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Https://en.protothema.gr/2025/12/09/rockfire-project-in-laconia-on-the-radar-of-metlen-and-ellinikos-chrysos/

Worth flagging this ProtoThema article from December 2025 for those who haven't seen it.

According to the Greek financial press, both Metlen and Hellenic Gold are reportedly in contact regarding participation in the next phase of financing at Molaoi. The piece suggests an investment decision could follow in 2027, subject to resource confirmation from the current drilling programme.

Metlen is one of Greece's largest industrial groups. Hellenic Gold is the company behind the Skouries gold-copper mine in northern Greece, backed by Eldorado Gold. These are not small names.

If either party comes in at the next financing stage, the conversation around Molaoi changes significantly. Worth keeping an eye on as the 2026 drilling results come in.

Honestly the story keeps improving. The important thing is not just the high grades themselves, but that the drilling keeps confirming and expanding the system rather than breaking the model.

Latest pXRF numbers were very strong again:

54.3% Zn

31.8% Pb

470 g/t Ag

Those are serious grades for a VMS system. More importantly, they are now talking about a possible feeder zone and steeper geometry at depth. That could matter a lot economically because more vertical mineralisation is usually easier and cheaper to mine underground.

The overall narrative has shifted quite a bit over the last few RNS.

Before:“Can they confirm the historical resource?”

Now:“Could this actually become a larger and better system than originally modelled?”

That is a big difference.

Another positive is that the drilling programme now looks much healthier operationally. Earlier people were panicking about slow progress, but drilling meters are building, holes are being completed and the project clearly has momentum.

The Ge story is also still alive. If germanium keeps showing up consistently and eventually becomes properly integrated into the upgraded JORC, it adds a strategic critical metals angle on top of an already strong Zn Pb Ag project.

The most important thing is that each new RNS is strengthening the story rather than damaging it. No empty holes. No collapsing grades. No major operational issues.

We still need:

-certified assays

-JORC upgrade

-continuity confirmation

-economics

But if results continue in this direction, I genuinely think the current valuation could end up looking ridiculously cheap.

At this stage of the project (active drilling, confirmation of mineralisation, Ge upgrade) it is normal to see more new accounts appearing on the board. Progress and attention tend to attract both bored posters and those hoping to stir a bit of uncertainty for a cheaper entry.

Better to stick to the facts from the RNS: the rig is drilling, holes are hitting mineralisation, and the story is developing. The rest is just noise.

This is a strong operational update.

What stands out is not just confirmation of mineralisation, but the indication that the system may be wider and more extensive than the historic model suggested. That shifts the narrative from simple resource tightening to potential resource growth.

We still need certified assays and the updated JORC before talking numbers, but the direction of travel is clear. No empty holes, no technical setbacks, and continued evidence of a robust Zn-Pb-Ag system.

If follow-up holes confirm continuity, this stops being just a confirmation drill programme and becomes a genuine expansion phase. Quietly, one of the better updates we’ve had.

Good update in this RNS.

The key point for me is that germanium is now coming through on certified lab analysis and can be reported formally, which is what the market has been waiting for. That takes Ge from an interesting angle to something that can actually be built into the next resource work.

The grades being seen also fit the broader picture we already know from historical work at Molaoi, so this reads more like confirmation and de-risking, not a new story being invented.

If Ge continues to show up consistently alongside the existing Zn, Pb, and Ag, it adds a genuine strategic byproduct layer rather than just a nice footnote.

This is LSE, not a therapy room. Negative posting usually comes from a misunderstanding of junior mining timelines.

Four holes drilled in the early weeks of a new programme is normal. Early delays come from pad preparation, logistics and ground conditions. That is process, not bad news.

Assay turnaround is slow across the sector, especially for critical metals. Proper labs, QA/QC and certification take weeks, not days, and serious companies do not issue RNS updates just to feed short-term trading.

If you expect weekly updates and instant results, junior mining is probably not the right sector. It moves in long quiet phases, followed by one update that can reset the whole story.

Geology does not react to sentiment or averages. Decide whether you are investing in a junior miner or reacting to noise, and position accordingly.

@Frankinthai

The quieter period and share price weakness mainly came from long gaps between hard technical milestones, combined with placings and warrant conversions, which is a typical cycle for junior miners.

The earlier spikes followed Greece de risk progress and Molaoi becoming the core asset. Where we are now looks more constructive. Drilling is active again to upgrade the resource, the enabling work needed for later feasibility is progressing, and the metals backdrop is stronger, with zinc and silver prices higher than in previous years.

On top of that, the germanium angle is genuinely unique and fits the current critical minerals narrative well. If it is confirmed and quantified properly alongside the upgraded JORC, it could add a strategic by product layer to an already strong Zn Pb Ag system. Certified assays and the updated JORC remain the main rerate triggers.

Had a look back through the RNS archive after the interview and pulled out what Rockfire's actually published on germanium at Molaoi. Worth putting the numbers in one place.

Historical Greek Government core (10 May 2022)

- 51 g/t Ge weighted average across 51 samples

- Peak hit 197 g/t Ge

Rockfire's own drill core reanalysis (23 Aug 2023)

- 9.0 to 40.0 g/t Ge range

- 23.7 g/t Ge average across 7 holes over 4.6m downhole

- Best single assay 73.8 g/t in MO GTK 003A

Best intercept to date (3 March 2024)

- MO GTK 011: 0.6m @ 136.5 g/t Ge from 155m

Metallurgy (25 Aug 2022)

- Germanium upgraded to 117 g/t Ge in zinc concentrate

- 89% zinc recovery

The met result is what caught my attention. Germanium typically comes out as a zinc by-product, with the same end-market value regardless of source. The difference is in what you actually get paid. At 117 g/t Ge in concentrate, that's a high enough grade for smelters to bother recovering it and paying decent rates, rather than just throwing you scraps or skipping it altogether.

Good to see steady progress and transparency on QAQC, plus ongoing work on the environmental and hydrology side. pXRF shows some strong Zn and Ag indications, but as always these need lab confirmation.

The mention of the Ba-rich interval with elevated Ag is also worth noting. Gold hasn’t been reported yet, but samples from that zone are being sent for Au analysis. If that were to be confirmed, it would be a very welcome extra layer of value on top of an already rich polymetallic system.

Still waiting for the second rig, so this isn’t a single headline moment, but overall it’s another solid step forward and keeps the Molaoi story building nicely.

Yesterday’s tape on ROCK is pretty clear.

There was one large trade around £50k and several others around £7k each. That is not random retail flow. That looks like deliberate accumulation at current levels.

At the same time we have hard facts from the company side.

Sevcan, the major shareholder of Rockfire, is putting more of their own money into the latest placing.

Directors are also subscribing with their own funds, not selling.

ACAM, an institutional investor, is increasing its holding, not reducing exposure.

It looks like accumulation at a low valuation.

Everyone should draw their own conclusions.

Just to clarify one point on timing, as I think I may have made it doesn't sound very clear.

The idea isn’t to jump mid programme. The plan is to complete the initial 30-hole campaign and then move straight into the next stage, rather than stopping to wait for certification paperwork. That’s where the momentum decision comes in.

@Filterland @CTSFO

Let me try to explain this in the simplest way, as a few things are getting mixed together. This is just my personal view based on how I see the process.

- The issue is certification and reporting, not geology.

Drilling is ongoing. What slowed visible progress is the certification of Ge and Ga results. That affects when results can be formally released, not what is happening on site.

- The potential pause would have come after the initial drilling phase.

Normally, after completing the first 30 holes, a company would stop, wait for full certification and only then decide on the next phase. That waiting period could last months due to lab and QAQC processes.

- Instead of stopping at that point, the company chose to keep moving.

Pausing after the initial phase would still mean ongoing costs and lost momentum. So rather than finish the 30 holes and sit idle waiting for paperwork, they decided to progress straight into the next phase.

- That decision is driven by encouraging results seen so far.

The company already has a strong internal picture from core logging, PxRF and non published lab data used for decision making. Those results cannot yet be formally certified or released, but they are clearly good enough to justify accelerating the programme.

- Early holes are almost always the hardest and slowest.

Initial drilling takes longer due to pad setup, positioning, ground conditions and learning the geology. Later holes are typically drilled much faster.

- That’s where the second rig fits in.

With the learning curve behind them and a second rig in place, the pace can improve materially. Daily costs increase, but the overall programme shortens.

- That is why extra funding is needed now.

Not because drilling failed, but because the company chose momentum over waiting for paperwork. The additional funding is also not simply because of a second rig. That was always a possible part of the programme, just not necessarily planned this early. The decision now is about timing and acceleration, not correcting a budget mistake.

Think of it like building a house. If one inspection or document is delayed, you don’t send the builders home and do nothing. You carry on with the next jobs. It costs more upfront, but stopping would waste time and money overall.

So the placing is about funding the next steps and keeping momentum while certification catches up, not fixing a broken drill programme.

''Mineral exploration is complex and expensive. We know that. But I’ve got to ask, how did they get the timeframe so wrong? Can we extrapolate the present rate of progress and cost to all of the 30 holes?''

@CTSFO It is a fair question, but the original schedule was always conditional rather than fixed.

The key point is that the drilling itself is not the bottleneck. The rig arrived, drilling started, and metres are being completed. What has slowed visible progress is everything around the drilling. Permitting adjustments, site logistics, weather windows, laboratory turnaround times and now the QAQC requirements for Ge and Ga all sit outside the simple “metres per day” assumption.

The original timeline assumed a relatively smooth process from drilling to certified assays. The unexpected part has been the laboratory and certification side, particularly for high grade Ge and Ga, which is not a standard workflow. That does not change how fast holes are drilled, but it does affect how fast results can be released and formally reported.

Because of that, extrapolating cost or timing purely from the current pace of released results would be misleading. Drilling, sampling, assaying and certification do not progress linearly, especially in a project that includes critical metals and resource upgrades.

In short, the complexity is not in the number of holes, but in what is being measured and how it has to be certified.

This placing actually makes sense when you look at who is participating and why.

The key point for me is ACAM. This is a professional investor that already holds a meaningful stake in the company and is committing a further £500k in this round. Funds do not usually increase exposure to a junior miner unless they see clear value ahead. They certainly do not do it to burn capital. That alone is a strong vote of confidence in the Molaoi story.

It is also worth noting that members of management and the board are participating in the placing as well. That alignment matters. When those closest to the project are willing to put more of their own money in at this stage, it speaks louder than words.

The use of funds is logical. Further drilling, moving the resource forward and supporting the next technical steps. This is growth capital aimed at advancing the project, not financial engineering.

Yes, dilution is never ideal, but if it helps turn Molaoi into a better defined asset with critical metals upside, that is how value is built in this sector.

And on a lighter note, with Christmas around the corner, maybe instead of socks and chocolates it is worth asking for a small ROCK top up under the tree. It might turn out to be a far better long term gift.

Yes, most likely after all drilling is completed. The Ge and Ga results will be the cherry on top once the bespoke CRM is ready and everything can be certified properly.

Just to add a bit more context for anyone following this…

This CRM problem is not unique to Rockfire. Any project reporting germanium or gallium will run into the same issue unless they are dealing with very low background levels. These metals are usually only by products of zinc, copper or bauxite processing, so the global demand for certified reference materials is tiny. That is why CRM producers do not keep large stocks, and why labs have to wait for custom batches when higher grade material appears in drilling.

It is worth stressing again that ALS can measure the metals right now. The instruments do not need a CRM to detect Ge or Ga. What the CRM provides is the legal ability to certify the results under ISO and use them in formal reporting. Without that, the lab cannot sign off the numbers even if the readings look strong.

So the delay has nothing to do with the quality of the samples. It is simply the way the QA/QC system works when you are dealing with rare critical metals. Once the correct CRM arrives, the assays can be released properly and we will finally see the certified grades.

Thanks for the comments, much appreciated.

To answer your question @CTSFO – no, I am not a geologist or a miner. I am purely a private investor. I decided to take this sector more seriously after learning a few lessons the hard way. In the past, I exited some great positions far too early simply because I did not really understand what I was holding. I was relying on hype instead of understanding the numbers, the geology and the whole process behind these projects. There is a lot more to this game than just assays. You have permitting, administration, metallurgy, timelines, geopolitical factors and how all of that fits together. Once I realised that, I decided to learn it properly rather than guess along with the crowd.

So I took a step back and started learning how the process actually works and how to read these updates in a clearer way. The information is all out there if you know what to look for and you are willing to dig a bit deeper. That is all I am doing here.

Interesting RNS today and worth reading it properly rather than jumping to conclusions.

Two key points.

First, the permitting process in Greece is still moving forward. The authorities have sent corrections for Rockfire to review which is a normal administrative step. No red flags there, just paperwork catching up.

Second, the lab update is actually more nuanced than people think. ALS have already analysed the samples and can clearly see the germanium and gallium in the system. The issue is simply that they cannot certify the numbers yet because there is currently a global shortage of the specific reference standards required for these metals. Germanium and gallium are niche commodities in exploration, so labs do not keep large stocks of those QAQC materials. Without the standards they cannot sign off the results under ISO rules, even if the readings look strong.

So the situation is not about poor samples or a bad lab. It is purely procedural. The assays exist, they just cannot be published as official until the correct standards arrive.

For the project, this keeps us on track. The geology has not changed. The presence of critical metals is still being indicated by the laboratory work. Once the standards are delivered, Rockfire can release certified results and that will be the more meaningful moment for valuation.

All in all, a neutral to slightly positive update. Nothing negative on the geology, permitting still progressing, and we seem to be waiting only for the paperwork that allows the lab to put the stamp on the numbers.

A bit of patience needed, but if the early indications hold up once certified, things may look very encouraging indeed.

Great spot. That paper is a huge validation for ROCK and I doubt most people here understand how important it is.

Independent academics are showing that the Molaoi district hosts a genuine multi stage VMS epithermal system with zinc, lead, silver and elevated germanium. The mineralisation sits in a structural corridor and repeats along faults, which is exactly what you want to see if the aim is scale rather than a single small ore lens.

ROCK already has a strong JORC resource with high zinc grades and meaningful silver. What stands out from this research is the confirmation that the earliest sphalerite carries impressive Ag and Ge values, and that the geological setting supports continuation along strike and potentially at depth.

So while the market is half asleep, the company is drilling directly into a system that science now supports in detail. The upgrade to Indicated and the separate germanium resource are not speculation. They are the logical next steps backed by published data.

If the current program links more of this structure together, the valuation gap between the project and the metal in the ground becomes very hard to justify. It feels like one of those moments where the evidence is in plain sight, but only a few are paying attention.

Today’s update is better than the market reaction suggests. The issues with holes 008 and 009 are mechanical, not geological, and both holes will be completed later in the programme. Nothing in the RNS changes the geological case for Molaoi.

The key point for me is the appearance of massive sulphides in HMO 010 already at around 44 metres. That is only a shallow side vein, not the main horizon, but it confirms they are drilling inside the active system and moving in the right direction. In this type of deposit you usually hit these narrow sulphide zones before dropping into the thicker, high grade sections deeper down.

The campaign is only just beginning. There are still 28 holes to drill and a second rig is expected in early January, so newsflow should accelerate. One solid intercept from the main zone at 200 to 260 metres could flip sentiment very quickly.

Geology remains intact. The resource is still strong and this RNS supports that the system is alive and exactly where expected.

And to be honest, the market’s reaction gives us a bit of a Christmas present. We are getting a chance to load up at a price that is genuinely laughable considering the stage and scale of this project. Opportunities like this do not come often.