Krakatoa Resources Ltd (ASX: KTA) has completed more than 1,000 metres of diamond drilling and underground core sampling at the Zopkhito Antimony-Gold Project in Georgia so far this year, as work accelerates towards a maiden JORC-compliant mineral resource estimate.
Surface drilling has shifted from the eastern part of the system to the West Zone, targeting previously undrilled veins that account for a significant portion of the project's historical foreign resource estimate.
Underground work has meanwhile moved into the Central Zone, while the first batch of assays is expected in mid-September. A second batch is already at the laboratory and a third has recently been dispatched.
Drilling targets western vein system
Krakatoa has completed 11 surface holes and 27 underground holes to date.
The current surface program will drill at least eight holes in the West Zone, targeting a series of four to six stacked, near-vertical veins whose geometry has previously been mapped through historical exploration adits.
The broader West Zone program is designed to test up to six new veins from the 17 known veins incorporated in the foreign resource estimate and combine historical information with modern drilling and geological data.
Zopkhito covers 1,779 hectares under a mining licence valid until March 2042. Krakatoa has an exclusive option to acquire up to an 80% interest and is working to complete the acquisition of its initial 10% stake.
The project carries a historical foreign resource estimate of 225,000 tonnes at 11.6% antimony for 26,000 tonnes of contained antimony, alongside 7.1 million tonnes at 3.7 g/t gold for 815,119 ounces.
Metallurgical work moves forward
Underground drilling has moved into Central Zone adits, where Krakatoa is preparing to collect bulk samples containing both the main antimony veins and gold-rich alteration halos.
The material will be sent to Europe for optical and scanning ore-sorting studies and metallurgical test work.
Environmental baseline studies, permitting activities and verification sampling of historical exploration data are also progressing in parallel.
CEO Mark Major said the programs were improving Krakatoa's geological understanding of Zopkhito and establishing the technical foundation required to progress towards a maiden JORC-compliant resource.
"Our exploration and technical programs are progressing well on all aspects, with underground and surface drilling continuing as planned, and first assay results expected shortly. Surface drilling has now moved to the western zone, where we are targeting several previously undrilled veins, while underground work in the central zone is generating additional geological data and samples for analysis.
"These work programs are improving our geological understanding of Zopkhito and providing the technical foundation required as we progress towards defining a maiden JORC-compliant Mineral Resource. We are also working on the completion of the acquisition of the initial 10% project ownership which strengthens our commitment to the project."
Next steps
Near-term catalysts include the first assay results expected in mid-September, additional drilling from the West and Central zones and the commencement of metallurgical test work.
With assays pending and several technical workstreams underway, Krakatoa expects a steady flow of operational and technical updates from Zopkhito through the remainder of 2026.
