ASX and London-listed aspiring polymetallic project developer, Adriatic Metals, has been buoyed by early diamond drill hits from a 10,000m confirmation drilling program at its historic Kizevak silver-lead-zinc deposit, which forms part of the recently acquired Raska project in Serbia. The new asset in the company’s project portfolio courtesy of an all-scrip acquisition of fellow Balkans precious and base metals play, Tethyan Resource Corp, is located approximately 200km from its advancing flagship Vares silver-lead-zinc project in neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Adriatic lifted the lid of a cracking pre-feasibility study, or “PFS” this month on the proposed US$173 million development of Vares that forecast an eye-popping average annual EBITDA of US$251 million in the first five years of production based on ore throughput of 800,000 tonnes per annum and low all-in sustaining costs of US$120 per tonne of ore milled.
Other key project metrics in the PFS resulted in a net present value placed on Vares of US$1.04 billion after tax and an internal rate of return of 113 per cent. Life of mine has been estimated at an initial 14 years.
One of the first three diamond holes drilled by Adriatic at Kizevak encountered two closely spaced, broad intervals containing high-grade veins and wide zones of moderate-grade mineralised, highly fractured stratigraphy.
The most notable high-grade polymetallic intersection was 13m going 45.5 grams per tonne silver, 5.8 per cent zinc and 2.8 per cent lead from 60m including 4m at 110 g/t silver, 13.3 per cent zinc and 6.2 per cent lead from 60m.
Another encouraging intercept from the same hole was 33m grading 45.3 g/t silver, 2.1 per cent zinc and 3.1 per cent lead from 80m including 6.4m at 189.5 g/t silver, 4.6 per cent zinc and 13.0 per cent lead from 105m.
The conga line of results continued in the second hole, which returned a broad zone of sulphide mineralisation from surface of 26m at 3.5 per cent zinc, 1.5 per cent lead and 19 g/t silver from surface including 7m at 8.6 per cent zinc, 3.2 per cent lead and 42 g/t silver.
There were also gold credits of 0.2 g/t and 0.3 g/t in both holes.
The assays seemingly demonstrate a thickening of the mineralised zone and continuity of zinc-silver-lead mineralisation from surface to 100m depth, according to Adriatic.
Adriatic Metals Managing Director, Paul Cronin said: “Our work at Kizevak continues to reaffirm Adriatic’s excitement for the project, with drilling returning broad zones of mineralisation at surface that are continuous and open to depth and along strike. Coupled with preliminary metallurgical test work returning excellent recoveries and producing concentrates of a high quality, we are encouraged to advance the project rapidly.”
The London-based company says results from the initial holes point to high-grade, sulphide mineralisation from surface and support previous interpretations that mineralisation occurs in broader intervals than historically recognised.
Mineralisation remains open down-dip and along strike and forthcoming drilling will be vectored in on these target areas.
Kizevak has expanded the footprint in two mining-friendly jurisdictions in the Balkans for the $405 million market-capped Adriatic, which has experienced a spectacular 10-fold rise in its share price since listing on the ASX about 29 months ago.
Adriatic hopes to generate a maiden JORC-compliant mineral resource estimate for the brownfields Kizevak deposit in the March quarter of next year.
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By Matt Birney
