LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Xtract Resources reported strong assay results from the second batch of diamond drilling at the Silverking Project in Zambia on Friday, confirming further high-grade copper and silver mineralisation and extending the known mineralised strike length.
The AIM-traded firm said highlights from the latest drilling included 40.2 metres at 1.5% copper and 20.25 grams per tonne silver from 71.8 metres in hole SKIDD004, and 3.7 metres at 4.73% copper and 55.08 grams per tonne silver from 68.0 metres in hole SKIDD005.

A second zone in SKIDD005 returned 27.0 metres at 0.58% copper and 2.31 grams per tonne silver.

Hole SKIDD006 also intersected 3.3 metres at 0.56% copper and 10.33 grams per tonne silver.

The results extended the mineralised trend at Silverking to over 160 metres in strike length.

Xtract is earning up to a 70% interest in the project under a joint venture agreement with Oval Mining.

In addition to exploration success, the company said it was expanding metallurgical test work to assess the potential for gravity-based upgrading and pre-concentration of lower grade mineralisation from the footwall and hanging wall zones.

If successful, that could materially enhance overall production volumes and copper recovery by enabling processing of a broader portion of the resource at a centralised facility.

"The latest results have doubled the strike extent of the high-grade mineralisation to more than 160 metres," said executive chairman Colin Bird.

"We will continue to step out drilling until we reach the limits of mineralisation and at the same time will continue to test the depth of mineralisation with selected deeper drilling to approximately 400 vertical metres.

"The scope of the metallurgical test work has been expanded and we are working with metallurgical engineers that have had very exciting results upgrading lower grade copper mineralisation through conventional gravity processing to produce a pre-concentrate for suitable final concentration processes."

Bird said that could be significant, as the high-grade orebody was typically associated with a lower grade mineralised envelope that could be treatable, offering additional copper production.

"We will continue to update shareholders as new assay data is generated."

At 1131 BST, shares in Xtract Resources were flat at 1p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

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