LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Explorer and developer Tertiary Minerals announced the start of its first drill programme at the Jacks Copper Project in Zambia on Tuesday.
The AIM-traded firm said Jacks lies within exploration licence 27069-HQ-LEL, held by local partner Mwashia Resources, where Tertiary has an exclusive option to earn up to a 90% joint venture interest.

It said visual observations of core from the first drill hole indicated the presence of copper mineralisation, confirmed by portable x-ray fluorescence (XRF) measurements on site.

Chrysocolla and malachite occurred as veins and in fractures, and as disseminations over several metres around 90 metres downhole depth, corresponding to a depth of approximately 74 metres below surface, the company added.

It was the first drill hole of a programme designed to accurately locate previously-intersected mineralised zones, and test their continuity, to depths up to 150 to 180 metres below surface.

Tertiary said the drilling phase would consist of 750 to 1,000 metres of 'HQ' and 'NQ' oriented drill core.

The core would be analysed on site using portable XRF, and mineralised intervals would be sent to the SGS laboratory in Kalulushi for analysis.

Historic work established a 16 kilometre open-ended soil geochemical anomaly at Jacks, with historic logs reporting intersections as wide as 23.95 metres grading at 1.26% total copper, including intervals as high as 3.19% total copper over 2.15 metres.

"We are very pleased to have our first drill programme in Zambia up and running and are encouraged by visible copper mineralisation in the first hole drilled," said managing director Patrick Cullen.

"The portable XRF we have on site is proving very useful.

"At this early stage, the drilling is focused on demonstrating mineralisation at grades and depths that are practical for open pit operations. It is apparent from historic work that there is significant structural complexity at Jacks."

Cullen said the company was collecting core orientation data, which it expected to provide an improved understanding of the structural geometry and controls on mineralisation, and help guide its exploration going forward.

"We believe that Jacks has the potential to host potential economic mineralisation and we look forward to reporting laboratory results and further updates going ahead."

At 1110 BST, shares in Tertiary Minerals were up 5.14% at 0.22p.

Reporting by Josh White at Sharecast.com.

Email this article to a friend

or share it with one of these popular networks:

• DIGG
• FACEBOOK
• STUMBLEUPON
• MIXX
• YAHOO BUZZ
• DELICIOUS
• REDDIT
• NEWSVINE