.
The new assay results from the La Caseta trend were obtained from the intercept of a prominent D2 structure. Newly identified targets within the San Jose Mine arising from the study are being drill-tested as part of the ongoing underground drilling campaign. In particular the cross-cutting D2 structure linking Stope 200 and the La Caseta trend is being drilled currently. This target area lies outside of the existing MRE model.
"Today we announced additional high-grade results from the ongoing underground drilling campaign at the San Jose Mine. The new assay results from drillholes continue to display significant zinc grades over substantial thicknesses as we continue to define and develop one of the highest-grade, development stage zinc deposits in Europe,” Managing Director and CEO, Stewart Dickson, said.
“The 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 programme efficiently, cost effectively and with a high degree of flexibility. 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.
“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.”
