6.1m @ 4.16% Cu and 3.51% Ni Highlight Oval Drilling Success

Context and Significance of the Drilling Results

Asian Battery Metals PLC (ASX: AZ9) has announced the final laboratory assay results from its 2024 Phase 2 drilling campaign at the Oval Cu-Ni-PGE project, part of the company's 100%-owned Yambat mineral portfolio in Mongolia. The results confirm the presence of multiple high-grade massive sulphide intercepts within the Oval gabbroic intrusion, reinforcing the prospect's status as a promising greenfields discovery in the battery metals space.

The standout intercepts include a 6.1-metre zone grading 4.16% copper and 3.51% nickel in drillhole OVD027, and a 1.8-metre massive sulphide intercept grading 3.21% copper and 3.32% nickel in OVD026. These results sit within broader mineralised zones, indicating both high-grade continuity and the potential for significant tonnage.

Drilling Highlights and Geological Insights

Drillhole OVD027 notably confirmed the continuation of high-grade massive sulphide mineralisation first identified in OVD021, with mineralised intervals extending from 72 metres to beyond 119 metres depth. The mineralisation comprises dense disseminated, net textured, and massive sulphide styles, with appreciable cobalt and precious metals (platinum, palladium, and gold) also reported.

OVD026, located approximately 100 metres northwest of OVD021, intersected a massive sulphide zone within a broader 19.8-metre mineralised interval. The orientation data suggests the massive sulphide is nearly horizontal here, contrasting with the steeper dipping disseminated mineralisation, highlighting the complex geometry of the system.

Geophysical Surveys and Future Exploration Targets

The company’s use of downhole electromagnetic (DHEM) surveys has been instrumental in identifying multiple conductive plates within and around the Oval intrusion. Several of these plates remain untested or only partially tested, representing high-priority targets for the upcoming 2025 drilling program. The DHEM data, combined with gravity and magnetic inversion models, suggest the presence of deeper magmatic sources that could host additional high-grade mineralisation.

Asian Battery Metals plans to leverage these geophysical insights to refine drill targeting, aiming to delineate the size and metal content potential of the Oval Cu-Ni-PGE system. Broader exploration will also focus on extensions of the Oval prospect and nearby analogous targets, with drilling expected to recommence in the second quarter of 2025.

Technical and Operational Considerations

The Phase 2 drilling utilized HQ size diamond core with rigorous sampling and assay protocols, including QA/QC measures such as standards, duplicates, and blanks. Assays were conducted by ALS Laboratories in Ulaanbaatar using four-acid digestion and fire assay techniques appropriate for copper, nickel, cobalt, and precious metals.

While the intercepts are reported as downhole lengths due to the complex orientation of mineralisation relative to drillholes, the company acknowledges that true widths remain uncertain. No economic assessments or resource estimates have yet been made, reflecting the early stage of exploration.

Strategic Outlook

Managing Director Gan-Ochir Zunduisuren highlighted the exceptional grades intercepted and the broader potential of the Oval system, emphasizing the greenfields nature of the discovery. The upcoming exploration program aims to build on this momentum by targeting deeper mineralisation and expanding the known mineralised footprint.

Asian Battery Metals’ focus on critical battery metals such as copper, nickel, cobalt, and platinum group elements aligns with global energy transition demands, positioning the company to potentially contribute valuable resources to the Asian market.