MetalsTech hits more high-grade gold at Sturec; JORC upgrade in September

MetalsTech’s (ASX:MTC) Sturec gold-silver mine in Slovakia continues to prove itself as a strong flagship asset for the Australian explorer with yet another batch of fresh gold hits reported today.

The company’s share price has climbed a modest 2.99% today on the back of the news, even as the ASX200 sits in the red.

Next month, the Sturec project will be the subject of a JORC mineral resource estimate upgrade adding additional recoverable metals onto the already 1Moz+ project. 

Let’s take a look at what MetalsTech is reporting today. 

Making sense of grades 

Investor information provider Undervalued Equity classifies high-grade gold as that above five grams of gold per tonne (5g/t), but many Australian projects boasting 4g/t results are also widely accepted as high grade projects. 

Silver, meanwhile, is considered high grade in concentrations over 50g/t. 

With that in mind, Metalstech posts results for the following four drillholes:

UGA-41 

• 143.5m @ 1.49g/t gold and 11.4g/t silver, including:

  • 05m @ 7.68g/t gold, 87.5g/t silver from 39m 

  • 06m @ 6.39g/t gold, 24.6g/t silver from 126m 

UGA-42 

• 101m @ 1.32g/t gold, including:

  • 04m @ 6.53g/t gold from 42m 

  • 04m @ 6.33g/t gold from 56m 

UGA-39 

• 32m @ 2.4g/t gold and 13.9g/t silver, including:

  • 04m @ 6.13g/t gold and 22.1g/t silver from 51m 

  • 11m @ 3.25g/t gold and 22g/t silver from 72m 

UGA-38 

• 50m @ 1.32g/t gold and 1.5g/t silver, including:

  • 10m @ 3.07g/t gold and 9g/t silver from 43m 

  • 05m @ 5.45g/t gold and 14.3g/t silver from 43-48m

Making sense of variation 

The big takeaway: low-mid grade gold at Sturec has been recovered in thick intersections, each with higher-grade gold occurring in pockets starting at around 30m-40m depth.

It’s worth noting that a project with a large quantity of mid-grade gold can be more valuable than a project boasting a small deposit of high-grade gold. 

All things considered, the bigger picture is that MetalsTech continues to confirm widespread precious metals mineralisation on its Slovakain acreage. 

With an already existing resource over 1Moz of gold and silver, September’s JORC upgrade boosting this number higher still will be closely watched by investors. 

Also worth noting: silver’s role as an emerging battery metal. 

Management keen to get upgrade published 

“The ore body at Sturec continues to deliver significant zones of gold [and] our drilling has grown the confidence of the existing Sturec mineral resource,” MetalsTech director Gino D’Anna said. 

“Mineralisation extends further to the south along strike of the existing resource and remains open down dip and down plunge.” 

“We have now begun the process of updating the resource model with the aim of upgrading the [JORC] resource.” 

MetalsTech not slowing down at Sturec 

The results of a scoping study conducted on the company’s Slovakian mine underscored the commercial potential of the project, which were reiterated in a company presentation released earlier this month. 

The findings of that study ran as follows: 

• $1.5bn in operational cashflow at full capacity (assuming metals sales,) 

• 85% post-tax internal rate of return 

• Pre-production opex of USD$64m 

• Project value of $643m post-tax 

• 91% gold recovery from ore 

• 88% silver recovery from ore 

A look at MetalsTech's six month charts

Disclaimer: Market Index helps small-cap ASX listed companies connect with Australian investors through clear and concise articles on key developments. MetalsTech was a client at the time of publishing. All coverage contains factual information only and should not be interpreted as an opinion or financial advice.