Midas Minerals (ASX:MM1) has returned ‘high-grade’ copper-silver intercepts from drilling at the T-13 deposit within its Otavi Copper Project in Namibia.
As previously reported by Mining.com.au, the company returned high-grade copper-silver intercepts from the T-13 Main and West zones, including 51.4m at 2.18% copper equivalent (CuEq) and 61m at 1.95% CuEq.
The company’s latest assays from the Main and West zones include 30.1m at 5.35% copper equivalent (CuEq), including 4.01% copper (Cu) and 71.2 grams per tonne silver (Ag) from 325.6m, and 27.1m at 3.98% CuEq, including 3.03% Cu and 50.3g/t Ag, from 307.9m.
Holes T13DD017 and TD13DD021 expanded the interpreted extent of the ‘high-grade’ portion of the Main Zone. Final results for T13DD003 included 15.5m at 4.99% CuEq, including 4.33% Cu and 35.1g/t Ag, from 114.8m.
The West Zone delivered intercepts, including 31.4m at 2.58% CuEq (1.88% Cu and 37.1g/t Ag) from 335.7m, incorporating 15m at 3.87% CuEq (2.76% Cu and 58.9g/t Ag) from 329.6m.
Results from the West Zone reveal a ‘higher-grade core’ not defined in earlier drilling. The current mineral resource estimate (MRE), completed on prior wide-spaced drilling, averaged only 0.99% Cu and 6.6g/t Ag for the West Zone.
“Infill drilling on the T-13 Main Zone continues to exceed expectations as the very high-grade portion exhibits strong continuity. Holes 17 and 21 have strong silver-rich bornite-chalcocite mineralisation,” Managing Director Mark Calderwood says.
“In addition, the T-13 West Zone, located 500m west of the Main Zone, is returning some exciting 80m spaced infill drill hits with strong copper and silver numbers. Recent drilling will significantly impact on what is currently a low-grade portion of the MRE based on pre-acquisition drilling completed at 200m spacing.”
A growing copper-silver system
T-13 West lies approximately 500m from T-13 Main, highlighting the potential for repeat ‘high-grade’ zones along the broader 4.6km-long T-13 Prospect.
The initial MRE for the entire T-13 deposit stands at 10.5 million tonnes at 1.6% Cu and 21g/t Ag, containing 169,000 tonnes of copper and 7.1 million ounces of silver.
Calderwood says the company is seeing a ‘pattern of zonation from chalcocite to bornite dominance’ within ‘high-grade’ core zones, grading to low-silver chalcopyrite at the margins.
The company currently has six rigs operating across the Otavi project, with a seventh expected to arrive in July. An updated MRE for T-13 is expected by the end of 2026, followed by an initial MRE for Deblin in the March quarter 2027.
Midas Minerals is a Namibian-focused copper explorer advancing the Otavi project, with additional exploration assets in Australia and Canada.
Write to JC Villarba at Mining.com.au
Images: Midas Minerals
