East Star Resources PLC (LSE:EST) has announced high-grade findings from its drill programme at the Verkhuba copper deposit, in Kazakhstan.
The results indicate promising potential for open pit mining development, the company highlighted.
In an update, it reported notable intersections of mineralisation, including a high-grade copper equivalent (CuEq) measuring up to 2.45%.
The company noted that the results demonstrate the presence of substantial copper-rich ore at mineable depths. Also, zinc and silver were identified in some intersections, and there's potential for gold, which could enhance the deposit's value.
"We are delighted with the results of high-grade assays from our recent Verkhuba drilling campaign,” chief executive Alex Walker said.
“We can now definitively demonstrate that the Verkhuba Deposit has multiple copper-rich ore grade intervals at mineable depths. Grades are relatively consistent with the 1.4-1.8% copper grade range derived from the 5-6Mt open-pit resource calculated from the independent resource model.
“This gives confidence in the accuracy of the more than 42,000m of historical drilling used in calculating our JORC-compliant exploration target. Additional ore lenses and lower grade halos not reported in historical drilling, and therefore not a part of the existing resource model, should increase the total tonnes of ore expected in future resource models.”
The company plans to remodel historical drilling data and perform a geostatistical analysis to progress towards a JORC-compliant resource.
It expects this analysis to be completed early in 2024, to be followed by further drilling next year to advance an open pit development concept.