Alma Metals has intersected 383.8 metres at 0.25% copper from just 10.2 metres at its Briggs project, including a higher-grade 76.7-metre zone at 0.34%. The result supports the company’s effort to upgrade parts of the resource ahead of a pre-feasibility study, although the intersection remains a downhole measurement and ended in mineralisation.
- 383.8m at 0.25% copper from 10.2m
- 76.7m at 0.34% copper near the intrusive contact
- Results consistent with the current resource block model
- Around 3,600m completed across 10 infill holes
- Four exploration holes planned west of the existing resource
Broad copper intersection strengthens Briggs resource upgrade
Alma Metals Limited (ASX:ALM) has returned one of its broadest reported copper intersections from the 2026 Briggs infill program, with hole 26BRD0042 carrying 383.8 metres at 0.25% copper from 10.2 metres. The hole also produced a 76.7-metre interval at 0.34% copper from 146.3 metres, placing the stronger mineralisation close to the contact between the porphyritic intrusive core and surrounding volcanic-sediments.
The result is important less as a standalone discovery than as a test of the existing geological model. Alma said the assays are consistent with the current Mineral Resource Estimate block model and support the intended conversion of Inferred Resources to the Indicated category. That classification work is being undertaken to support the first half of a potential mining operation in the company’s pre-feasibility study.
Higher-grade zone follows northern intrusive contact
Mineralisation continued through much of the 394-metre hole, with further intervals including 20 metres at 0.31% copper and 72.45 metres at 0.28% copper. The strongest short interval was 14 metres at 0.38% copper from 371 metres, with associated molybdenum of 35 parts per million and silver of 1.13 parts per million.
Alma said limited 2023 drilling in the area returned similar copper grades in holes on either side of 26BRD0042, indicating continuity along about 200 metres of strike. Managing Director Dr Frazer Tabeart described the higher-grade zone as following the intrusive contact in a “consistent and predictable pattern” and said further northwest drilling was planned later in 2026. The company’s interpretation is geological rather than an economic conclusion, and the reported intervals are downhole lengths that may not represent true widths.
Infill drilling advances while exploration expands west
The broader infill campaign has now drilled about 3,600 metres across 10 completed holes within an 80-hole program designed to tighten coverage across the Briggs resource. Drilling is scheduled to continue through the end of the year, with assays to feed into a future resource update. Hole 26BRD0042 ended in moderate-grade copper mineralisation at its planned depth, so the full extent of mineralisation below the hole has not been established.
Alma is also planning four exploration holes totalling about 1,250 metres west of the current resource, where surface copper anomalism extends beyond the existing MRE. Further work planned for the project includes metallurgical testing of copper and molybdenum recovery, evaluation of coarse-particle flotation and assessment of a potential molybdenum circuit. The company also expects to undertake geotechnical and environmental baseline work as the pre-feasibility study progresses.
Resource conversion remains the next test
The next material question is whether repeated drilling can convert the model’s geological continuity into a larger Indicated resource with sufficient confidence for mine planning. Alma has outlined a further 35 holes totalling about 17,500 metres in the first half of 2027 to address much of the remaining Inferred resource, alongside an eventual updated MRE and engineering work for the study.
Bottom Line?
The assay supports Briggs’ existing model, but the investment case still depends on resource conversion, metallurgy and the economics that follow the drilling.
Questions in the middle?
- How much of the broader Briggs resource can be converted from Inferred to Indicated classification?
- Will the higher-grade contact zone continue beyond the approximately 200 metres of strike defined so far?
- Can metallurgical and engineering studies turn broad, relatively low-grade mineralisation into a viable mine plan?