- 013 Briggs infill holes: consistent mineralisation.
- 02Cu ~0.15-0.25% (peaks 0.25%).
- 03Campaign: 41 holes, 12,500 m; 1,250 m ext.
- 04Aim: upgrade Inferred to Indicated; support PFS.
Alma Metals (ASX: ALM) has received assays for the first three holes of a major pre-feasibility study infill drilling campaign at its Briggs copper-molybdenum-silver project in central Queensland.
The holes were drilled in the north-west central part of the Briggs Central porphyry, where surface geochemical copper anomalism in soil sampling is elevated but lower than that recorded on the southern side of the mineral resource estimate.
Each hole ended in mineralisation at or close to the planned termination depth and the results showed consistent mineralisation along the entire length of each hole.
Most assays were in the range of 0.15% to 0.2% copper, with some zones demonstrating up to 0.25% copper.
Major Infill Campaign
Alma’s campaign features 41 holes for a total of 12,500 metres alongside 1,250m of exploration drilling, upgrading a portion of the mineral resource estimate from Inferred to Indicated to support the first half of a mining operation.
It also aims to test depth extensions of known mineralisation, drilling at high priority extensional targets to grow the total contained copper beyond 2 million tonnes at a 0.15% cut-off grade.
Alma has completed seven holes to date and expects to continue drilling into the first half of 2027 to convert most of the remaining inferred resource to the indicated category.
Briggs also hosts a current resource of 73 million pounds of molybdenum and 16.5 million ounces of silver in the Indicated and Inferred categories.
‘In Line with Expectations’
Alma managing director Dr Frazer Tabeart said the company was pleased with the campaign’s initial results.
“This first batch of assays is entirely in line with our expectations based on grade predictions from the current resource model and the copper distribution in surface soil samples,” he said.
“This gives us great confidence that the infill program will ultimately deliver the appropriate update to the resource estimate and metallurgical test work programs to support our preliminary feasibility study.”
Alma has appointed consultants to manage environmental baseline surveys, and will be engaging specific consultants to undertake critical components of these surveys to comply with state government requirements for major project approvals.
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