Expands Tin Exploration Drilling Programme
Stellar Resources Limited (ASX:SRZ) has elected to expand its previously announced initial 2021 tin exploration drilling programme to include an additional two holes targeting depth extensions of the Severn tin resource and that a review has recently been commenced of further infill drilling and recommencement of project development activities and studies to advance development of Stellar’s flagship Heemskirk Tin Project in Tasmania, Australia.
The two ~700m diamond drillholes will include provision for wedging and daughter holes (total of ~1,900m) targeting depth extensions below the currently defined Severn tin resource have been added to the initial 2021 tin exploration drilling programme previously announced by Stellar.
The Severn resource is largest of the Heemskirk Tin Project deposits and has been drilled to a depth of ~500m below surface. These holes target extension of the Severn deposit approximately 100m below the depth of the current resource limit at a depth of approximately 600m.
Severn remains open at depth where it is hoped that mineralisation will continue and increase in grade towards the underlying granite contact, predicted to be >1,000m below the surface from geophysical surveys.
Phase 1 of Stellar’s 2021 tin exploration drilling program (total nine holes for ~4,900m) now includes:
- Seven diamond drillholes for a total of ~3,000m targeting depth extensions of 4 key historically mined silver-lead lodes in the highly mineralised Zeehan district located on Stellar’s Licences. These mines typically produced ore with silver grades between 20 to 100 Oz/t Ag from fissure veins ranging from a few cm up to 2.7m wide mined over lengths of up to 300m. This program targets depths below the historically mined silver-lead lodes at which transition to tin mineralisation can be expected to have occurred and which have never been drill tested.
- Two diamond drillholes for a total of 1,900m targeting depth extensions below the Severn resource.
A Phase 2 drilling programme is now being reviewed by Stellar including:
- An Infill Drilling Programme for the Severn and Queen Hill deposits required to upgrade a significant part of the Inferred Resource to an Indicated Resource to support a Pre Feasibility Study (PFS) / Bankable Feasibility Study (BFS) for the project. The Severn and Queen Hill deposits are the two largest Heemskirk Tin Project deposits with a combined total Mineral Resource of 5.33Mt @ 1.0% Sn, of which 2.12 Mt (40%) is Indicated and the balance is Inferred.
- A further deep diamond drillhole is also being considered to target the main conduit of mineralising fluids into the Severn and Queen Hill deposits from the underlying interpreted granite.
It is likely that the Phase 2 drilling program will need to be further revised as necessary to include any new areas of high-grade tin mineralisation identified in the Phase 1 drilling programme.
Technical Director, Gary Fietz, said that with the highest-grade tin resource in Australia and second highest globally, and a scoping study completed in late 2019 confirming attractive economics, the Heemskirk Tin Project is well positioned to take advantage of increasing tin demand and global supply shortages which have caused tin prices to rally strongly this year (US$27,250/t LME spot tin price on March 25, having reached over US$30,000/t recently.)
“The recently completed A$3.6m capital raising now places Stellar in a strong financial position to undertake exploration and infill drilling and studies and advance the Heemskirk Tin Project,” Mr Fietz said.
“The extended Phase 1 drilling programme about to go out to Tasmanian based drilling companies for tender invitations is our first step. A review of the Phase 2 drilling and other work streams / studies required to advance the project to PFS and BFS completion has been commenced and we will provide further updates on this work when these reviews have been completed.”
