Myanmar Metals has reported that the first hole into the Shan North exploration target at the company’s Bawdwin Project in Myanmar has confirmed the presence of broad zones of mineralisation.

First core from BWDD034 on Yegon Ridge slope

Assay results revealing strong chargeability anomaly identified in both Gradient Array Induced Polarisation (GAIP) and deeper penetrating Pole-Dipole Induced Polarisation (PDIP) surveys, intersected 23.8m at 4.2 per cent Pb from 23 metres, 34 metres at 6.5 per cent Pb from 86 metres and 18 metres at 4.2 per cent Pb from 210m.

The drilling results show, once again, that the geophysical surveys undertaken by the Bawdwin Joint Venture (BJV) have successfully identified mineralisation outside of the current resource model. Encouragingly, the mineralisation appears to extend towards surface and is also open at depth and is expected to be contiguous with the main Shan Lode to the southeast.

An in-fill drilling program has been a key focus of the drilling completed in the year to date. The in-fill program has been designed to upgrade Inferred Mineral Resources and increase the confidence in the resource model, particularly within the Starter Pit. Recent drilling results show mineralisation outside the resource model but within the Starter Pit shell, in areas that were formerly classified as waste material. This newly discovered mineralisation has the potential to enhance the robust economics of the Starter Pit.

Holes drilled into the China Western Hangingwall Lode intersected strong mineralisation outside of the current resource model and extended previous intersections further down-dip. BWRC0107 intersected 31 metres at 3.5 per cent Pb from surface, 15 metres at 3.4 per cent Pb from 101 metres and 12 metres at 4.0 per cent Pb and 1.1 per cent Zn from 120 metres. Another hole, BWRC102 was drilled 50 metres to the north also targeting the China Western Hangingwall Lode and intersected 21 metres at 2.7 per cent Pb from surface and 32 metres at 6.5 per cent Pb and 1.4 per cent Zn from 34 metres.

Drilling in the southeast of the Starter Pit also encountered mineralisation outside the resource model, with BWRC099 intersecting 29 metres at 2.6 per cent Pb from 7 metres and 49 metres at 2.9 per cent Pb from 60 metres. BWRC091 intersected a broad 51 metres intersection of 6.3 per cent Pb, 52g/t Ag and 0.8 per cent Zn from 21 metres, with samples below 58 metres down hole currently outside of the resource model.

An updated Mineral Resource estimate is currently being undertaken, incorporating results from over 7,000 metres of additional drilling completed since the last estimate was announced in February this year. This new resource estimate is planned for completion in August.

Myanmar Metals Executive Chairman and CEO John Lamb highlighted that the Company currently has a 100 per cent success rate from target identification to the discovery of new mineralised zones.

“This is quite remarkable. Our exploration methodology has been validated and we believe our four high priority targets which remain untested by drilling have been further de-risked by the discovery of Shan North,” said Mr Lamb.

“Bawdwin already hosts the world’s largest primary lead resource but as drilling advances outside the historical mining envelope we see the potential for material resource growth becoming clear.

“These latest results improve density and confidence within the known ore zones, demonstrate extensions in several places and, importantly, show continuity along strike so that Bawdwin is beginning to look like a very large, continuous mineralised trend rather than a series of lenses or lodes.

“We are currently in the wet season at Bawdwin which makes drilling on exploration targets outside of the existing pit challenging due to topography and ground conditions. In October we will seek to start an intensive exploration drilling program but the focus for the next quarter will be the underground scoping study, an updated Mineral Resource Estimate and in-fill drilling in the Starter Pit,” concluded Mr Lamb.

*Article published in the July-September 2019 issue of The Asia Miner