Alicanto Minerals Ltd higher on securing tenure covering historic high-grade Sala
The company’s ongoing drilling program at the Greater Falun Project will be expanding to include Sala once drilling permits have been approved.
Ltd () traded higher after securing tenure of the high-grade Sala Silver Project, just 100 kilometres from its Greater Falun Copper-Gold Project in Sweden.
The Sala project was once Europe’s largest silver producer with output of more than 200 million ounces at grades of up to 7,000 g/t silver.
Sala was mined to only 318 metres below surface where it was believed at the time to have been mined out, however, mineralisation appears to remain open with historic (2012) step-out drilling intersecting 0.67 metres at 844 g/t silver and 16.3% lead at only 250 metres below surface.
The project has significant exploration upside with mineralisation open at depth, along strike and through structural repetition of the stratigraphic sequence.
“Outstanding opportunity”
Alicanto managing director Peter George said the Greater Falun Project and now the Sala Silver Project was an outstanding opportunity which would have been explored many years ago had the geology been understood and it not been held in part by companies which were focused on other projects and jurisdictions.
He said: “The presence of extensive high-grade copper-gold mineralisation with by-products of silver, zinc and lead at Falun has been well-established through both mining and exploration.
“However, the full potential in the Greater Falun area has yet to be unlocked.
“To now have Sala in our suite of projects is a significant addition to our portfolio within the Bergslagen area.”
Shares were up as much as 19 per cent to A$0.13 intra-day and the company has been trading higher since closing at A$0.096 at the end of January
Historical exploration
Historical diamond drill holes into the parallel Prince Lode just 300 metres southwest of Sala returned multiple mineralised drill hits including 15.9 metres at 157 g/t silver and 4.2% zinc as well as 37.2 metres at 50 g/t silver and 6.1% zinc.
Four holes drilled in November 2012 suggest the Sala mineralisation remains open at depth and along strike having intersected high-grade mineralisation including 0.67 metres at 844 g/t silver and 16.3% lead at 250 metres below surface.
The company has already identified several new untested targets to the southwest of Sala as a result of structural folding of the same stratigraphic sequence as the Sala orebody and the Prince mineralisation.
Map of the Falun Project showing current drill targets in yellow dots, the recently acquired Sala Silver Project – as well as the Garpenberg Mine (owned and operated by Boliden).
Expanding drilling program
Alicanto will now commence an expanded and fully funded drilling program at Greater Falun starting this month.
The company intends to begin drilling at Sala as soon as drilling permits have been approved.
Read More: Alicanto Minerals Ltd higher on securing tenure covering historic high-grade Sala