The Novales-Udias Project
Through the acquisition of the Novales-Udias Project, Variscan is targeting a near term zinc production opportunity across this large tenement holding of 68.3 km2 (including a number of granted exploitation concessions). With access and infrastructure all in place, the project is within trucking distance from the Asturias zinc smelter.
The Novales-Udias Project is located in the Basque-Cantabrian Basin (approximately 30km from the regional capital, Santander) which hosts five mineralised districts of which the Santander district hosts the Reocin Mine and the Novales-Udias Project.
The exploitation concessions acquired by Variscan cover a contiguous area of 6,830 hectares of which 5,580 was awarded via a successful tender process in 2018 and a further 1,250 hectares was acquired in 2018.
The Novales-Udias Project has relatively well documented geology, exploration data and production performance information relating to previous mining activity. Among this, the Novales Mine – with underground galleries that are accessible and stable - is the principal former mine in the tenement area. The Udias area is under-explored and has the potential for large-scale discoveries.
