The DevEx Resources Ltd (ASX: DEV) share price is soaring to an all-time high. This comes despite the mining exploration company not providing any new announcements to the market today.
During afternoon trade, DevEx shares are swapping hands for 55.5 cents, up 20.65%. It's worth noting that its shares have gained an astonishing 79% over the past week.
What's driving DevEx shares higher?
A possible catalyst for the strong gains appears to be on the back of last week's positive update.
According to a company announcement, DevEx advised it completed initial diamond drilling at the Sovereign Nickel-Copper-PGE Project at the Julimar Province in Western Australia.
The first two stratigraphic diamond drill-holes intersected a thick intrusive sequence of metamorphosed gabbronorite, norite and ultramafic rocks. The discovery exceeded the company's expectations, which led investors to snap up DevEx shares in the days between.
Both diamond drill holes are currently being logged in detail, while sampling of the core analysis is unerway. Should the geological observations be confirmed, the official results could further accelerate the DevEx share price.
DevEx managing director Brendan Bradley commented:
We are methodically ticking the boxes towards what we all hope will be a game-changing discovery at Sovereign. The outcomes of these two widely-spaced stratigraphic holes have exceeded our expectations and given us confidence that we are very much on the right track with our exploration approach.
Down-hole electromagnetics (EM) is scheduled to survey both diamond holes later this month. Further diamond drilling is also planned to test the intrusion, with the diamond rig available next month to continue drilling.
The survey is anticipated to take a number of months to complete, given the scale of the defined intrusion.
DevEx share price recap
2021 saw the DevEx share price trade sideways until May and June. The company's gold and copper assays at its Junee Project in New South Wales excited investors at the time.
However, a sharp fall from June came on the back of profit-taking after DevEx shares reached a previous record high of 53 cents. Since then, its shares have zoomed upwards, reflecting positive investor sentiment.
DevEx has a market capitalisation of around $166 million, with more than 307 million shares on its books.
