East Star Resources PLC (LSE:EST) said it has been awarded three new licences on the Rudny Altai volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) belt in Kazakhstan.
The new licences incorporate two historic operating and high-grade copper-lead-zinc mines - Pokrovskoye and Talovskaya - one known deposit – Verkhubinskoye - and many historical mineral occurrences.
"The best place to find a new mine is around an existing one, so expanding our footprint to include more licences with historical mines is extremely exciting,” said chief executive Alex Walker.
“The Pokrovskoye mine for example - reportedly 'mined out' in 1979 - contained average grades of 11.5% copper, 3.3% lead and 12% zinc. We don't believe these areas have been fully explored, especially considering changes in economic cut-off over the last 40 years and new geophysical methods such as downhole electromagnetics to explore for additional conductors which do not outcrop at surface.”
Talovskaya is a massive sulphide ore deposit that was found in 1782 and mined up to 1896 and contained grades of up to 11.9% copper, 16% zinc and 2% lead, according to a 1996 report by the government’s geology body.
The new licences, comprising 55 blocks over 111.7 sq km, are contiguous with the explorer’s existing Rudny Altai belt licences: Novo 1 and Novo 2. The Rudny Altai region is one of the largest VMS provinces in the world.
The London-listed company has already collected some rock chip samples and sent them for assay along with samples from Novo 1 and Novo 2. The new licences are already covered by a helicopter electromagnetic (HEM) survey carried out in July 2022, with analysis and targeting underway.
Earlier this month, East Star was awarded a new exploration licence comprising 59 blocks on the Talairyk heavy rare earth elements project in the Kostanay region of Kazakhstan, into which the company is farming in for up to a 90% interest.
READ: East Star picks up new rare earths exploration ground in Kazakhstan