South Harz Potash Ltd (ASX:SHP) shares rose more than 5% after receiving strong confirmatory results from the second drill hole within the Ohmgebirge Mining Licence area of its South Harz Potash Project in Germany.
Assay results from the second Ohmgebirge confirmatory drill hole (OHM-01) returned a key intercept of 3.75 metres at an average grade of 16.19% K2O (potassium oxide).
Results returned to date are summarised in the table below. Assay results from the lower section of the drill hole are still pending.
South Harz acting executive chairman Ian Farmer said: “We are pleased to announce the assay results returned from the high-grade potash section of our second confirmatory drill hole at Ohmgebirge, OHM-01.
“Similar to our first confirmatory hole, OHM-02, the results show excellent correlation with the nearby historic drill hole.
“We have now effectively validated historic results at Ohmgebirge from both the initial drilling campaign conducted in the early 1900s and the extensive drilling campaign carried out by the GDR from the 1960s through to the 1980s."
Ohmgebirge Mining Licence area showing the location of historical drill holes and the twin confirmatory holes, OHM-01 and OHM-02.
Drillhole OHM-01 was completed to a depth of 807.91 metres to fully penetrate the known Staßfurt Potash Horizon (z2KSt).
It was designed to twin and validate the results of the historical drill hole, Kal Ktf 5/83, which recorded a potash intercept from 785.2 metres to 788.2 metres (3 metres thickness) with a historically reported grade of 12.4% K2O.
OHM-01 was drilled about 100 metres north of the historical drill hole.
It intercepted the top of the high-grade potash horizon from 775.05 metres down to a depth of 778.80 metres, a total apparent thickness of 3.75 metres.
A comprehensive assay suite comprising wet ICP and XRD analyses has identified a high-grade Anhydritic Hartsalz returning an average intercept grade of 16.9% K2O.
A second lower grade potash zone with a higher abundance of kieserite2 (MgSO4·H2O) was identified from 787.67 metres to 795.19 metres downhole, with assay results still pending.
Resource upgrade
Drilling and assay of core from these two confirmatory drill holes are intended to allow South Harz to upgrade a substantial proportion of the current Ohmgebirge JORC 2012 resource to the indicated category.
Following receipt of the key assay results from both OHM-02 and OHM-01, work has now commenced on updating the Ohmgebirge resource.
South Harz is aiming to release a comprehensive scoping study (a preliminary technical and economic assessment) for Ohmgebirge in early Q3 2022.
Farmer added: “The results from our two confirmatory drill holes further substantiate our confidence in the accuracy of the 41 drill holes in the Ohmgebirge licence area, and indeed the 300 drill holes which we acquired as part of the suite of mining licences that comprise our world-class South Harz Potash Project.
“Work has now commenced on updating the Ohmgebirge Mineral Resource model and finalising the Scoping Study, which we look forward to completing early next quarter.”