Stellar Resources Ltd (ASX:SRZ, OTC:SLROF) is ramping up diamond drilling at its 100%-owned Heemskirk Tin Project in Western Tasmania, Australia, working to accelerate the project through pre-feasibility studies to be development-ready.
Stellar now has three diamond drill rigs on site and has completed 2,723 metres of drilling over seven holes of the planned 9,500-metre, 24-hole program.
Managing director Simon Taylor said: "Work is progressing well at our flagship Heemskirk Tin Project and a significant infill and extensional diamond drilling program is now further accelerated with a third drill rig now mobilised to site."
Focus on resource upgrade
Specifically, drilling is targeting the project’s Severn and Queen Hill deposits, focusing on upgrading additional resources to the indicated category, extending mineralisation along trend and providing platforms for downhole electromagnetic (DHEM) surveys.
Taylor expects the first results from the drilling program to be available in November and results from ore sorting and metallurgical test work over the December and March quarters.
Pre-feasibility study underway
A pre-feasibility study (PFS) is underway for which the drilling program is providing key study inputs. These include samples for metallurgical and ore sorting test work, geotechnical inputs and to provide a platform for hydrological studies.
“The drilling is designed to accelerate us through pre-feasibility studies to make Heemskirk development ready,” Taylor said.
Resource expansion opportunity
The existing Heemskirk 2023 mineral resource estimate (MRE) sits at 7.48 million tonnes at a grade of 1.04% tin for 77,820 tonnes of contained tin — ranking it as the highest-grade undeveloped tin resource in Australia and third globally.
Taylor said, “Whilst drilling is focused on upgrading additional tonnes from the inferred to the indicated resource category, we are also excited about completing downhole electromagnetic surveys once we have the suitable drill platforms in place to explore for extensions with which to expand the resource.
“In tandem, we have sent off the first samples for both ore sorting and metallurgical test work for analysis to assist in achieving better recoveries and data to further help selecting an appropriate plant size."
Test work underway
Stellar is undertaking metallurgical and ore sorting test work programs with an initial 489 kilograms of Severn diamond core samples dispatched.
Successful ore sorting bench-scale, first-pass test work by Stellar in 2018 indicated that 90% of contained tin can be recovered in 50% of the mass, with the remaining 50% rejected as waste, with an increase in head grade from 1.27% to 2.23% tin.