Tinka Resources Ltd (CVE:TK) (OTCPK:TKRFF) has high hopes for this year's drill program at the flagship Ayawilca zinc project in central Peru, which has now started, it told investors Tuesday.
The work is set to build on last year's program, which confirmed the presence of high-grade zinc mineralization underneath the current resource.
Tinka said one rig was operating and a program of up to 10,000 metres had kicked off. It is expected that a second rig will be moved to the site within the next few weeks.
READ: Tinka Resources says upcoming exploration drilling could further underline Peru project's potential
The company expects to unveil the results of the PEA (preliminary economic assessment) before the end of the second quarter of 2019.
"This new program will build on the 2018 drill program which confirmed the presence of high-grade zinc mineralization hosted by a deeper limestone unit lying underneath the current resource," said Dr. Graham Carman, Tinka's president and CEO.
"Our geologists have generated detailed 3D models of the deposit and we believe there is excellent potential for additional discoveries of high-grade zinc mineralization.
"Ayawilca is already one of the largest undeveloped zinc projects in the Americas, but additional discoveries nearby our current resources could ultimately add significant value to the project. We look forward to updating the market with these drill results in the coming months, as well as announcing the results of the PEA before the end of Q2 2019."
Several deep holes
Tinka plans several deep holes at West and South Ayawilca to test for repetitions of high-grade zinc mineralization beneath existing zinc resources, which will also double as infill holes.
Additional holes will be drilled along strike of existing resources to test for extensions of the mineralization where the resource still remains open.
The project lies in the zinc-lead-silver belt of central Peru, 200 kilometres northeast of Lima.
The Ayawilca Zinc zone contains 11.7 Mt (million tonnes) of indicated resources grading 6.9% zinc, 0.2% lead, 15 g/t (grams per ton) silver and 84 g/t indium and 45.0 Mt inferred resources grading 5.6% zinc, 0.2% lead, 17 g/t silver and 67 g/t indium.
Shares were unchanged in Toronto at $0.32.
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