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(Sharecast News) - Rome Resources said in an update on Friday that it has made encouraging early progress in its post-maiden resource drilling programme at the Bisie North project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where two drill rigs were now operating across the Mont Agoma and Kalayi prospects.
The AIM-traded tin and copper explorer said the drilling followed its maiden mineral resource estimate announced in December, which confirmed that the target areas formed part of a large polymetallic system.
It said Mont Agoma is characterised by a broad zone of near-surface copper mineralisation, with tin grades expected to increase at depth, while Kalayi hosts near-surface high-grade tin that remains open and is anticipated to widen and strengthen with depth.
At the Kalayi prospect, drillhole KBD019 was completed to a depth of 189.5 metres and intersected significant tin mineralisation between 129 metres and 135 metres.
Handheld XRF readings taken at one-metre intervals across the six-metre zone averaged 1.6% tin, with individual readings ranging from 0.02% to 3.94%, including four readings above 1.4%.
The company said the interval sat within a broader 26-metre zone of disseminated cassiterite between 114.0 metres and 140.7 metres, supporting continuity of mineralisation at Kalayi.
It said the rig had since moved on to start drilling hole KBD020.
At Mont Agoma, drillhole MADD034 was completed to 94 metres and was being used as a control point for the structural model.
A follow-on hole, MADD035, drilled from the same pad, had reached 190 metres depth and was progressing within the main mineralised zone as drilling move#d toward deeper parts of the system.
Rome Resources said the reported tin grades were based on handheld XRF spot readings and are indicative only, noting that the measurements should not be relied upon for resource calculations.
Samples from completed holes would be submitted for laboratory assay, with results to be reported once available.
"We are encouraged by the early indications from this second phase of drilling at Kalayi, where the intersection of a tin-rich zone at depth is consistent with the company's structural model and expectations for high-grade extensions beneath the known mineralisation," said chief executive Paul Barrett.
"Drilling at Mont Agoma is also progressing well as we move toward the deeper parts of the system where we believe tin grades may strengthen.
"We look forward to regularly updating the market as drilling continues on both prospects and further results become available."
At 1050 GMT, shares in Rome Resources were up 8.18% at 0.24p.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.