Elementos Limited (ASX:ELT) (OTCMKTS:ELTLF) (FRA:9EM) has intersected visible mineralisation in four of the initial six diamond drill holes completed in 2020 exploration drilling at the flagship Oropesa Tin Project in Spain.
Exploration drilling at Oropesa started in early October as part of a wider optimisation program designed to increase the project’s overall resource, annual production rate and mine life.
The ongoing drilling program follows release of the company’s Oropesa Economic Study in May, which positioned the project as a low-cost, globally significant new tin development with prospective annual production of 2,440 tonnes of tin‐in‐concentrate over a 14‐year mine life.
Drilling program objective
As a part of the program, the company plans to drill 42 holes for about 5,000 metres to expand and optimise Oropesa’s JORC-compliant mineral resource.
The new drilling program has three principal objectives:
To convert existing inferred resources into indicated resources to improve the overall waste‐to‐ore stripping ratio;
Confirmation of near-surface, possibly fault-controlled mineralisation that is excluded from the 2017 geological resource model; and
Testing for additional near-surface resources from exploration targets identified from Induced Polarisation (IP) geophysical survey anomalies.
Sondeos & Perforaciones Industriales Del Bierzo, SA (SPIB) has been contracted to complete the program of work under a contract signed with Elementos’ Spanish subsidiary Minas De Estano de Espana (MESPA).
Mineralisation trend at Oropesa
Tin mineralisation (cassiterite) at Oropesa is associated with sulphide mineralisation, predominantly pyrite and arsenopyrite, with associated pervasive silica alteration.
There is a strong stratigraphic and lithological control on the distribution of mineralisation.
The majority of the mineralisation occurs as a replacement for the matrix within a sandstone proximal to adjacent conglomerate contacts.
All zones of mineralisation intersected to‐date will be sampled as half core and will be sent for analysis at a commercial laboratory.