Nevsun Resources (TSE:NSU NYSEMKT:NSU) Timok copper project continues to boost the stock of the Vancouver-based company with a 5% jump on Wednesday following the latest set of drilling results from the Serbian property.
By the close in New York, Nevsun shares changed hands at $3.30, up 4.8% on the day, and in after hours trade investors continued to chase the counter higher affording it a market capitalization of $987 million. Nevsun is up 21.8% in value this year.
Nevsun highlighted new assay results from on-going drilling of the super high-grade Upper Zone at Timok, part of 50,000 metres $40 million program through 2017:
Drilling continues to confirm continuity and the high-grade nature of the Upper ZoneNew massive and semi-massive sulphide intersections include:TC160121: 182.3m @ 4.17% Cu, 4.80g/t Au, including 40.5m @ 11.61% Cu, 12.9g/t AuTC160119: 86.2m @ 9.47% Cu, 8.83g/t Au, including 46.5m @ 15.61% Cu, 11.29g/t AuTC160117: 98.8m @ 9.82% Cu, 8.86g/t Au, including 33.0m @ 20.04% Cu, 14.35g/t AuTC160114: 171.0m @ 4.94% Cu, 5.21g/t Au, including 10.5m @ 11.09% Cu, 17.82g/t Au and 24.0m @ 10.27% Cu, 6.71g/t Au, and 7.5m @ 7.88% Cu, 3.78g/t AuAdditional 18,500m of drilling in progress to further improve confidence in the resourceNevsun CEO, Cliff Davis said the assays represent about 25% of the planned in-fill drilling designed to confirm and upgrade the resource of the Upper Zone mineralization and that the pre-feasibility study scheduled for September 2017 is "progressing well":
"Recent meetings with both the Prime Minister of Serbia and the Minister of Mines and Energy have demonstrated the State's very strong support for international investment and in particular, the development of the Timok Project."
The Upper Zone at Timok, located in the eastern part of the Eastern European country near the Bor mining and smelting complex, boasts copper and gold content consisting of 1.7 million tonnes of indicated resource grading 13.5% copper and 10.4 g/t gold and 35.0 million tonnes of inferred resource grading 2.9% copper and 1.7 g/t gold.
Nevsun completed a takeover of Reservoir Minerals in June in a $440 million cash and shares deal which provided the companies 100% ownership in the upper zone of Timok, which had previously been owned by Reservoir and Freeport McMoRan. Nevsun shareholders own two-thirds of the combined company.
Nevsun and joint venture partner Freeport is also undertaking a $20 million drill program at the Lower Zone at Timok which is characterized by porphyry-style mineralization.
Nevsun's sole operating mine is the Bisha complex in Eritrea. Nevsun owns 60% (the Eritrean government owns the rest) of the $250 million Bisha mine which started operations as a gold-silver producer in 2010. Three years later Bisha underwent a $110 million expansion to switch to copper concentrate production from supergene ore.
This year the company pivoted again to expand flotation capacity to produce zinc concentrate with shipments starting in September. Zinc is the best performing metal this year with a 70% jump in price in 2016 to $2,760 a tonne, near levels last seen in 2008.