THE release of Consolidated Zinc’s maiden Mineral Resource last week has confirmed the company is on course towards future production plans.

The resource estimate reported an indicated and inferred resource of 568,000 tonnes at 16.9 per cent combined zinc and lead. The high grades and relative ease of access from within the existing mine infrastructure indicate a relatively short timeline to production once sufficient additional tonnes are identified.

The estimate, independently completed by Runge Pincock Minarco Limited (RPM) in accordance with the JORC (2012) reporting guidelines, also reported 28.4g/t silver, with 96,000t of contained Zn + Pb metal in both Indicated and Inferred categories.

The Mineral Resource comes from the extensions both down dip and down plunge from the existing mine development and also includes the 2015 discovery of mineralisation at Tres Amigos.

Managing Director Will Dix said the initial resource estimate is in accordance with historical mining performance and the company is delighted with this first stage result.

“As planned, this Stage 1 Mineral Resource provides an outstanding platform from which to expand the company’s resource base with a view to commencing mining studies in the second half of 2017,” he said.

“The grade is outstanding compared to our peers, the mineralogy attractive and the geological model we have developed appears to be robust. Ongoing drilling subsequent to completing the estimate has continued to intersect sulphide mineralisation outside the limits of the Mineral Resource to the south and at depth, which will be included in future updates given assays are still pending.

“This provides further evidence that we have a project with the potential to grow quickly. In addition, our pipeline of regional drill targets for Q1 2017 will mean strong news flow next year.”

Original Article: http://www.consolidatedzinc.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/201116-Initial-JORC-Resource-Confirms-High-Grades.pdf