Olympio Metals (ASX:OLY) has identified a new high-priority target within its Jacknife Silver Project in Idaho, US.
Dubbed ‘Nexus’, the target is interpreted as the projected intersection of the Conjecture and Weber shear zones. It forms the third corner of the ‘Silver Triangle’, an area encompassing three historical mines that produced more than 3 million ounces (Moz) of silver.
Nexus is about 200m away from the Keep Cool mine, a zinc and copper producer that also yielded silver, lead, and gold. Despite significant historical drilling nearby, the company found no record of drilling at the projected intersection.
Managing Director Sean Delaney says the structural setting makes Nexus ‘particularly compelling’.
“Historical information suggests the Conjecture Shear Zone may split into multiple structures as it approaches this area, creating the potential for a broader and more complex zone of brecciation at the intersection with the Weber Shear Zone,” Delaney says.
“This is exactly the type of target we came to Jacknife to explore.”
The Conjecture Shear Zone extends about 3.4km and the Weber Shear Zone about 2.3km. The Spider Fault, a north-south strike-slip structure, completes the triangle, although the company says its relationship to the mines and mineralisation is ‘poorly understood’.
The maiden diamond drilling program targets a 1.5km corridor along the northwestern side of the triangle, including Conjecture mine, Western Extension, and Nexus. Olympio says four holes are complete, with company geologists already onsite to log and cut core.
Jacknife sits in the Lakeview Mining District, about 35km northeast of Coeur d’Alene. The project covers 1,595 hectares, including 135.6 hectares of patented mining claims, which require no permitting for most exploration activities. Olympio holds an 80% interest in the project, acquired from Scout Discoveries.
The company notes a historical foreign estimate of 8.22Moz of silver at Conjecture. Olympio plans to re-drill the area to seek a JORC-compliant mineral resource estimate.
Antimony and silver feature on the 2025 US Geological Survey Critical Minerals List, backed by a US$12 billion ($17.2 billion) US Government strategic mineral stockpile initiative.
Rock chip and soil samples are at the laboratory, with further sampling to follow once results arrive. Olympio also expects first assays from maiden drilling at Jacknife in about five weeks.
Olympio Metals is a 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
Main image: Olympio Metals
