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West Coast Silver (ASX:WCE) shares were up +7% to 6cps heading into lunchtime trades on Friday as the company kicks off diamond drilling for silver at its Pilbara-based Elizabeth Hill project in WA.
The site of a former silver mine in WA’s relatively recent past (as far as 200 years of gold mining goes,) the company is lured to the area in part by high grades previously found in surface materials nearly 1,000g/t of silver.
(That was the determination of a portable xray scan analysis; fully blown lab assays will be needed to determine underground grades but on-site scanning will continue through the drill run launched today.)
Diamond tipped drill rigs capable of plugging great depths are on-site Elizabeth Hill to collect 1,500m of core in this first iteration.
What is most noteworthy, perhaps, is that the company has previously told HotCopper former miners at Elizabeth Hill back in the mid-20th never went below 100m depth.
That in itself is a tantalising prospect for geotechs; so too are underexplored areas around the current drill locations already known to the team and sparking interest.
The ultimate goal of drilling will be to test how far known mineralised zones extend for more than it will be to go hunting for known unknowns, but the company will use what data it gets from this first run to inform future drill runs.
“We’re extremely excited to have drilling now underway at Elizabeth Hill. It’s a significant milestone for West Coast Silver as we test the additional potential of this historic, high-grade silver project with modern techniques for the first time,” WCE chief Bruce Garlick said.
“We’ll soon be assessing fresh drill core – and that’s when the real geological work begins. Our team is ready to interpret and adapt in real-time, and we’re looking forward to sharing updates with shareholders as results come to hand.”
WCE last traded at 6cps.
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Disclaimer: HotCopper had a commercial relationship with West Coast Silver when this article was published.
