Europa Metals complete primary drill holes at Toral project

Europa Metals said the primary drill holes at the Toral zinc, phosphorous and silver project in Spain had now been completed, with assays from two of the three holes sent to laboratories.

The AIM-traded firm said that following a positive internal inspection of hole TOD-029, four additional daughter holes were drilled and completed to further ore-sorting testwork in the upper siliceous zone of the deposit, and contribute to the pre-feasibility study metallurgical review.

All intersected mineralisation appeared to be similar to the parent hole, the board reported.

A “significant” sample of 700 kilograms had been obtained, which would contribute to pre-feasibility study level metallurgical testwork, including enhancing the understanding of an ore-sorting route within the upper siliceous zone during the first years of production, with the objective being to further improve initial economics of the project.

Drilling was continuing at Toral, with final assays on the first batch of drilling to be announced once received.

“The current drilling campaign is meeting our internal schedule and budget whilst following all best practice coronavirus protocols,” said chief executive officer Laurence Read.

“We are particularly pleased with being able to drill a series of daughter holes off TOD-29 to aid the ore sorting analysis work, focused on the early years of Toral production and to contribute to the metallurgical elements of the pre-feasibility study.”

Read said Europa was still awaiting full assays from the first batch of drilling.

“As outlined in our half-year report we are not currently assigning timeframes for workflows due to the coronavirus situation but our team on the ground are consistently delivering on key workflows at the Toral project.”

At 1516 BST, shares in Europa Metals were up 4.55% at 11.5p.