Lode Resources Ltd has intersected high-grade tin and copper mineralization in drill hole MZS43 at the Montezuma project in Western Tasmania, expanding the deposit's metal endowment with a newly identified hanging-wall lode.

Assays from the newly designated Moores Lode returned 0.5 metres grading 7.3% tin, 6.8% copper, 863 grams per tonne silver, 1.8 grams per tonne gold, 2.1% antimony, and 4.0% lead from 133.5 metres downhole. The intercept expands Montezuma's known silver-antimony profile into a multi-commodity suite incorporating tin and copper.

Drill hole MZS43 was collared on the eastern hanging-wall side of the deposit to test both the southern extension of the Montezuma silver-antimony lode and replacement-style base metal targets. The single hole intersected four separate mineralized zones, including the newly discovered Moores Lode, the Montezuma Lode, and two footwall replacement lodes.

Assay results are currently pending for the lower three mineralized intercepts in MZS43, which include a 2.2-metre interval and a 15.4-metre interval of zinc-lead-silver replacement mineralization. Follow-up drilling is already underway, with hole MZS44 currently in progress to test directly below MZS43.

The current drilling forms part of Lode Resources' broader campaign to expand upon an inaugural JORC Mineral Resource Estimate established in April 2026, which outlined 480 kilotonnes at 533 grams per tonne silver equivalent for 8.2 million ounces of silver equivalent.

The company is utilizing hanging-wall drilling configurations to simultaneously test parallel mineralized horizons situated as little as 100 metres apart. 

“The first assays from this highly mineralised lode have provided us with Montezuma's highest tin and copper grades to date. Together with extensions to the Montezuma Lode and the two replacement lodes, this drilling further demonstrates the substantial mineral endowment of the Montezuma project.”

— Keith Mayes, Managing Director

Lode Resources is targeting the completion of a Pre-Feasibility Study for Montezuma by the end of 2026, supported by ongoing metallurgical testwork, mining studies, and resource growth drilling. Pending assay results for the remainder of hole MZS43 are anticipated approximately one month following sample delivery to the laboratory on 19 August 2026.

Read the full announcement: High Grade Tin & Copper Discovery at Montezuma