Minrex Hits 36m at 5.85g/t Gold in Zone Previously Mapped as Low Grade
Key Takeaways
- Five of nine diamond holes in Barje's central corridor — previously modelled as low-grade fill — returned the widest and highest-grade intersections ever drilled at the deposit, with BAR046 delivering 36m at 5.85 g/t AuEq including 4.2m at 15.67 g/t AuEq.
- BAR050 hit 17.5m at 5.22 g/t AuEq from just 14.4m depth, with a sub-interval carrying 295.4 g/t silver, confirming high-grade mineralisation within metres of surface in the most accessible ground in the pit.
- The results suggest Barje's eastern and western high-grade zones are not separate bodies but a single connected system — a structural reclassification with direct implications for strip ratio, head grades, and unit costs.
- None of the central-zone high-grade continuity is captured in the existing 2021 NI 43-101 foreign estimate of 670,000 oz AuEq, meaning the maiden JORC Resource Estimate — scheduled for next quarter — could materially reset the resource picture.
- 15 holes (BAR052–BAR066) have been drilled with assays still pending, and the rig remains on site testing strike extensions, leaving a substantial pipeline of near-term catalysts ahead.
Record intercepts rewrite the Barje deposit model
Drilling is supposed to confirm what geologists already expect. At Barje, it just did the opposite.
Minrex Resources (ASX: MRR) has reported assay results from nine diamond holes completed through the central zone of the Barje Deposit at its Tlamino Gold-Silver Project in Serbia. The central corridor was modelled as a low-grade saddle sitting between two established high-grade zones. Instead, five of those nine holes returned the widest and highest-grade intersections ever drilled anywhere at Barje, each materially outperforming the grades and widths the historical geological model predicted.
The significance of that contrast is hard to overstate. The 2021 Mineral Resource Estimate (a foreign estimate filed under NI 43-101 on SEDAR on 7 January 2021, and not JORC-compliant) carries that central corridor as low-grade fill. None of the high-grade continuity now established there is captured in the current model. Nine holes for 750.4 m of drilling have not merely added to what was known at Barje; they have fundamentally changed the picture of what the deposit looks like.
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Headline intercepts — the numbers that broke the records
The five standout holes are the core of the story. Each sits in ground the current resource model treats as low-grade:
- BAR046: 36 m @ 5.85 g/t AuEq from 47 m; including 4.2 m @ 15.67 g/t AuEq and 14 m @ 7.74 g/t AuEq — the widest and highest-grade intersection in the deposit’s history
- BAR050: 17.5 m @ 5.22 g/t AuEq from just 14.4 m depth; including 8.2 m @ 7.60 g/t AuEq — high-grade mineralisation within metres of surface
- BAR047: 18.3 m @ 4.87 g/t AuEq from 57.7 m; including 6.5 m @ 8.53 g/t AuEq
- BAR045: 10.2 m @ 4.16 g/t AuEq from 67 m; including 5.15 m @ 7.31 g/t AuEq
- BAR043: 24.6 m @ 2.39 g/t AuEq from 50 m; including 9.2 m @ 4.87 g/t AuEq
| Hole ID | From (m) | Interval (m) | AuEq Grade (g/t) | Notable Sub-Interval |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BAR043 | 50.0 | 24.6 | 2.39 | 9.2 m @ 4.87 g/t AuEq |
| BAR045 | 67.0 | 10.2 | 4.16 | 5.15 m @ 7.31 g/t AuEq |
| BAR046 | 47.0 | 36.0 | 5.85 | 4.2 m @ 15.67 g/t AuEq |
| BAR047 | 57.7 | 18.3 | 4.87 | 6.5 m @ 8.53 g/t AuEq |
| BAR050 | 14.4 | 17.5 | 5.22 | 8.2 m @ 7.60 g/t AuEq |
CEO Max Piirto put the result in direct terms:
Max Piirto, Chief Executive Officer
“These are the best results ever drilled at Barje and they have come from the one part of the deposit where the model told us to expect the least. Rather than the low-grade gap we were meant to find between Barje’s two high-grade zones, we have intersected the widest and highest-grade mineralisation on the project, at shallow depth and squarely in the centre of the system. BAR046 alone returned 36 metres at 5.85 g/t AuEq, wider than anything the current model carries anywhere in the deposit. The implication is a single, connected high-grade body rather than two separate zones, and it sits in the cheapest, most accessible ground in the pit. We are moving quickly to capture that upside in our maiden JORC Resource and with the rig now testing extensions along strike, there is a great deal more to come at Tlamino.”
What is AuEq and why does it matter for Barje?
The intercepts above are reported in gold equivalent, or AuEq. Understanding what that means is important for reading these results accurately.
AuEq is a single number that combines the value of all recoverable metals in an intercept — in Barje’s case, gold and silver — into a gold-equivalent grade. It allows geologists and investors to compare intercepts containing different metal mixes on a like-for-like basis. For Barje, the formula used is: Au (g/t) + 0.0136 × Ag (g/t), based on metal prices of gold at US$3,300/oz and silver at US$45/oz, with 84% metallurgical recovery applied to both metals.
Why does this matter specifically at Barje? Because silver is a meaningful contributor to total metal value here. BAR050’s best sub-interval carried 295.4 g/t silver alongside its gold grade. That silver content lifts the AuEq figure above the raw gold grade alone, and the AuEq formula is designed to reflect that additional recoverable value fairly. When you read a grade like 5.22 g/t AuEq, it is a total metal value number, not a pure gold number.
The existing resource carries a total of 670,000 oz AuEq (foreign estimate, NI 43-101 — not JORC-compliant), with a discrete high-grade breccia core of 470,000 oz at 4.7 g/t AuEq, representing roughly 70% of contained metal. These new intercepts sit within the same breccia system but in ground the model previously assigned to low-grade fill. The implication is that the high-grade breccia envelope is larger and more connected than the current model recognises.
A connected high-grade body — and what it means for mine economics
The geological implication of these four holes — BAR045, BAR046, BAR047 and BAR050 — is structural. They form a continuous line of thick, high-grade mineralisation straight across the corridor the current resource model treats as low-grade fill. That means Barje’s eastern and western high-grade zones may not be two separate bodies at all. They may be one connected system, with a high-grade core running through the centre of the deposit at shallow depth.
BAR046 is the clearest illustration. It returned 36 m of mineralisation (approximately 32 m in vertical thickness) in ground where the model had the high-grade zone thinning and pinching out. That is not a subtle refinement of the existing model; it points to significantly greater volume in the centre of the deposit than the current resource recognises.
Management has noted that this central position, if confirmed, could materially enhance mine economics. The company’s assessment identifies four specific implications:
The Barje intercepts add to a Minrex gold portfolio that was substantially reshaped by the merger with Electrum, giving the company a cluster of Serbian assets at different stages of advancement.
- Lower strip ratio — the high-grade core is shallow and centrally located, reducing waste movement per tonne of ore
- Higher head grades in early years — the richest material sits in the most accessible ground in the pit
- Persistently lower unit costs — a larger, continuous high-grade core supports cost efficiency across the full mine life
- Upside to the maiden JORC Resource — none of this central-zone continuity is captured in the current 2021 foreign estimate
It is worth being precise on that last point. The 2021 Mineral Resource Estimate is a foreign estimate reported under NI 43-101, filed on SEDAR on 7 January 2021. It is not reported in accordance with the JORC Code, and a Competent Person has not done sufficient work to classify it as a JORC Mineral Resource. The maiden JORC (2012) Mineral Resource Estimate is scheduled for next quarter, and that is what will capture — or not capture — the scale of the central-zone discovery.
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What comes next — rig on site, maiden JORC resource on the horizon
The diamond rig remains on site, currently conducting step-out drilling to test extensions along strike from Barje. Minrex is evaluating additions to the diamond programme to maximise growth and resource-category conversion of the central high-grade zone ahead of the maiden JORC (2012) Mineral Resource Estimate.
The pipeline of pending results is substantial:
- 15 holes already drilled (BAR052–BAR066) with assays still pending — further results are expected
- Two exploration diamond holes completed (BAR066 and BAR067, totalling 296.9 m), with approximately 690 m of exploration drilling still to complete
- Geological interpretation, block modelling, and the maiden JORC Resource Estimate to follow receipt of all delineation assays
- Additional Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling proposed to test extensions immediately east and west of Barje, and to the south toward the Liska prospect
The result reported here is not the end of a drilling campaign. It is one instalment in a programme that is still accelerating. Any additional holes drilled into the central high-grade zone ahead of the resource estimate would be incorporated into that maiden JORC figure. For investors, the combination of record-breaking intercepts, a reclassification of the deposit’s central corridor, and a significant volume of pending assays means Barje is a project with meaningful near-term catalysts still to come.
Minrex now holds a gold-copper portfolio across Serbia and Australia, with the Tlamino project representing the company’s most advanced Serbian asset and the primary focus of near-term resource definition work.
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