Variscan Mines is pleased to announce the acquisition of 146 historic drillhole records totaling 52,034 meters across its newly granted licenses in northern Spain, delivering multiple high-grade zinc and lead intercepts that strengthen the Company’s Novales-Udías Project pipeline.
Highlights
- 146 historic drillholes for 52,034 m acquired, adding significant scale and high-grade zinc (Zn) and lead (Pb) results.
- Outstanding results from the Hipólita licence over the footprint of the world-class Reocín Mine, including:
- 24.0 m @ 12.3 % Zn, 0.4 % Pb (S-10)
- 20.9 m @ 14.0 % Zn, 0.8 % Pb (S-457)
- 17.6 m @ 14.7 % Zn, 0.7 % Pb (S-414)
- 9.5 m @ 24.7 % Zn, 1.2 % Pb (S-17)
- 2.7 m @ 36.3 % Zn, 2.2 % Pb (S-6)
- 12.5 m @ 7.0 % Zn, 0.4 % Pb (S-89)
- Additional significant intercepts at the Esperanza and Ana Isabel licenses , including:
- 15.0 m @ 6.4 % Zn (S-21) and 6.0 m @ 9.6 % Zn (S-21)
- 10.8 m @ 4.4 % Zn (S-163)
- 12.0 m @ 3.5 % Zn and 5.8 m @ 6.0 % Zn (S-162)
- 7.1 m @ 5.6 % Zn and 3.2 m @ 8.1 % Zn (S-161)
- Drilling data represents a replacement value of ~A$12.9 million, delivering a substantial time and cost saving.
- Expands the project drilling database to 1,221 drillholes for 138,570 meters.
- Mineralization identified lies outside the current Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE), highlighting the potential to grow resources and underpin a district-scale development strategy.
Strategic Significance
The historic drilling, sourced from the University of Cantabria archives, reinforces the scale of the Novales-Udías Project. The Hipólita licence, which hosts 90 of the 146 drillholes, indicates potential unmined extensions to the Reocín Mine – Spain’s largest known carbonate-hosted zinc-lead deposit and one of the world’s richest Mississippi Valley Type (MVT) deposits.
Reocín ceased operations in 2003 when zinc traded at ~US$791/t. With zinc now averaging ~US$2,789/t (August 2025), the high-grade nature of the mineralization positions Variscan to unlock a compelling brownfield growth opportunity with near-term production potential at San Jose and district-scale upside.
Comment from the Managing Director & CEO
“The acquisition of this historical drilling data is very valuable. It represents a significant saving in both time and cost. The replacement value of this drilling is estimated to be A$12.9 million. More importantly, the drilling emphazises the high-grade quality and district-scale potential of the Novales-Udias Project.
As the drilling reported is outside of the current Mineral Resource Estimate, there is genuine potential to add significant tonnage and scale to this high-quality project. It is a compelling de-risked, brownfield opportunity with a realistic prospect of near-term production building in scale over the mid-long term.
We are delivering on our clear strategy to unlock value via re-starting production and exploration at one of the highest-grade, development stage zinc deposits in Europe, which is continuing to produce excellent results and make substantial progress.”
— Stewart Dickson, Managing Director & CEO
Next Steps
Upcoming milestones for Variscan include:
- Additional assay results from underground drilling at the Udias Mine.
- Metallurgical and geotechnical test work for inclusion in the Mine Re-Start (Scoping) Study.
- Publication of the Mine Re-Start (Scoping) Study.