Rockfire Resources (ROCK ), a gold and base metal explorer, updated markets on progress at its flagship Molaoi zinc-lead-silver-germanium deposit in Greece. Rockfire said its 4th drill hole at Molaoi, part of its geotechnical drilling programme, continued to encouter strong zinc continuinity. Markets welcomed the news, pushing ROCK shares 8.2% higher in early trading.
Rockfire intersected 2 lodes in the 4th drill hole (MO_GTK_004), reaffirming that multiple lodes are continuous at Molaoi. An upper lode of 2.37m @ 6.0% Zn occurred from 107m, as well as 0.8% Pb and 31.3g/t Ag. A lower node of 2.3m @ 5.3% Zn occurred from 110m, as well as 1.3% Pb and 13.6g/t Ag. Individual peak values were up to 17.6% Zn, 3.0% Pb, and 91.8g/t Ag. The intervals were positioned up-dip from hole MO_GTK_003A, which had already found multiple zinc lodes, including 4.85m @ 14.6% Zn and 2.5m @ 11.7% Zn.
The zinc/lead/silver mineralisations at Molaoi continued to be encountered in the projected positions as identified from historical drilling by the Greek government. Germanium values remained low, suggesting that germanium may be concentrated in a particular part of Molaoi. Rockfire said more drilling would be necessary to determine the association between zinc and germanium.
Overall, the confirmation of high-grade zinc occurring in each hole so far drilled at Molaoi continues to support the long-term viability of the project. Particularly encouraging is the positioning of the deposits, which tracks the findings of the Greek government from the 1980s. Furthermore, the minimum mining width for mechanised mining of 2 metres is still being achieved, which is a critical aspect of mine design and planning for underground extraction.
Rockfire acquired the Molaoi deposit in March 2022 and on 23 May 2022 delivered a maiden JORC mineral resource for Molaoi of 2.3 million tonnes @ 11 % ZnEq. for 250,000 tonnes of ZnEq. In August 2022, Rockfire announced that metallurgical test work on the Molaoi historical core returned recoveries of zinc (89% Zn) and lead (74% Pb). Additionally, commercially saleable grades of zinc (57% Zn), silver (856 g/t Ag), lead (63.6% Pb), germanium (117 g/t Ge), copper (2.62% Cu) and gold (0.52 g/t Au) are readily returned.
Today's news continues to support Rockfire's rapid timeline to production. Based on results so far, we would expect a resource upgrade soon, followed by a feasibility study this year. Confirmation of multiple lodes should result in a significantly increased tonnage and future profitability of the project.
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