Rome Resources Plc (AIM:RMR, FRA:33R) this week outlined continued strong drilling results from the Kalayi project, highlighting growing confidence in the scale and development potential of the tin asset.
Chief executive Paul Barrett, in a Proactive interview, said ongoing drilling continues to demonstrate consistent high-grade tin mineralisation, with nearly all holes intersecting significant tin. He noted that the company has now drilled more than 30 holes, providing solid coverage across the core area of the project, which will underpin the next resource update.
Barrett indicated that recent results are showing wider intercepts compared to earlier drilling, which is expected to positively impact overall resource volumes. He explained that while grades remain consistent, thicker intercepts are a key factor in increasing the amount of tin that can ultimately be defined.
The company is also seeing mineralisation extend at depth, which Barrett said increases confidence in achieving internal resource targets.
Here, we take a closer look at what was discussed what the Rome Resources boss joined the Proactive studio.
Proactive: Paul, you're hitting high grade tin again. How important are these latest results for the overall scale of Kalayi?
Paul Barrett: Hi Stephen, yes they are important because they show the continuity. And in fact, we're drilling holes 32 and 33 now. So we're getting pretty good coverage. And pretty much each of the holes, I would say there's only a handful out of those 33 holes that don't have significant tin. So we're getting good intersections all the time.
We've drilled up really this core area of Kalayi, which is going to feed through to the resource. And I think we'll see some much stronger numbers than we did before because we're seeing wider intercepts in almost every hole.
Proactive: You're now seeing mineralization extend at depth. Does this materially change the resource potential Paul?
Paul Barrett: Well, it doesn't change the potential, but it increases the likelihood that we'll get to the numbers that we think are there. I've said in this campaign that I'll be happy if we treble what we have. Anything on top of that will be icing on the cake. But I think we should be fairly confident of doing that because if you compare what we had previously to what we have now, we're getting the same grades, but we're getting thicker intercepts. And that's key to the volume of tin that you're going to be able to book.
Proactive: Well with tin prices strong at the moment, how close are you to turning this into a development story with partners?
Paul Barrett: I think it's in a very good position. There's a big tin processing and exporting facility right next door, and we're talking to the owners of that. So it's a relatively short fuse in terms of the timeline to get into development. The Kalayi license is officially a small-scale mining license, so turning it into a producing entity will not have many regulatory hurdles. So it will be fast tracked.
Proactive: Paul, I hope you continue to keep us updated with your progress. Thanks very much for your time today.
Paul Barrett: Thanks Stephen.