Leviathan Gold Ltd. [TSXV: LVX; Germany: 0GP] reported the start of a first phase of shallow mechanical trenching with the objective of defining near-term drill targets at the company’s Foča Project in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. This program directly follows the successful completion of the first phase of an induced polarization and electrical resistivity survey at the company’s Vrela Prospect and will take place upslope from an area of very high-grade silver, lead and zinc in float samples collected by the Company in 2024.
The induced polarization and electrical resistivity survey, consisting of 1,900 metres of line data, has revealed a clear, chargeable feature approximately 75-100 metres in width across two survey lines coincident with a prominent ENE-WSW trending system of faults, itself coincident with zinc and lead anomalism in soil samples observable along a 2-km trend. This fault, identified on government geological survey maps at a scale of 1:100,000, and further understood by Leviathan’s field team, is thought to represent a conduit for underlying base and precious metal mineralization of Mississippi Valley Type or SEDEX affinity.
Similar trenching will also be carried out over further targets identified on the basis of soil, rock-chip geochemistry and field mapping by Leviathan geologists, and will be reported on accordingly. The company also intends to expand geophysical survey coverage along strike of the broader Vrela structure and coincident geochemical anomaly in the investigation of a potentially broader mineralizing system.
The company confirms that renewal of its 100%-owned Marevo Exploration License by the Ministry of Energy and Mines of Republika Srpska has been effected.
Leviathan CEO, Luke Norman, remarked: “We are very pleased to commence our trenching program at Vrela as the next step in uncovering the source of high-grade zinc, lead and silver mineralization identified in rock chip samples last summer – and demonstrating the presence of a robust mineral system. This program is reinforced by results of our recent IP and electrical resistivity survey, which show a clear chargeable feature approximately 75-100 metres in width coincident with a prominent ENE-WSW trending system of faults originally mapped by Yugoslav state geologists over a distance of over 2 km, thought to represent a conduit for underlying Mississippi Valley Type or SEDEX mineralization.
“We are equally pleased by the very prompt renewal of the Marevo Exploration License by the Ministry of Energy and Mines of Republika Srpska, furthering our confidence in Republika Srpska as an investment destination.”
The Foča project covers 100.7 km2 across three active exploration licenses, includes a series of silver and base metal targets tentatively considered to be of Mississippi Valley Type or SEDEX origin, and lies approximately 100 km south of the Vareš project of Adriatic Metals plc.
Vareš hosts Indicated Mineral Resources of 18.3 Mt at 168 g/t Ag, 1.3 g/t Au, 4.6% Zn, 2.9% Pb, 0.4% Cu and 30% BaSO4 and Inferred Mineral Resources of 2.8 Mt at 75 g/t Ag, 0.5 g/t Au, 2.4% Zn, 1.6% Pb, 0.2% Cu and 13% BaSO4 in rocks of closely comparable age and host lithology to those at Foča – within the so-called Central Dinaride metallogenic zone of the Western Tethyan Belt.
Key targets at Foča presently include the Vrela Prospect: records of Yugoslav-era drilling completed in 1967 present an average mineralized thickness of 15 metres at a grade of 13.25% Pb+Zn over three diamond drill holes at Vrela, without any Ag or Cu assay records.
While original copies of historic reports have been inspected by Leviathan, the constituent drill hole logs and assays are unavailable. Recent rock chip sampling by OC44 and FMC in the area of historic drilling returned grades of up to 347 g/t Ag, 10.1% Pb and 40% Zn from field exposures and mineralized float subsequently visited by Leviathan personnel. Soil sampling completed by FMC in summer 2024 at a spacing of approximately 200 metres by 100 metres defined a highly coherent Pb and Zn anomaly extending for over 2 km northeast of the area of historic drilling, and high-grade rock chip samples, suggesting that the mineralization identified in exposure and in historic drilling has potential to manifest itself at a far greater scale.
Limited follow up investigation within this area yielded rock chip results of up to 40 g/t Ag, 2.6% Pb and 11.2% Zn approximately 1.6 km along trend from the area of historic drilling at Kreminsko Brdo.
East and south of Vrela, occurrences of limonitic, sideritic and ankeritic limestones, containing variable components of galena, sphalerite and chalcopyrite are also recorded by Kulenović and Ramović including – amongst others – Kozja Luka, Putojevići, Selište and Lisičine, which provide further context to the potential extent of mineralization.
The Barice Prospect: OC44 and FMC identified massive sulphide mineralization in mineralized float and outcrop, with rock chip assays returning grades of up to 4.48% Cu, 110 g/t Ag, 30.2% Pb and 6.45% Zn within a coherent, southeast trending Pb, Zn and Cu soil anomaly over a strike of approximately 500 metres and a width of up to 200 metres. Photographs of massive galena boulders discovered at Barice.
Changes to the Law on Geological Exploration in Republika Srpska, which came into force on July 24, 2024, are viewed by the company as mining friendly, and consistent with the legal provisions of other leading international mining jurisdictions.
