Azure said 4,196m had been drilled in 76 holes in the East Zone, while drilling was "well advanced" on the West Zone with 48 holes completed for 3,696m.

"The resource drill-out is expected to be completed within the next two weeks," the company said.

Historical drilling hit mineralisation across the outcropping, hill-side deposit and Azure has an exploration target of 2.5-to-3 million tonnes grading 10-12% combined zinc and lead it is confident of converting into a maiden resource in April.

Azure managing director Tony Rovira said at the recent Vancouver Resource Investment Conference the company would assess the economics of a 300,000-400,000tpa surface/underground mine producing 25,000tpa of metal and up to US$40 million a year of pre-tax cash flow for 7-8-years.

It has its sights on scoping study and a preliminary economic assessment work in the September quarter this year.

Azure has also started regional exploration to identify potential for further base metal mineralisation within the Oposura project area, outside of the current exploration target zone.

The company has lost a quarter of its value in the past month and was capitalised at A$25.5 million mid-week.