LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Tertiary Minerals updated the market on drilling activity at its Konkola West Copper Project in Zambia on Monday, where it said project partner KoBold Metals was progressing a two-hole drill programme under its earn-in agreement.
The AIM-traded firm said drilling of the first hole, KWDD001, was completed at a final depth of 2,711.1 metres, making it the deepest known mineral exploration hole drilled in the Zambian Copperbelt.

Although the hole did not reach the targeted Copperbelt Orebody Member horizon, two zones of low-grade copper sulphide mineralisation were intersected near the expected depth.

Trace amounts of bornite and chalcopyrite were observed over true thicknesses of 9.93 metres and 2.19 metres, respectively.

While not of economic significance, the presence of copper-bearing fluids was considered encouraging, and supported further exploration in the basin.

Data gathered from KWDD001 had significantly enhanced KoBold's proprietary geological model, Tertiary reported, and informed the design of the second hole, KWDD002, which started drilling on 26 March.

The second hole was planned to reach a depth of about 2,000 metres, and was targeting a refined location based on insights from the initial hole and KoBold's extensive regional dataset.

Tertiary said the drill core from KWDD001 was undergoing laboratory analysis, with downhole geophysical surveys also completed.

It said any significant assay results would be released in due course.

KoBold's earn-in agreement requires the drilling of a minimum of 2,000 metres across two holes to secure its interest in the project.

"While we are naturally disappointed the target horizon was not reached by the final hole depth, the drilling of such a deep borehole along with the geological data collected as part of KoBold's comprehensive, data-driven approach has been truly impressive," said managing director Richard Belcher.

"It is incredibly exciting for Tertiary to be involved in such a ground-breaking project and we remain extremely positive on the potential future outcomes.

"We eagerly await the progress of the second drill hole, and I look forward to updating shareholders as the hole advances."

At 1302 GMT, shares in Tertiary Minerals were up 12.73% at 0.06p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

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