Investors have reacted strongly to drilling results from Asian Battery Metals PLC (ASX:AZ9), more than doubling the stock price intraday to A$0.11 after massive sulphide mineralisation was identified at the Oval Copper-Nickel-Platinum Group Element (PGE) Project in Mongolia.
A standout drilling result was hole OVD021, which returned 8.8 metres at 6.08% copper, 3.19% nickel, 0.11% cobalt and 1.63 g/t E3 (combined gold, platinum and palladium) from 107.2 metres.
The copper-nickel sulphide mineralisation in this hole represents a new style of deposit for southwestern Mongolia – AZ9 says the mineralisation sits within more than 800 metres of potential strike, open for further exploration at depth and to the southeast, southwest, northeast and northwest directions.
AZ9 shares have been as much as 156% higher to $0.11, a new two-year high for the company on volume of more than 67 million in the first two hours of ASX trading.
Drilling within two weeks
“After four years of systematic exploration in Mongolia, with the help of the BHP (ASX:BHP) Xplor program in 2023, it is exciting to be a part of an outstanding copper-nickel discovery,” Asian Battery Metals managing director Gan-Ochir Zunduisuren said.
“It is an exceptional result that shows the mineralisation system at Oval has potential for hosting a substantial deposit with a higher-grade zone of copper and nickel.
“With the confirmation of high-grade massive sulphide intercepts, future exploration work at the Oval copper-nickel discovery will primarily focus on the extension of the high-grade zone and understanding its size, true dip and orientation.
“We will recommence drilling within two weeks and look forward to continuing the journey of discovery with our shareholders.”
The OVD021 drill hole also included two other intersections of note, bookending the massive sulphide result reported earlier:
- 7.85 metres of dense disseminated sulphides at 0.75% copper, 0.78% nickel, 0.04% cobalt and 0.15 g/t E3 from 99.35 metres; and
- 15.8 metres at 1.36% copper, 1% nickel, 0.04% cobalt and 0.44 g/t E3 from 116 metres.
AZ9 intends to begin follow-up drilling at Oval as soon as results from a recent downhole electromagnetic survey can be processed to better target the drill bit.