Peninsula Mines Ltd (ASX:PSM) has identified very high-grade zinc in previous drilling of the Ilweol tenements at its Ubeong Zinc Project in South Korea.
The company’s primary focus is developing flake graphite mines and downstream processing to supply the large lithium-ion battery manufacturing market in South Korea.
READ: Peninsula Mines targets value-added strategy for graphite supply to the Korean battery sector
These zinc-rich results from Ubeong in the country’s east have potential to be a bonus to the graphite strategy.
One diamond drill hole at Ilweol returned up 7.0 metres from 191.9 metres at 14.58% zinc, 1.37% lead and 2.12% copper.
Another returned 2.1 metres at 18.66% zinc, 11.08% lead and 3.21% copper from 253.6 metres, and 5.5 metres at 10.16% zinc, 1.61% lead and 1.45% copper from 263.6 metres.
Part of report from KORES
Results were part of a report released to the company by Korea Resources Corporation (KORES) following the grant of the Ilweol tenements.
Managing director Jon Dugdale said: “These very high-grade zinc intersections, drilled by KORES, effectively represent the discovery holes into a high-grade massive sulphide zinc-lead-copper skarn.
“Further drilling is being planned to test the continuity and extent of this very high-grade zinc with lead and copper skarn, subject to landholder access discussions which are underway.”
The high-grade massive and breccia sulphide mineralisation at Ilweol is associated with a limestone-skarn horizon over a strike length of at least 2 kilometres.
This was previously mined from the 1940s to the 1970s to a depth of about 150 metres, accessed by an adit from the valley floor which is still accessible.
Further drilling planned
Follow-up drilling is being planned from the main northwest-southeast valley floor some 430 metres east of the main structure or from underground if safe serviceable access can be re-established.
The first option is subject to the outcome of landholder discussions.
Python target to be tested
Peninsula will also test the Python lead-zinc target after completing a drilling program at Chilbo prospect where a diamond hole has been completed at 400.1 metres.
This tested extensions of the Taipan zinc target and continued to test the magnetic interpreted ‘core’ of the porphyry-skarn system at Viper target.
Processing of drill core, including hand-held XRF measurements and magnetic susceptibility, is progressing.
The soil anomaly to be tested at Python was identified in a ground magnetics program.
Drilling will test the projected position of skarn mineralisation at depth below the soil anomaly.