(Sharecast News) - Mineral exploration and development company Beowulf has invested £1m in Vardar Minerals, it announced on Wednesday, to fund the start of drilling in Kosovo.
The AIM-traded firm said the investment increased its ownership in Vardar to 59.5%, from a previous 51.4%.
It said the rig arrived on the Mitrovica licence, with drilling expected to start on Wolf Mountain zinc-lead-silver targets before the Majdan Peak gold prospect.
A total programme of around 3,400 metres was planned.
Previous drilling and trenching at Wolf Mountain, completed in 2019, focussed on testing the depth extension and lateral continuity of mineralisation associated with widespread gossanous hydrothermal breccias.
While results were able to prove the lateral continuity of mineralisation with several sub-economic intersections, further work was required to target potential higher-grade feeder structures which could produce economic results.
In 2020, the area was covered with an "extensive" 3D induced polarisation (IP) campaign, which identified a series of "exceptionally high" IP anomalies on distinct northwest trends.
The company said the anomaly trends were "clearly visible" in ultra-high resolution drone magnetics collected during the same campaign, and linked with neighbouring Stan Terg and Zijika deposits, as well as being supported by "significant" soil and rock sample anomalies.
Beowulf said the 2022 drill programme would focus on testing those anomalies to determine if they represented important feeder structures to the widespread mineralisation identified across Wolf Mountain.
The Majdan Peak prospect, located adjacent to the Stan Terg deposit, was meanwhile defined by a blanket of advanced argillic alteration typical of high sulphidation epithermal systems.
Rock and soil sampling programmes identified "widespread and significant" gold anomalies, and results from 3D IP surveys delineated prominent anomalies which were "clearly associated" with soil and rock anomalies at shallow depth.
Associated resistivity results correlated with mapped alteration, and likely modelled a resistive silica-rich cap.
Beowulf said importantly, the IP suggested the best target was located at greater depth to the north of the soil anomalies below the modelled silica cap, as would be expected in typical high-sulphidation gold deposits.
The 2022 drill programme would focus on drilling a selection of the most compelling IP targets on the prospect.
"I am delighted that Vardar has finally secured both licence renewals and been awarded the promising Shala licence - even more so that we are ready to start drilling a host of exciting targets across the Mitrovica licence," said Beowulf chief executive officer Kurt Budge.
"With this volume and extent of mineralisation across Wolf Mountain and Majdan Peak, we are optimistic that the IP anomalies represent high-grade portions of the mineralised systems we believe are present.
"Despite the unexplained share price movements over the last week, the company's prospects continue to improve across the business, and I will do a better job of communicating the same to shareholders."
At 1300 BST, shares in Beowulf Mining were up 4% at 8.58p.
Beowulf (BEM)