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LONDON (Alliance News) - Rockfire Resources PLC on Monday upgraded the historical metal estimate at its wholly-owned Copperhead project in north Queensland, Australia.
Rockfire said the upgrade is a "very significant finding" which the company is "very excited" about.
Shares in Rockfire Resources were up 12% in afternoon trade at 0.70 pence each.
The grade increase from last year's appraisal included a second round of core sampling from 1988 and "significant" molybdenum which had not previously been included in the estimate.
The inclusion of the metal molybdenum increases Copperhead's average copper equivalent grade to 0.35% from 0.25% established in 1988.
Using the new grade, the in-situ copper at the project is now 122,500 tonnes of copper equivalent compared to 56,000 previously.
Based on a copper price of GBP4,535 per tonne, this represents an in-ground value of GBP555 million.
"Our technical team have been working on the Copperhead project to plan geophysical surveys. During this detailed planning, it was noted that the original drilling encountered significantly high values of molybdenum. When the molybdenum values are incorporated into the original 1972 estimate, the result is a much higher average copper equivalent grade. Additionally, the copper values obtained from subsequent sampling of the drill core in 1988 further increase the average grade," said Chief Executive David Price.
Price continued: "We are very excited by Copperhead's potential and have developed a staged and thorough exploration approach. Planned drilling is expected to deliver the next important growth milestone. In the interim, geophysical surveys are being designed to highlight potential zones of higher copper grade. Success with such a program could materially enhance the economic potential of the project."
