Dual-listed Cornish Metals has launched an 8 000 m drill programme to advance its South Crofty tin project, in Cornwall, England.
The drill programme may be extended up to 12 000 m and will inform a feasibility study on the project.
The South Crofty project covers the former producing South Crofty tin mine located beneath the towns of Pool and Camborne. The mine closed in 1998 following more than 400 years of continuous production.
A preliminary economic assessment on South Crofty, published by the company in 2017, demonstrated the economic viability of reopening the mine.
Cornish has commissioned three drill rigs from a contractor called Priority Drilling, with two drilling from surface and one from underground in the Tuckingmill Decline.
The first drill rig has started operating from the central part of the mine complex, focusing on No. 4 and No. 8 lodes, while a second rig will be on site later this month, targeting the North Pool zone, towards the east of the resource area.
The third rig is expected late in July and will operating underground to collect samples from the Roskear and Dolcoath lodes, in the western part of the mining complex.
CEO Richard Williams says the drilling will provide key information for the mineral processing flowsheet, especially the amenability of the mineralisation zones to ore sorting which, if successful, will present an opportunity to deliver higher-grade feed and reduce the size of a process plant.