The Azure Minerals Limited (ASX: AZS) share price is up 44% today to 52 cents per share. This follows the company's ASX announcement this morning on the drilling program at its Andover project in the West Pilbara region of Western Australia.
Azure shareholders are no strangers to big share price swings in both directions. On 12 October, Azure's share price surged 70% in intraday trading after the company emerged from a trading halt to announce the results of its first drill hole at Andover.
Today's gains have sent Azure's share price up 271% year-to-date. By comparison the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is down 4% so far in 2020.
What does Azure Minerals do?
Azure Minerals is a minerals explorer primarily focused on its portfolio of projects in Mexico, though it's the Western Australia project that's currently exciting investors. The company's flagship project is the Oposura project, containing zinc, lead and silver resources. It's situated in the northern Mexican state of Sonora.
The company also undertakes early-stage exploration for new greenfield prospects, and partners with major resource companies to develop projects with the potential for large-scale, long-life mining operations.
What did Azure announce to send the share price up 44% today?
In this morning's announcement to the ASX, Azure Minerals reported that assays from the first 2 drill holes of its maiden drilling program at its Andover Project in Western Australia confirmed the presence of high-grade nickel-copper mineralisation.
Assays from the third hole are pending. And Azure reported its fourth drill hole – testing a new target zone defined by a strong electromagnetic conductor – is close to complete.
Azure owns 60% of the project and Creasy Group owns the other 40%.
Commenting on the results, Azure's managing director Tony Rovira said:
With assays confirming that the massive and semi-massive sulphides seen visually in the first 2 drill holes contain high grades of nickel and copper, and with our third hole intersecting similar looking sulphide mineralisation, the Andover Ni-Cu Project is swiftly confirming our confidence in its potential to host a substantial Ni-Cu deposit.
Noting the the company is still at an early stage of exploration, Rovira added, "With additional success, there is potential here for a sizeable nickel and copper deposit typical of other layered mafic-ultramafic-hosted nickel-copper deposits in Western Australia."
With the results from Azure's third and fourth drill holes still pending, the Azure share price is one to keep an eye on.
