Altamin (ASX:AZI) is planning additional drilling following ‘exceptional’ assay results from the ongoing Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) step-out and infill drill program at the Gorno Zinc Project in Italy.
The company reports additional drilling is planned for the west and east of the Forcella level and at the Piazzole level (990m RL), while further drilling phases are planned in the Cascine (far north), Ponente (northwest), and Pian Bracca (east) areas of the mine.
Altamin says 42 diamond drillholes have been drilled in the Zorzone and Zorzone East parts of the mine to date, with assays received for the first 33 drillholes completed. This drilling is focused on extending the footprint of the MRE and infill drilling areas to achieve a higher confidence category.
Key results recorded include hole FOD32 with 9m @ 29.6% Zn, 8.4% Pb, and 103g/t Ag from 65m; FOD20 with 3.6m @ 24.1% Zn, 6.9% Pb, and 65g/t Ag from 55.1m; and FOD18 with 2.4m @ 24.4% Zn, 5.7% Pb, and 56g/t Ag from 138.5m.
Several intervals from the 2019 drilling campaign were also selected for assaying following a geological reinterpretation. The company reports several intervals returned ‘high-grades’ which will supplement the current MRE and offers new step-out exploration drill targets at Zorzone East, Pian Bracca, and Ponente.
Commenting on the results, Altamin Managing Director Geraint Harris says: “These results continue to confirm the high-grade nature of the Gorno mineralisation and deliver new step-out opportunities for extensional mineral growth, accessible from existing underground development.
The more our exploration progresses, the deeper the team’s geological understanding becomes and it better positions us to vector into the high-grade and thicker portions of mineralisation within the Gorno zinc district.
“The more our exploration progresses, the deeper the team’s geological understanding becomes and it better positions us to vector into the high-grade and thicker portions of mineralisation within the Gorno zinc district”
The technical work is progressing, with bench and pilot scale metallurgical testwork and DFS (Definitive Feasibility Study) contractor assessment both well advanced to feed into the permitting and study processes.”
Altamin reports the underground diamond drilling from Forcella level is currently drilling the central part of the Zorzone East MRE. Following this, the rig will move to a ‘highly’ prospective near-mine exploration target south of Zorzone East and immediately below the Forcella level.
The company says this program will drill into the down-dip extensions of Zorzone East, where historical wide-spaced drilling began outlining mineralisation immediately prior to mine closure in the late 1970s.
At that time, Altamin says the mineralisation was of sufficient interest for mine development to be initiated to access the area starting with a decline from surface, however this was stopped due to the mine closing.
Altamin is an ASX-listed exploration company focused on the Gorno Zinc Project in Northern Italy. In a Scoping Study completed in November 2021, Altamin estimated a total production target of 6 million tonnes containing 77% indicated and 23% inferred mineral resources at or above a cut-off grade of 3.5% Zn at an annual mining rate of 800,000 tonnes over the proposed 9-year mine life.
The company also holds the nearby Punta Corna Cobalt Project where a comparative study showed ‘strong’ similarities to the Bou Azzer Cobalt, Nickel, and Gold deposits in Morocco.
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