Eurasia Mining PLC (LON:EUA) has unveiled positive drill results from its Monchetundra project in the far northwest of Russia, which should lead to defining a reserve estimate.
Core drilling and shallow sampling kicked off last summer and focused on the West Nittis and Loipishnune areas, prospective for high grade platinum group metals.
Today's results are intermediate as core logging and assaying is still in progress on 12 of 22 core drilling holes, the company noted.
Analyses received so far from 12 holes from West Nittis indicate that weighted averages for Palladium equivalent range from 1.06g/t over 1.45m and 4.07g/t over 0.7m in the hanging wall zone to 0.51g/t over 4.75m and 0.71g/t over 2.5m in the footwall zone.
Eurasia's managing director Christian Schaffalitzky said: "These results from Monchetundra are hugely positive and we look forward to seeing the remaining core assays at West Nittis, and indeed the results of geochemical sampling at Loipishnune.
"The 2015/16 campaign has in a sense reignited exploration at the Monchetundra licence even as discussions with interested parties are further advanced.
"Our aim with this drilling programme at West Nittis was to define a C1 Reserve by in-filling on our previous drilling grid.
"Initial results suggest that this has been a success and a C1 Reserve will be defined at West Nittis, in due course. We look forward to reporting on a more complete data set in due course. In the meantime we are heading to production of our first platinum in West Kytlim that will start this summer now that all permitting is in place.'
A Russian C1 standard is broadly similar to a measured and indicated resource and once this is done, the firm intends to apply for a discovery certificate on the area.
It is anticipated this will be completed during 2016. It should be noted that a Reserve to JORC standards would follow from detailed economics and engineering which form part of a feasibility study that is already being prepared.