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TORONTO - Emerita Resources Corp. [EMO-TSXV, EMOTF-OTC] shares rallied in active trading Friday after the company released drilling results from the La Infanta polymetallic deposit on its Iberia West project in Spain.
The company said it has received complete assays for the first step-out hole from the Infanta drill program as well as the final in-fill drillholes. It said the in-fill program has verified historical drill results and will allow proper 3D modelling of the deposit along with providing fresh material that can be used for future metallurgical testing.
Emerita acquired a 100% interest in the Iberia West project via public tender process. The project is hosted within the Iberian Pyrite Belt, one of the world's most productive volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) tarranes.
La Infanta is one of two high-grade polymetallic deposits located on the property. The other is the Romanera. Historical drill programs were conducted by Rio Tinto (Romanera Deposit) and Phelps Dodge (La Infanta Deposit).
Emerita has data from 51 drill holes that targeted the Romanera deposit.
The initial drill program at Infanta was designed to test the full 1.2-kilometre strike length of the mineralization and test the depth extend to approximately 300 metres down dip. In a July 20, 2021 press release, the company said there are 49 historical holes drilled to delineate the deposit so far. Emerita said it would move from the known mineralization and step out systematically along strike and down dip to establish a NI 43-101-compliant resource estimate for the deposit.
It said the plan would be to initially complete approximately 30 drill holes for a total of approximately 5,000 metres of drilling.
On Friday, the company said drill hole IN018 intersected 8.2 metres, grading 2.5% copper, 8.7% lead, 17.3% zinc, and 223 g/t silver and 0.5 g/t gold from 49 metres. Hole IN018 is a 40-metre step out to the west of the historical limits of the deposit.
In addition, the company said another drill hole, IN023, located approximately west of hole IN018 has intersected two zones of massive sulphides. Assay results for this hole are pending.
Emerita shares advanced on the news, rising 11.3% or 30 cents to $2.96 on volume of 1.5 million. The shares are currently trading in a 52-week range of $2.87 and 13 cents.
Drill holes IN014 to 016 were the final in-fill drill holes and all intersected high- grade mineralization. Highlights include hole IN014, which returned 5.7 metres of grade 2.4% copper, 7.3% lead, 13.4% zinc, 225 g/t silver and 0.6 g/t gold.
The company said it plans to mobilize additional rigs to expedite drilling on the Romanera Deposit and other regional targets, including El Cura and the new geophysical targets. It is expected that five drills will be operating by year-end, the company said.
"Based on the latest drilling, we have identified what appears to be a structural repetition of the zone at depth to the north, seen in holes IN017 to IN023, which are 300 metres apart,'' said Emerita President Joaquin Merino.