Upcoming Drill Programme at Mushima North, Zambia
Tertiary Minerals plc is commencing a significant 4,000-meter Reverse Circulation drilling program at the Mushima North Project in Zambia, targeting the Target A1 silver oxide discovery. The primary objective is to establish a JORC Mineral Resource Estimate, building upon the existing JORC Exploration Target of 15 to 30 million tonnes with a mean grade of 40-60 g/t silver equivalent. The program will test extensions of oxide mineralization, infill drilling, and initial testing of western Target A1 and Target A2, with drilling expected to begin within two weeks. This initiative follows a recent fundraise, providing sufficient capital to complete the planned program, which aims to convert the exploration target into a defined mineral resource by year-end.
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Tertiary Minerals plc (AIM: TYM) is pleased to announce details of the upcoming drill programme at the Target A1 silver oxide discovery which forms part of the Mushima North Project ("Mushima North" or the "Project"), Zambia.
Mushima North is located in the prospective Iron-Oxide-Copper-Gold region of Zambia and Target A1 is located 28km to the east of the historic Kalengwa Copper (-Silver) Mine which is currently under redevelopment.
Highlights:
Ø The aim of the drilling is to enable the reporting of a JORC Mineral Resource Estimate for Target A1 where the Company has already reported a JORC Exploration Target of between 15 and 30Mt with a mean grade of 40-60 g/t silver equivalent.
Ø Last drill programme included the best drill intersection to date:
o 97m at 56 g/t Ag, 0.43% Cu and 0.19% Zn (85 g/t Ag equivalent or 1.42% Cu equivalent) from 6m downhole (hole 25TMNRC-043). Including:
§ 42m at 81 g/t Ag, 0.70% Cu and 0.24% Zn from 55m downhole, and
§ 27m at 98 g/t Ag, 0.91% Cu and 0.25% Zn from 70m downhole, and
§ 13m at 77 g/t Ag, 1.46% Cu and 0.23% Zn (168 g/t Ag equivalent or 2.80% Cu equivalent) from 84m downhole.
Ø The drilling will test:
o Oxide mineralisation extensions at Target A1,
o Infill drilling to support the Mineral Resource Estimate at Target A1, and
o Initial drill testing of western Target A1 and Target A2.
Ø Approximately 4,000m Reverse Circulation drilling programme planned.
Ø Drilling is expected to start within the next two weeks. All drill-related permitting is in place and a drilling contract has been signed. Access road and drill pad preparation is already underway.
Richard Belcher, Managing Director of Tertiary Minerals plc, commented:
"We are pleased to provide an update on the next steps for our flagship project in Zambia. This programme marks a significant milestone for the Company, with the upcoming drill programme being the largest drill programme planned by the Company in several years and the largest it has undertaken in Zambia to date.
"Target A1 has a JORC Exploration Target containing up to 58 Moz silver equivalent, and the Company's aim is to convert this into a Mineral Resource Estimate by the end of this year. We have a clear pathway for value creation at the Project and deliverable in a well-constrained time-frame.
"With the completion of the recent fundraise we now have sufficient funds to complete the planned drill programme to support the Mineral Resource Estimation work.
"This should be a very exciting year for the Company and I look forward to providing further updates as the programmes advance."
Drilling Programme
A programme of approximately 4,000m Reverse Circulation ("RC") drilling is planned as a series of east-west drill lines spaced approximately 100m apart (north-south). Holes will be collared approximately 50m apart along the east-west lines and drilled to vertical depth of up to 125m (estimated maximum depth capability of the drill rig).
The drill programme at Target A1 is designed to:
- Infill the oxide zone to provide a sufficient density of drilling to confirm the continuity of the mineralisation and enable the reporting of a maiden Mineral Resource Estimate to JORC standards.
- Test mineralisation extensions to the northwest, southwest and at depth within the oxide zone to potentially increase the tonnage and contained ounces.
- Test the current model for additional mineralisation in the west of Target A1 and at Target A2.
The drill programme is being conducted by Ox Drilling which also completed the initial drill programmes on the Project. The drill programme is expected to commence in the next two weeks and will take approximately 6-12 weeks to complete. Samples will be initially analysed on site using a portable X-Ray Fluorescence ("pXRF") analyser for copper and zinc. Selected mineralised intervals will also be submitted for external assaying at a certified laboratory for a suite of elements, including silver, copper, zinc, bismuth, antimony and gallium. These will be submitted in regular batches throughout the drill programme, with the first results expected approximately 6-8 weeks after the initial batch is submitted.
Figure 1. 3D geological model of Target A1 used to help derive the Exploration Target (500m long and 300m wide and 75m thick) located at the northern end of the copper-in-soil anomaly at Target A1. Planned drill holes are shown in green (infill drilling) and red (extension drilling) along with earlier drilling (yellow).
Target A1 silver oxide discovery
The Company recently reported a JORC-compliant Exploration Target for Target A1 of between 15 and 30Mt with an average grade of between 40 and 60 g/t silver equivalent. As currently defined, Target A1 is a near surface, tabular body located within the oxide zone and is some 500m long and 300m wide and up to 75m thick (based on a lower cut-off of 25 g/t silver equivalent). However, the mineralisation remains open to the northwest, southwest and at depth and so the full geometry of the mineralisation remains to be determined. Further information on the Exploration Target can be found in the Company's announcement on 30 March 2026.
Figure 2. Long section (location of Figure 1) showing the extent of the Exploration Target and AgEq intersections.
Mushima North Project
The Project is under a technical cooperation agreement with First Quantum Minerals Limited ("FQM"), which allows Tertiary to benefit from FQM's historic exploration data in the area, as well as FQM's geological team's extensive experience and understanding of the area's geology. The agreement is non-binding to any further agreement and there are no commercial restrictions for Tertiary, nor does FQM have a right of first refusal over the Project. Further details can be found in the announcement on 15 September 2022.
The Project lies 20km to the east of the Kalengwa Copper (-Silver) Mine in northwest Zambia, one of the highest-grade copper deposits ever to be mined in Zambia. In the 1970s, high-grade ore, averaging approximately 11% Cu copper, was trucked for direct smelting at other mines in the Copperbelt. The Kalengwa Mine is currently under redevelopment and is expected to produce 15,000 tonnes of copper annually.
Figure 3. Geological map of the Mushima North Project showing the locations of the priority targets within the licence area and their distance from Target A1 relative to 5 km radius rings.
Cleaned text: letterheads, contacts and legal notices removed. View the original announcement ↗ · Company filings. Not investment advice.