Unico Silver Ltd (ASX: USL) shares are breaking records again on Wednesday.
In morning trade, the ASX silver stock is up 9% to a record high of 99 cents.
This means its shares are now up almost 400% over the past 12 months.
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Why is this ASX silver stock hitting a new record high?
Investors have been fighting to get hold of the silver miner's shares following the release of a drilling update from the 100%-owned Joaquin Project in Santa Cruz, Argentina.
According to the release, Unico Silver has released assay results for a further 31 drill holes totalling 4,478 metres of drilling. This brings total reported assays since drilling commenced in September to 91 holes covering 14,594 metres.
The ASX silver stock highlights that this forms part of a 30,000 metre drill program. It is focused on regional exploration and new discoveries, and the delineation of high-confidence, pit-constrained, free-milling silver ounces at Joaquin.
Drilling results
As you might have guessed from the investor reaction, the results from this latest drilling were positive.
The company notes that infill and extensional drilling at La Negra SE confirms that there is a broad, shallow zone of oxide silver-gold mineralisation over 850 metres strike and 175 metres vertical extent. It remains open to the south-east and at depth.
Positively, the true thickness ranges from 15 metres to 75 metres, which is supportive of bulk open pit mining potential.
What's next?
It shouldn't be long until there are more results to run the rule over. Drilling resumed on 5 January and includes three diamond rigs and one reverse circulation (RC) rig. At La Negra SE, infill drilling on a 50 metres by 25 metres grid is nearing completion with eight holes remaining to support a high confidence indicated resource.
Based on timing and new results, the ASX silver stock advised that it will proceed directly to a pre-feasibility study (PFS)-level mineral resource estimate (MRE), covering La Negra, La Negra SE, and La Morocha.
The company's managing director, Todd Williams, was pleased with the news. He said:
Infill drilling at La Negra SE continues to deliver wide, shallow zones of oxide silver-gold mineralisation with excellent continuity across the full 850-metre strike length. These results confirm the scale and geometry required for conventional open-pit development and support our decision to move directly to a Pre-Feasibility Study Mineral Resource Estimate.
With infill drilling nearing completion, geotechnical and comminution programs already underway, and three key prospects – La Negra, La Negra SE and La Morocha – advancing to Indicated Resource status, Joaquin is rapidly transitioning from exploration to development while remaining open to further growth.
