Olympio Metals (ASX:OLY) has commenced exploration at its Jacknife and Raven silver projects in the US, with drill pad preparation underway and diamond drilling expected imminently.
The company has started earthworks for diamond drill pad preparation within the 136 hectares of patented mining claims at the Jacknife Project in Idaho.
Maiden drilling will target silver mineralisation at the historical Conjecture mine and along the Conjecture shear zone.
Olympio is also conducting preliminary rock chip and soil sampling campaigns at both Jacknife and Raven to determine the most effective methods for detecting fertile structures across the projects.
Managing Director Sean Delaney says the company is ‘excited’ to begin its maiden exploration programs in the US.
“These programs will focus on drill testing at the Conjecture mine and key brownfields targets, while defining our surface exploration strategy for the Jacknife and Raven projects,” Delaney says.
“We are looking forward to defining the most effective exploration method for project-scale surface exploration, but also to obtain the first multi-element assay results for both projects, where historical assays only reported selective base metals.”
The company has partnered with Scout Discoveries, a private US mineral exploration company, as its in-country technical and operational partner.
The Jacknife Project contains six historically significant mines with over 8km of underground workings, including an over 610m-deep vertical shaft at the Conjecture mine. The project covers the Conjecture, Weber, Bellville, and Hewer shear zones, which have a combined strike length of approximately 7km.
Meanwhile, the Raven Project is located 100km southeast of Jacknife in Montana and sits 45km from United States Antimony’s (NYSE:UAMY) antimony smelter near Thompson Falls. Raven consists of 27 mineral claims and hosts the historical Raven silver mine and Silver King mine within the Thompson River mining district.
Jacknife and Raven are both located within the Silver Valley region, which has historically produced over 1.2 billion ounces of silver.
The company notes that antimony and silver are included on the US Geological Survey’s 2025 List of Critical Minerals, supported by the US Government’s US$12 billion ($16.8 billion) strategic mineral stockpile initiative.
Olympio Metals is an Australian mineral explorer focused on discovering and developing gold and critical mineral projects across North America and Australia.
Write to Paula Fabe at Mining.com.au
Images: Olympio Metals
