Alta Zinc Limited’s (ASX: AZI) maiden diamond drilling campaign of the Pian Bracca Zone has highlighted the potential of the Gorno Zinc Project in Italy.
The company’s MD, Geraint Harris, said the first two holes of the programme have confirmed both the thickness and high-grade nature of the mineralisation present in the zone and substantiate both the nearby channel sample grades of exposed mineralisation and that the mineralisation is continuous beneath and between the multiple levels of historic development.
Mr Harris said both holes intersected the Pian Bracca mineralisation over significant thicknesses; far in excess of the average thickness previously drilled by the company in the Zorzone strata-bound mineralisation (which averaged 3.6m). Both holes also intersected a highly mineralised lower lens beneath the Pian Bracca mineralisation.
“These first results from our Pian Bracca drilling campaign demonstrate that both the grade and thickness of the mineralisation at Gorno can be significantly greater than has been shown by the nearby Zorzone drilling; it is also a credit to our team that their geologic model is being closely validated by these drilling results,” Mr Harris said.
“As we continue the step-out drilling it will be exciting to see the potential for mineralised extensions, hopefully continuing to confirm the high grades and thicknesses indicated by our channel samples located further to the east and west of these holes.”
Mr Harris said the mineralisation intersected is very visible and clearly consists of sphalerite and galena, which are hosted within the well-known metallifero formation. The metallifero formation is found extensively throughout the Gorno district, where it is consistently a host to zinc and lead mineralisation.
Alta confirmed that drilling is currently progressing on schedule with the next batch of core will be shipped to the assay laboratory in late December, with those results expected within the second half of January.
The entire maiden drilling campaign is expected to run until the middle to end of the second quarter 2020.
