Europa Metals reports on Toral hydrogeological study

Europe-focussed lead-zinc and silver developer Europa Metals announced the results from a recently-completed conceptual hydrogeological study on Friday, and updated the market on the water monitoring programme at its wholly owned Toral lead, zinc and silver project in the north west Spain region of Castilla y León.

The AIM-traded firm said the objectives of its hydrogeological programme were to monitor local baseline conditions at Toral to assess the project's potential impact on the area.

It was also intended to analyse water conditions within the potential future mining area, and interpret data and use conclusions for updated project economics, which would ultimately form part of a proposed full mine development application.

There were eight piezometers for monitoring local water conditions now in place at Toral, with the first baseline data received, and Europa saying the monitoring was expected to be run on a quarterly basis.

It explained that the initial hydrogeological study concluded that the project was hosted in limestones, but did not have developed levels of drainage created from the dissolution of sedimentary material, which was a likely seal against the surrounding water table.

Europa said the 245.55 litre per second flow across the proposed mineable project area fell “well within” acceptable levels for economic mine development, with further work, including a borehole test, needed to be undertaken to enable a pre-feasibility study.

The future project operations were deemed “unlikely” to have a detectable influence on the Sil River, located in the immediate vicinity.

“Assessing water conditions is a crucial component of any mine development proposition,” said executive director Laurence Read.

“The monitoring of local water conditions from the newly installed piezometers will enable us to model and understand the existing local hydrogeological conditions to thereby ensure that the correct mine development decisions are undertaken for Toral, with reference to project location.”

Read said the results from the initial conceptual hydrogeological study at Toral were positive, outlining a water management scenario that fell within acceptable boundaries for mine development in terms of economic viability and environmental management.

“Additional work will need to be undertaken in order to test the conceptual study's findings, but the initial results indicate that Toral should have limited impact on the local water conditions and that it does not suffer from any significant water issues that could impact on the future economic development of the project.”

At 1536 GMT, shares in Europa Metals were up 2.63% at 0.02p.