Aim-listed Rome Resources says assay results from drill hole MADD018 at its Mont Agoma prospect in the Democratic Republic of Congo have confirmed a 62.25 m cumulative higher-grade zone at 0.61% copper within a broader 148 m intercept averaging 0.35% copper.

Recent drilling has identified visible tin across a 40 m interval in hole MADD024 and an associated visible copper zone totalling 179 m.

MADD024 is about 70 m beneath the earlier hole MADD012, which reported an about-40-m-wide zone of tin with zones of tin grading at between 0.1% and 0.3% tin.

Rome Resources is still awaiting the assay results for MADD024 from the lab; however, it says the visuals and Niton X-ray fluorescence readings suggest that tin grade is increasing with depth, demonstrating proof of the company’s suggested geological model and supporting its strategy of drilling deeper to assess the tin mineralisation.

Previous drilling at Mont Agoma has returned significant results.

The scale and continuity of the tin, copper, zinc and silver mineralisation identified within the broad 200-m-wide mineralised corridor is aligned with the company’s board of directors’ view that Mont Agoma hosts a robust polymetallic mineralised system in which copper and zinc dominate the shallow, near surface levels and that tin mineralisation identified within broad zones increases at depth.

With mineralisation remaining open along strike and at depth, these intercepts provide a strong foundation for continued deeper drilling to define the full extent of this growing discovery, Rome Resources avers.

The company has also started metallurgical discussions with industry specialists to seek to ensure maximum recoveries of all commodities identified at Mont Agoma and Kalayi.

“The confirmation of 148 m of copper mineralisation at Mont Agoma is a major milestone in defining the potential scale of this system. These results demonstrate that Mont Agoma hosts a large-scale, high-value copper/tin/zinc/silver system, where copper and zinc dominate at shallower near-surface levels and tin grades strengthen at depth – exactly the zonation model we are targeting,” CEO Paul Barrett highlights.

“Importantly, mineralisation remains open along strike and at depth, with extensions of 1 000 m northward providing further potential upside for scale. Whilst it is still early days and we need to receive the assays back from the lab for MAD0024, early indications seem very encouraging in proving up our understanding of the geological model,” he adds.

Barrett says that, with all four drill rigs now focused at Mont Agoma, the company is accelerating exploration efforts, with next steps including exploring deeper to assess increasing tin grades and ongoing strike extension drilling continuing strike extension drilling.

“This expanded drill programme will drive continuous results, delivering a steady stream of newsflow as we work towards defining a major copper/tin system. As we advance, we are making excellent progress towards a maiden inferred mineral resource estimate,” he says.