MINEX Forum

Tag: Exploration drilling

  • Pallas Confirms Shallow Supergene Copper Discovery at Satpayev Project in Kazakhstan

    Pallas Confirms Shallow Supergene Copper Discovery at Satpayev Project in Kazakhstan

    Pallas Resources has confirmed a shallow, flat-lying supergene copper discovery following laboratory assay results from its maiden drill program at the 100%-owned Satpayev Sediment-Hosted Copper Project in central Kazakhstan.

    In 2025, the company completed 4,800 metres of KGK (aircore-equivalent) drilling across the Satpayev licence area, targeting shallow copper mineralisation beneath thin cover along the interpreted continuation of the Dzhezkazgan mineralised contact. Drilling intersected supergene copper oxides and native copper from depths starting at approximately 6 metres, with assays returning broad, near-surface mineralised intervals consistent with a supergene enrichment zone.

    Notable intercepts from the program include 29.5 m at 3.04% Cu, 31 m at 2.78% Cu, and 30.5 m at 2.73% Cu, highlighting the strength and continuity of mineralisation. The discovery has so far been outlined over an initial area of approximately 400 metres by 150 metres and remains open to the northwest, where powerline infrastructure limited further drilling.

    Drilling depth was also locally restricted by refusal using the selected drilling method, preventing penetration into the underlying bedrock in some areas and leaving any potential primary sulphide copper system untested at this stage. To address this, Pallas is conducting detailed mineralogical and geochemical studies to refine its geological model and develop vectors toward a possible primary copper source beneath the weathered horizon.

    The company is planning a 2026 exploration program that will include additional shallow drilling to expand the supergene footprint, as well as deeper reverse circulation and/or diamond drilling aimed at testing the underlying primary sulphide copper system at depth.

  • Allied Critical Metals Launches 20,000 m Drilling Campaign at Borralha Tungsten Project in Portugal

    Allied Critical Metals Launches 20,000 m Drilling Campaign at Borralha Tungsten Project in Portugal

    Allied Critical Metals has launched a fully funded 20,000 metre drilling programme at its wholly owned Borralha Tungsten Project in northern Portugal, marking the company’s most ambitious exploration campaign at the site to date.

    The 2026 programme is designed to build on strong drill results delivered in 2025 and to further define the scale and grade of tungsten mineralisation ahead of economic studies and potential resource expansion. Drilling will combine core and reverse circulation methods across several priority target zones within the Borralha licence area.

    The campaign will focus on step-out and infill drilling aimed at expanding and upgrading the existing mineral resource estimate, which was significantly increased in late 2025. Additional work will test extensions of the Santa Helena Breccia and other prospective zones identified during recent exploration, while also targeting the Venise Breccia north of Santa Helena, a historically recognised high-grade structure associated with wolframite and molybdenum mineralisation.

    Material collected during drilling will also be used for advanced metallurgical testing to support prefeasibility work and economic modelling. The programme is expected to generate key inputs for a Preliminary Economic Assessment that the company is targeting for completion in the first quarter of 2026.

    According to Allied, recent exploration has confirmed both bulk-style mineralisation and higher-grade corridors that could be suitable for future underground mining. The project has already passed several regulatory milestones, allowing it to advance through detailed engineering and permitting stages alongside ongoing drilling.

    The Borralha project is considered one of the more advanced undeveloped tungsten assets in Western Europe. Tungsten is classified as a critical raw material in both the European Union and the United States, highlighting the strategic importance of projects that can contribute to supply diversification away from dominant producers.

  • Terra Balcanica Resources CEO Updates Exploration Progress in Bosnia-Herzegovina

    Terra Balcanica Resources CEO Updates Exploration Progress in Bosnia-Herzegovina

    Aleksander Miskovic, CEO of Terra Balcanica Resources, spoke with Steve Darling from Proactive to provide an update on the exploration drilling conducted within the Viogor-Zanik project in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The company completed approximately 2,200 meters of drilling, with a focus on a shallow, high-grade, silver-dominated, intermediate sulfidation polymetallic vein system at the Chumavichi locality.

    The maiden drillhole at Chumavichi Ridge yielded promising results, intercepting 824.2 grams per tonne (g/t) of silver equivalent (AgEq) over 4.0 meters from a depth of 29 meters, including 1,634.4 g/t AgEq over 2.0 meters. Another drillhole at Chumavichi Ridge intercepted 816.1 g/t AgEq over 2.0 meters. Additionally, exploration efforts targeted the Brezani area, revealing a surficial auriferous skarn overlaying an Ag-Pb-Zn-Au mineralized, northeast-shallowing structural system, situated above porphyry andesites stock from a depth of 550 meters. Drill testing of the 650-meter-wide conductivity high at Brezani resulted in intersections of 0.61 grams per tonne (g/t) of gold equivalent (AuEq) over 88.0 meters and 0.58 g/t AuEq over 28.6 meters.

    In uranium exploration, Terra Balcanica has acquired licenses on the outskirts of the Athabasca Basin in Saskatchewan. Partnering with Fulcrum Metals PLC, they aim to explore a 600 square kilometer area targeting Beaver Lodge and basement-style uranium mineralization. Initial steps include airborne geophysics and ground truthing, followed by drilling the ranked targets. Mišković expressed excitement about the potential for shear-hosted gold, VMS, nickel, and copper in the portfolio. The company anticipates a robust stream of news releases in the coming months, reflecting ongoing activities in Serbia and Bosnia, amidst favorable market conditions for gold and silver.

  • Due to delays in the payment of salaries, employees from Turkmengeologia in Mary are dismissed

    Due to delays in the payment of salaries, employees from Turkmengeologia in Mary are dismissed

    Employees are dismissed from the Mary subdivision of exploration drilling of the State Corporation “Turkmengeology”. People have not received their salaries for several months, correspondents of “Chronicles of Turkmenistan” report.

    Exploration work is not carried out due to the lack of reagents for the drilling fluid. Three months ago, the workers were paid 1,500 manats each, although even then the work was not carried out. Since then, the problem with the lack of components for the solution has not been resolved. Those who quit are mostly residents of the villages adjacent to Mary. Some of the unemployed were able to go to work in Turkey or Russia.

    One of the former exploration workers, a resident of the Sakarchaginsky etrap, reports that many of his fellow villagers are leaving for the city of Sochi (Russia). Including women who get jobs in cafes and restaurants. Some left as labor migrants, others permanently with their families.

    – There are no jobs. Our and neighboring villages are practically empty. Only old people and dogs remained, – said a resident of the etrap.

    The wave of emigration from Turkmenistan has also affected the officers of the Ministry of Defense, Turkmen news reports. Officers of military units, military schools and even military registration and enlistment offices are dismissed and go abroad, despite the fact that they have a good income in the form of bribes during the draft period.

    “Many people believe that the military is restricted to travel abroad, but this is not so. There are ways to leave, ”the newspaper writes.

    It is also reported that policemen and employees of the oil and gas sector are leaving en masse. In the city of Gazachak, Lebap velayat, in order to avoid the outflow of personnel abroad, passports were taken away from employees of the gas sector.