TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Canadian base metals producer Nevsun Resources has made a new volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) discovery at the grassroots Asheli prospect, on the Mogoraib River Exploration Licence, only 20 km south-west of the existing Bisha processing plant, in Eritrea.

The TSX-listed miner’s stock gained nearly 6% on Thursday, climbing to C$4.85 a share.

According to the Vancouver-based company, the Asheli drilling formed part of the 2015 Bisha regional exploration programme, which aimed to build on the successful 2014 programme.

Among the highlights of the high-grade massive sulphide intersections was Hole MX-052, which returned 2.29% copper, 4.5% zinc, 0.45 g/t gold and 37 g/t silver over 22.9 m. This included intersections of 3.67% copper, 8.04% zinc, 0.68 g/t gold, 50 g/t silver over 7.4 m and 7.92% copper, 3.89% zinc, 1.14 g/t gold and 101 g/t silver over 2.9 m.

Hole MX-056 returned 1.26% copper, 6.08% zinc, 0.28 g/t gold and 26 g/t silver over 20.9 m, including 1.71% copper, 8.51% zinc, 0.37 g/t gold and 35 g/t silver over 10.9 m.

The deposit was associated with highly altered felsic volcanics and was open to expansion, Nevsun said, noting that there were several untested geophysical targets along 4 km of similar stratigraphy.

"We continue to have excellent results from our exploration programmes at Bisha. The assays reported today demonstrate that the Bisha district hosts numerous deposits like other classic VMS camps worldwide.

“Our new greenfield discovery at Asheli is exciting in that it shows that the mineralising systems on the Asheli trend are capable of producing high-grade deposits with good thicknesses of massive sulphide. With over 4 km of untested strike length with similar geology, the potential for further discoveries on this trend looks very promising,” Nevsun CEO Cliff Davis commented.

However, Nevsun said the rainy season started mid-June, pausing work until later in the year.

The 2015 Bisha Mining Share Company regional exploration programme was currently focused on expanding the Harena deposit at depth and along strike, exploring the perimeter of the Bisha deposit at depth and along strike and evaluating regional targets on the Mogoraib River Licence at Asheli, Aderat and Tekewuda.