Metalstech (MTC.AX) has released the results of an updated resource estimate on its Sturec gold project in Slovakia. This updated resource is still presented as an open pit resource and using a cutoff grade of 0.26 g/t gold, the pit shell contains 38.5 million tonnes at an average grade of 1.23 g/t gold and 8.8 g/t silver for a total of 1.52 million ounces of gold and just under 11 million ounces of silver.
That’s a positive development as the open pit resource has clearly grown from 1.03 million ounces in the 2020 resource estimate. We were more interested in the higher grade subsection of the global resource estimate as Metalstech is planning to develop Sturec as an underground mine. There is a small underground resource containing 17,000 ounces gold which is outside of the open pit outline, but of specific interest are the higher grade areas within the open pit shell. Applying a cutoff grade of 2 g/t, the open pit contains 6.1 million tonnes of mineralization at an average grade of 3.27 g/t gold containing 641,000 ounces gold and just under 4 million ounces of silver.
This doesn’t mean the higher grade areas are directly connected to each other but some of the sections in the press release seem to indicate a certain level of coherence.
And as mentioned in the report earlier this month, Metalstech is planning to complete an additional drill program this summer which will further increase the confidence in the high-grade resource at Sturec. A scoping study is still planned to be released before the end of this year, and that will provide a sound starting point to see how profitable the Sturec underground mine could be. Metalstech will be busy this summer as assay results will be released on a continuous basis with both infill and expansion holes. Although the current resource estimate contains 1.52 million ounces of gold at a cutoff grade of 0.26 g/t gold (and 1.39 million ounces at a cutoff grade of 0.5 g/t gold), there still is plenty of exploration potential. Not just at the Sturec main zone where the mineralization seems to continue to the north and south along strike, but there are plenty of targets in the close vicinity to the main zone and the existing resource will undoubtedly be expanded as the June 2021 updated resource incorporates just the very first drill program since acquiring the project.
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