IG Asia Drilling Intersects Promising Copper-Molybdenum Intervals in Kazakhstan
CHARLESTOWN, Saint Kitts and Nevis – IG ASIA LLC, a private company based in Nevis, has announced encouraging results from its delineation drilling program at the Uzhnaya Ploshchad (Southern Area) Prospect. The prospect is situated within the Pribrezhniy project license area in Kazakhstan and forms part of a clustered porphyry copper system located outside the known Pribrezhniy Copper Deposit.
Strategic Location and Historical Context
Uzhnaya Ploshchad is positioned approximately 5–10 kilometers east of the depleted Kounrad Cu/Au/Mo mine. Historically, Kounrad hosted a pre-mining resource of 800 million tonnes at 0.62% copper. Currently, Central Asia Metals Ltd operates an SX-EW plant at Kounrad, recovering copper from old waste dumps in a low-cost, highly profitable production setup.
Drilling Program Overview
The 10-hole infill and delineation drilling program was conducted between February and March 2026. It aimed to confirm the continuity of previously identified mineralization at Uzhnaya Ploshchad and define higher-grade zones similar to those intersected in drill hole UPL2402, which recorded 50 meters at 1.16% copper equivalent in the fall of 2024.
Key Drilling Highlights
- Hole UPL2609: 1% copper equivalent over 77 meters (19–96m) and 0.38% copper equivalent over 83 meters (130–213m).
- Hole UPL2610: 0.36% copper equivalent over 249 meters (entire hole), including 166.5 meters at 0.41% copper and 203 ppm molybdenum (0.51% copper equivalent).
- Hole UPL2606: 0.28% copper over 197.3 meters (entire hole, 0.39% copper equivalent), including 95.5 meters at 0.33% copper and 368 ppm molybdenum (0.52% copper equivalent).
- Hole UPL2601: 0.26% copper over 166.3 meters (entire hole, 0.29% copper equivalent), including 104 meters at 0.33% copper and 81 ppm molybdenum (0.37% copper equivalent).
Exploration Findings and Geological Insights
The February-March 2026 exploration drilling program focused on evaluating the potential for additional copper-molybdenum mineralization, with possible gold and silver porphyry mineralization at the Uzhnaya Ploshchad Prospect. The program involved drilling ten holes, totaling 1,607 meters, to test the continuity of Cu/Mo mineralization identified during first-pass campaigns in 2024-2025.
Results indicate the presence of Cu/Mo mineralization, grading ≥0.25% copper across 6 out of 10 drill holes. The mineralization is hosted in hydrothermal, magmatic, and tourmaline breccias, as well as granodiorite and quartz diorite porphyries. Several higher-grade intersections were identified, providing strong support for further exploration programs to define the intersected mineralization and discover additional mineral systems.
Significant Mineralized Intervals and Geological Structure
Drilling identified significant mineralized intervals, up to 166.5 meters in length, grading from 0.25% to 0.79% copper and 45-397 ppm molybdenum (0.27%-1% copper equivalent). The oxide zone ranges from 19 to 40 meters in thickness from the surface and is underlain by a copper sulfide zone hosted within hydrothermally altered breccias, granodiorite, and quartz diorite porphyries.
Future Exploration Potential
The mineralized system remains open to the north, south, and west, with further drilling planned to test and confirm extensions in these directions. These findings suggest an excellent opportunity for expanding the already identified resources within the Pribrezhniy Project License, highlighting the prospect's potential as a significant copper-molybdenum deposit in the region.
