The Inca Minerals Ltd (ASX: ICG) share price has risen 8% today and is up 430% this year after the company released its sixth mineral and drilling update this month.
Inca's gains today are based on a new report showing that the potential worth of its recent minerals project acquisition in the Northern Territory, titled Frewena Project, have been upgraded.
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Inca share price rises as reports enhance Frewena prospectivity
Inca announced today that additional data from a recent drill program has considerably enhanced the prospectivity of iron oxide copper gold ore (IOCG) deposits in the Northern Territory area fully enclosed by Frewena's exploration licences.
Geological, structural, alteration and mineralisation indicators in one of the holes that Inca operates in the area suggest the presence of IOCG-style mineralisation. Copper mineralisation, (chalcopyrite and bornite), increases from 250 metre depth and is open at the end of one of these holes.
The recent high-resolution core photography performed in the area further reveals the widespread nature of alteration, structural deformation, veining, haematite and sulphides in the same drill hole.
The company outlined why these results, partly exposed due to government logging of the area, are so encouraging from an exploration standpoint.
The occurrence of hydrothermal alteration and sulphides, especially ore-forming copper sulphides, over a 326.8m down-hole interval is very encouraging. Importantly, the visually government-logged copper mineralisation remains strong at EOH, meaning the mineralisation as it is currently understood is open in all directions," its ASX announcement read.
It is also most encouraging seeing bornite in the core and noting that its abundance appears to increase with depth. Bornite is a high-grade copper sulphide and generally forms in the hotter parts of a mineralised system and towards where one would expect to find potential higher grade ore.
Inca share price gains reflect breakthrough month
The Inca share price's 430% rise over the past year has beaten the basic materials sector by 379% and the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) by 390% after positive developments in its drilling programs in Peru and its acquisition of iron-copper-gold mineralisation project Frewena in the Northern Territory.
The small-cap company has a current market capitalisation of $41 million and a share price of 10 cents, ranking it 337 in the basic materials sector.
Its plethora of announcements this month signpost a breakthrough period for the company, which was only valued at 0.019 cents per share in July 2020. Inca's focus remains the exploration at its flagship Riqueza Project in Peru.
