The drilling, which is part of the bankable feasibility study planned for the end of May, started in November with the aim of optimising the mine design and improving the study's overall economics and robustness.

 

Some 5,665m of diamond core drilling was completed in 37 resource evaluation and four geotechnical holes. Highlights included 13m at 1.42% copper from 12m depth, including 2m at 3.49% from 12m and 1m at 5.25% from 17m.

 

Other outstanding results were 90m at 1.08% copper from 43.5m, including 25m at 2.37% from 78.5m; 10.65m at 1.09% from 72.15m depth, including 6.35m at 1.45%  from 72.15m depth; and 19.40m at 0.97% from 85.6m depth, including 3m at 1.36% from 92m. 

 

Asiamet said two resource infill holes were drilled in the north central area of the proposed openpit and continued to intersect zones of moderate to strong chalcocite and covellite copper mineralisation. One hole was drilled to a depth of 187.5m and ended in mineralisation.

 

Three other holes were drilled in the southern part of the proposed openpit and intersected zones of moderate to strong covellite, bornite and minor chalcopyrite copper mineralisation as expected.

 

CEO Peter Bird said the results of the resource evaluation drilling programme had increased the company's confidence in the BKM resource model and indicated copper mineralisation remains open to the south and north-east area of the deposit. 

 

"This additional infill drilling is expected to lift confidence of targeted inferred resources sitting inside the current pit shells to the indicated resource category for use in optimising pit shells for mine planning purposes.  

 

"Detailed mine design and mining engineering studies coupled with rigorous analysis of capital and operating costs are well advanced with the aim of delivering an economically robust BFS for the BKM project by the end of May 2019," he said.

 

Asiamet's shares (AIM:ARS) were trading at 6.8p (US8.9c) Tuesday.