Lode reveals a new high-grade tin-copper zone at Montezuma
Lode Resources has identified a new polymetallic lode at its Montezuma project in Tasmania, with a narrow interval returning exceptional tin, copper, silver, antimony, gold and lead grades. Three further mineralised zones from the same hole remain awaiting assays, while follow-up drilling is already underway.
- 0.5m at 7.3% tin and 6.8% copper in new Moores Lode
- High-grade interval also returned 863g/t silver and 1.8g/t gold
- MZS43 intersected four mineralised lodes in a single hole
- Assays remain pending for further Montezuma and Maestries zones
- MZS44 is drilling below the new discovery
New Moores Lode delivers exceptional polymetallic grades
A single half-metre interval has opened a new chapter in Lode Resources Ltd’s (ASX:LDR) Montezuma story. Drillhole MZS43 returned 0.5m at 7.3% tin, 6.8% copper, 863g/t silver, 1.8g/t gold, 2.1% antimony and 4.0% lead from the newly identified Moores Lode.
The broader 1.0m downhole interval averaged 437g/t silver, 3.7% tin, 3.4% copper, 1.2% antimony, 1.2g/t gold and 2.4% lead. Lode describes Moores as a hanging-wall fissure lode, positioned about 60 metres east of the established Montezuma Lode and carrying similar sulphide mineralisation.
The result is notable for its commodity mix, but the width matters just as much as the headline grades. At this stage, the discovery is based on a narrow intercept and does not establish a resource, economic significance or continuity. Those questions now move to the next holes.
One hole intersects four mineralised lodes
MZS43 was drilled from the eastern, or hanging-wall, side of the Montezuma resource and intersected four separate mineralised zones: the new tin-copper-silver Moores Lode, the existing silver-antimony Montezuma Lode, and two lead-zinc-silver replacement lodes in the Maestries Conglomerate.
Assays are still pending for the other mineralised zones. Geological logging identified two Montezuma Lode intercepts at 220.4-221.5 metres and 237.3-238.1 metres, together with Maestries replacement mineralisation over 2.2 metres and a broader 15.4-metre zone. The latter includes massive sphalerite-galena sections of 0.7 metres and 5.7 metres, although visual observations are not a substitute for laboratory assays.
Follow-up drilling targets scale and continuity
Lode says hole MZS44 is in progress directly below MZS43, while additional holes from the same collar position are planned to test the southern extension of the Montezuma Lode, the Maestries replacement system and the new Moores Lode. The company is also continuing exploration at the Fahlore, Silver Cliffs and Persic high-grade silver-antimony prospects.
Montezuma currently carries a maiden 8.2 million ounce silver-equivalent resource at 533g/t AgEq, based on a 200g/t AgEq cut-off. Lode’s Managing Director Keith Mayes said the new result represented the company’s highest tin and copper grades at Montezuma and said the newly identified zones could potentially enhance the project’s size and economics. That remains a company assessment rather than an updated resource or development outcome.
The immediate test is whether the Moores Lode repeats beyond this first high-grade window, and whether the pending assays add meaningful scale to the existing resource. Metallurgical work is also continuing, including testing for tin and gold recovery, which are not included in Lode’s current silver-equivalent calculation.
Bottom Line?
The discovery adds an unusually rich tin-copper dimension to Montezuma, but its investment significance will depend on continuity, width, pending assays and eventual metallurgical results.
Questions in the middle?
- Do assays from the remaining MZS43 zones expand the known resource footprint?
- Can MZS44 demonstrate continuity and usable widths for the Moores Lode?
- How will tin and gold recoveries affect future Montezuma economic studies?
