Rockfire Resources PLC (LSE:ROCK), the base and critical metals explorer, has reported fresh high-grade zinc and germanium results from its Molaoi deposit in Greece.
Drill hole HMO-020 returned three intersections, the best grading 6.2% zinc and 15.1 grams per tonne germanium from 215.6 metres down the hole.
The other two intervals returned 4.1% and 5.2% zinc, alongside silver, lead and germanium.
Zinc, the deposit's main metal, is used chiefly to galvanise steel against corrosion. Germanium is a critical mineral used in fibre optics, infrared devices and semiconductors.
China dominates germanium supply and has curbed exports since 2023, sharpening Western interest in new sources.
The results form part of a drilling programme aimed at lifting part of the deposit from an inferred to an indicated resource, a higher-confidence classification used in mine planning.
Molaoi holds a JORC inferred resource of 15 million tonnes grading 7.26% zinc, 1.75% lead and 39.5 grams per tonne silver.
The wholly owned deposit is estimated to contain 1.09 million tonnes of zinc, 260,000 tonnes of lead and 19.1 million ounces of silver.
Drilling on the next hole, HMO-021, has been temporarily paused over the summer.
The company is also running crushing and grinding tests to identify suitable processing equipment and power needs for a future mine.
Separate strength tests are assessing whether the rock can withstand the pressures created once underground mining begins.
Rockfire said it was in talks with several groups about further metallurgical work, including flotation tests and producing a zinc ingot and a germanium product.
That work forms part of the company's feasibility studies, which establish whether a mine can be built and run profitably.
"Each successful hole is expected to add to the overall tonnage of our targeted indicated resource," said chief executive David Price.
Rockfire also holds gold, copper and silver projects in Queensland, Australia.
