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(Sharecast News) - Minerals development company Anglesey Mining updated the market on its Parys Mountain project on the Isle of Anglesey on Monday, reporting significant progress.
The AIM-traded firm said one key development was the start of design, planning and logistics for the first round of infill drilling in the Northern Copper Zone (NCZ) since 1974.
It said the proposal included six drill holes covering 3,700 metres.
The primary objectives of the drilling would be to fill in portions of the current resource and verify historical drilling, while also testing for extensions of the nearby high-grade Garth Daniel and Central Zones.
The NCZ currently has a resource estimate from 2012, which indicated 9.4 million metric tonnes at 1.27% copper, with minor credits of gold, silver, zinc and lead, for a 1.6% copper equivalent.
It noted that only a limited number of holes were assayed for all of the metals.
Additionally, the internal resource estimate from the early 1970s exceeded 30 million tonnes at 0.81% copper, excluding any by-products.
The proposed six drill holes had the potential to provide up to 14 pierce points across the NCZ, Garth Daniel Zone, and Central Zone based on current interpretations, the company explained.
It said it expected the rig to be mobilised to the site in August, with the entire drilling programme estimated to take up to 25 weeks.
Additionally, Anglesey Mining said it had received information from its retained mineral processing consultancy firm, Grinding Solutions Limited (GSL), regarding the start of metallurgical testwork in late June.
The testwork, expected to take about 10 weeks, would determine the most optimal pre-concentration method for the plant design, specifically focusing on dense media separation or XRT ore-sorting.
To facilitate the testwork, the company said it had dispatched a 340-kilogram sample to GSL.
The sample comprised a blend of White Rock and Engine Zone, with a combined head-grade of 0.42% copper, 3.60% zinc, 3.08% lead, 49 grams of silver and 0.7 grams of gold per tonne, for a 3.4% copper equivalent grade.
Anglesey said the blend ratio of 3.3 at White Rock to 1.0 at Engine Zone in the sample aligned with the expected contribution from the mine in its initial years, prior to the Northern Copper Zone coming into operation.
Furthermore, following the pre-application consultation held in April, Anglesey Mining had received responses from statutory consultees.
The board said the responses would be reviewed and included in the environmental impact and social assessment (EISA) scoping document.
It said the EISA is a necessary component of the planning consent process, and would be submitted based on the scoping document.
In addition to the EISA-related work, the firm said it had conducted additional day and night wildlife surveys.
It had also made preparations to start a groundwater survey, which would contribute to the design of infrastructure foundations and dry-stack tailings engineering studies.
"We are very pleased to provide this update on the company's Parys Mountain base and precious metals project," said chief executive officer Jo Battershill.
"The proposed drilling of the Northern Copper Zone is very exciting and could potentially lead to a significant portion of the deposit being upgraded into the Indicated category, while also delivering some broad widths of copper mineralisation into a copper hungry market.
"Historical drilling hits included 146.3 metres at 1.0% copper, 0.2% lead, 0.3% zinc and seven grams of silver per tonne, and 86.4 metres at 0.9% copper."
Battershill said the programme was designed to also test for extensions to the Garth Daniel and Central Zones, where previous drilling had identified very high-grade zones that were "just a short distance" from the Northern Copper Zone.
"Very few of the historical intersections were incorporated into the current mineral resource estimate, so any success on these zones could have very positive implications on future resource updates.
"Historical drilling intersections include 5.2 metres at 3.3% copper, 6.2% lead, 11.7% zinc, 434 grams of silver and 0.23 grams of gold per tonne in the Garth Daniel zone, and 3.8 metres at 8.3% copper and 32 grams of silver per tonne in the Central Zone."
The company was cognisant that the market for junior resources remained "very difficult", Jo Battershill added.
"However, with an advanced base metals project located in the UK, the board believes Anglesey Mining can differentiate itself from the pack."
At 1020 BST, shares in Anglesey Mining were flat at 1.6p.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.
