WWW.RESOURCEGLOBALNETWORK.COM
MINING |Adriatic Metals
Resource Global Network
ADRIATIC METALS
Taking on two advanced stage base metals projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina
MINING |Adriatic Metals
Adriatic Metals is focused on polymetallic exploration in the highly prospective Tethyan mineral belt located in Bosnia and Herzegovina and was established through the acquisition of a company called Eastern Mining last year. Once the acquisition was completed, Adriatic went about conducting confirmation drilling at two projects – Veovaca and Rupice. These advanced stage exploration deposits form the company’s Vareš project in Bosnia and offer promising exposure to a range of base metals including zinc, lead and copper, as well as silver, gold and barite, plus significant further exploration upside. In April this year, the firm debuted on the ASX in an oversubscribed IPO, which provides Adriatic with a solid financial base from which to launch its two-pronged development strategy in Bosnia. As of today, Adriatic is the best performing metals and mining IPO on the ASX.
operations in highly mineralised zones of Kosovo, Macedonia and Serbia to name a few. However, establishing a foothold in Bosnia’s mineral exploration industry has proved difficult for foreign investors, even though a pro-mining attitude exists alongside a stable democracy which has prevailed since the end of the Bosnian War in 1995. Paul Cronin, non-executive director at Adriatic, explains how Bosnia’s unusual mining code, which provides easy access to an exploration license but no real path for converting the license into a mining concession, has prohibited exploration firms from breaking into the industry - until Adriatic’s arrival. “We did it the other way around and acquired the concession first through a tender and then we set about putting the exploration licenses over the top. Thanks to this strategy we now have a path through to production.”
First mover advantage Adriatic is one of a very few publicly listed companies that holds a mining concession in Bosnia and this first mover advantage gives the company a great opportunity to establish itself in an auspicious mining jurisdiction that has effectively been in pause mode since the conflict of the 90s.
The Balkans region of Eastern Europe is one of the world’s premier emerging
This hiatus in the development of mining
mining jurisdictions, and in recent years a
projects as a result of the Bosnian war
number of major mining firms have set up
is evident in both of Adriatic’s projects, which are located near the town of Vareš,
Resource Global Network
MINING |Adriatic Metals
Resource Global Network approximately 50 km North of the capital Sarajevo. “Veovaca is a previously operating open pit that was run by the Yugoslav government back in the 1980s and has been left untouched since the Bosnian war, while Rupice is a reasonably advanced stage exploration project where we set up gathering as much historical information as we could. “Our confirmation drilling was very successful as we were able to confirm pretty much all of the information we had,” reveals Cronin. In a quirk of luck, Adriatic stumbled across thousands of written reports while renovating an old building on one of the sites. The reports detailed around two decades of work that had been carried out in the region between the early 1970s and the early 1990s, handing the company a significant early boost. “We set about digitising that information, and coupled with the confirmation drilling, delivered a JORC resource for Veovaca and a series of very interesting drill hole logs at Rupice, which we then drilled out last year. From this we were able to confirm that the region is very heavily mineralised.” Adriatic completed a 16-hole, 1,381 metres diamond drilling programme at Veovaca in 2017, which confirmed historical results and
MINING |Adriatic Metals
Peter Bilbe
Geraint Harris
Paul Cronin
Non-executive chairman
CEO
Non-executive director
supported a JORC compliant resource of 4.4
During the winter months Adriatic took the
million tonnes (Mt) with 80% classified in the
opportunity of poor drilling conditions to
indicated category.
conduct geophysics and geochemical studies,
A geologist’s dream Meanwhile at Rupice, 17 km Northwest
which identified some fantastic anomalies over the entire concession, according to Cronin.
of Veovaca, the company completed an 8-hole, 1,458 metres diamond drilling
After a winter of geotechnical surveys,
programme, the results of which were
Adriatic moved into the summer months
deemed extraordinary by Adriatic’s board
armed with a high degree of geophysical
and management team.
anomalies to support the historical information at Rupice. Consequently, the
“Every geologist dreams of drilling through
company was able to commence a 15,000
$1,000 per tonne rock and we just drilled
metres drill campaign.
through $3,000 per tonne rock everywhere, it was quite extraordinary,” exclaims Cronin.
The campaign was divided into three phases, with the first a continuation of the
“Our first hole was 64 metres at 29% zinc
2017 programme that was centred on the
equivalent. That was great and then we
Northern end of the license. The second rig
drilled another hole that was equally as
will move to the South of the license while
mineralised. It was just a fantastic campaign
the third phase will focus on a geophysical
for us. However, the geology at Rupice is
anomaly in a ‘connector zone’ between the
complex so we needed to complete some
North and South of the license.
geophysics and geochemical work before starting a new drill campaign.”
ResourceGlobal GlobalNetwork Network Resource
Julian Barnes
Eric de Mori
Non-executive director
Non-executive director
MINING |Adriatic Metals
“Every geologist dreams of drilling through $1,000 per tonne rock and we just drilled through $3,000 per tonne rock everywhere at Rupice, it was quite extraordinary” Paul Cronin, non-executive director
“We have a very high grade but small
zone at Rupice and have been replicated in
resource at the North of Rupice and we
several ensuing drill holes including the fifth
believe that this continues to the North as
hole, which further extends the high grade
well as to the South and connects up with
mineralisation approximately 110 metres
those adits at the South of the license.
down-dip from historical hole BR-79-8.
Therefore, we think that the strike area could be over 1 km long.”
Encouraging drill results
With the Rupice project continuing to return impressive drill results this year, Adriatic has had to reconsider its pathway to production
In June, the company reported assay results
within the Vareš project. Having previously
from the first hole of the 15,000 metres
operated between 1983 and 1987, and with
programme, which included intercepts from
visual mineralisation at surface, Veovaca is
64 metres at 4.6 g/t gold, 537 g/t silver, 0.9%
ready to be mined straight away.
copper, 7.7% lead, 10.8% zinc and 46% barite. However, the plant at Veovaca needs These encouraging results confirm the
to be rebuilt and with Rupice looking so
consistency of the previously drilled Northern
prospective, Adriatic will continue to work on
Resource Global Network
the latter over the next six months, instead
“At corporate level, we will be looking at
focusing on long-lead time work at the
other similar types of acquisitions, whether
former, ahead of a scoping study later this
they are in Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia or
year.
anywhere in the Adriatic or Balkans region that we think is prospective. We will try and
“Over the next 12 months, we are really
get our hands on this type of project using
focusing on Rupice. That’s where we see the
the knowledge and the team we’ve got to try
key value being unlocked. We will also extend
and add value from those.”
our land holding in the Vareš district and try and tie up as much of the mineral belt as we can in very targeted areas that extend our licenses.
ASX:ADT
ab j
Published by Anderson Murray Media Ltd
To tell the resource market your story, contact: editorial@resourceglobalnetwork.com
WWW.RESOURCEGLOBALNETWORK.COM