Rome Resources (RMR) has published a maiden mineral resource estimate for its Bisie North project in the Democratic Republic of Congo, confirming the presence of a large, multi-metallic tin-copper-zinc system across the Kalayi and Mont Agoma prospects.
The new inferred resource shows Bisie North to contain 10,600 tonnes of tin, 46,900 tonnes of copper, 86,200 tonnes of zinc, and 1.46 million ounces of silver.
The resource estimate was prepared by the MSA Group and was based on the results from 33 holes drilled at Mont Agoma, and 18 drilled at Kalayi.
There remains substantial scope for further discovery within the wider licence area, and the Rome geological team reckons an additional 102,000-to-260,000 tonnes of tin could be defined through deeper and step-out drilling.
The results from the Mont Agoma East zone, where a near-surface, 23 metre zone of high-grade tin mineralisation has been confirmed, will be incorporated into a follow-up resource estimate.
Tin grades at Mont Agoma have been shown to increase with depth, a trend consistent with analogous systems such as Alphamin's Bisie mine and Minsur's San Rafael deposit in Peru, both of which demonstrate tin grade strengthening in deeper parts of the system
Following the publication of the maiden resource, Rome will continue engaging with potential strategic partners to support future project development.
At the same time, the company is in early-stage discussions regarding potential acquisitions to increase its ownership interests in exploration permit PR15130 and mineral exploration permit PR13274.
"This maiden resource estimate marks a major milestone for Rome Resources and a significant validation of the scale and multi-metallic potential of the Bisie North project,” said Paul Barrett, chief executive of Rome Resources.
“The results suggest that we are only beginning to define a very substantial tin and copper system, with mineralisation remaining open at depth and along strike. Based on internal modelling, Rome Resources has defined a low-to-high case exploration target of between 102,000 and 260,000 tonnes of contained tin, underscoring the considerable potential beyond the current resource envelope. The neighbouring Alphamin Bisie mine, along the same geological trend, has demonstrated that tin grades and widths increase significantly with depth, and we believe Mont Agoma may follow a similar pattern.”
View from Vox
The bulk of the current resource is at Mont Agoma, but the existence of the upside at depth, at MontA Agoma East and elsewhere provides potential for further growth in the coming months, as Rome continues to drill. It’s a substantial system already, and certainly likely to turn heads in the current strong commodities price environment. Will there be a transaction soon? We shall see.