Borralha is a structural project covering an area of 3.2 square kilometers. Credit: Critical Allies
Allied Critical Metals (CSE: ACM) rose to a new high on Tuesday as early drilling results indicated widespread tungsten mineralization at its Borralha project in Portugal.
In a press release, the Canadian explorer said initial drilling has intersected more than 200 meters of tungsten mineralization at the newly identified Venice target, supporting its interpretation of a historically recognized breccia system that has never been systematically tested before.
The company said the identification of visible tungsten mineralization supports the company’s strategy to expand its resource base and enhances the potential for additional breccia-hosted mineralization within the broader project area.
“These initial results bode very well for the fully funded drilling campaign at the Boralha project,” said CEO Roy Bonnell, who noted that the Venice target could add a second breccia complex to the complex it previously discovered at Santa Helena, located just 400 meters away.
Shares of Allied Critical rose nearly 8% to a new all-time high of C$1.88 following the exercise results. Its market value is estimated at approximately 317 million Canadian dollars ($228 million).
Tungsten on an area scale
The drill results follow the release last month of a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) outlining a preliminary mine plan for the Santa Helena deposit, based on the latest resource estimate of 13 million tons grading 0.21% tungsten trioxide (WO₃) in the measured and indicated category and 7 million tons grading 0.18% WO₃ in the inferred category.
PEA envisions an 11-year mine producing 1,708 tons of WO₃ per year, with potential for expansion. Its net present value after tax is calculated as C$473 million, with an internal rate of return of 49%, assuming a discount rate of 8% and a WO₃ price of US$1,000 per cubic metre.
The Venice target, recently identified through an ongoing 20,000m drilling programme, has been excluded from the PEA mine plan. According to Allied Critical, this breccia system has historically been recognized in underground workings and documented in geological studies conducted during the 1970s and 1980s, but these areas have not been systematically tested using modern exploration methods.
A project of national importance
The company views the new target as a key part of its strategy to expand the project’s resource base and enhance the potential of the Borralha project as a region-wide tungsten system that will contribute to EU and NATO supply chains.
A former producing tungsten mine located 60 km east of Braga, the Boralha project has been approved by idD Portugal Defence, which recently classified it as a project of strategic national importance. The project is currently undergoing the environmental review process.
“We are encouraged by these early results and continue to believe that the Boralha Project is a world-class tungsten deposit with the potential to be a meaningful new source of tungsten,” Bonnell said.
The company said drilling at the property is still ongoing and progressing toward the interpreted central portion of the breccia structure.
