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Zeus North America Mining (CSE: ZEUS) reported rock grab samples grading as high as 7,300 grams silver per tonne and 4.25% copper at its Great Western property in eastern Idaho.

A recent look at 2021 survey data from APEX Geoscience found five samples with bonanza silver grades. It also identified six samples with high copper content from the 38-claim site in the southern Lemhi Range.

“The Great Western property hasn’t seen any modern-day exploration since the industry’s understanding of carbonate replacement deposits has vastly improved,” president and CEO Dean Besserer said in a Friday release.

Management wants to explore the potential for an unrecognized igneous source at depth, Besserer said.

Zeus’ project is one of several in the western state where various metals, especially silver have been mined for decades. Idaho’s west hosts the Silver Valley, where Idaho Strategic Resources’ (NYSE: IDR), Hecla Mining (NYSE: HL) Bunker Hill Mining (CSE: BNKR), and Americas Gold and Silver (TSX: USA; NYSE-AM: USAS) all have producing operations.

Zeus shares opened the day up 8% at C$0.205 per share before dropping back to the prior-day close at C$0.195 in early afternoon trading Friday. It has a market capitalization of C$13.2 million.

Fresh samples

Eleven grab samples collected by Zeus this season returned six grading higher than 97 grams silver and four above 0.17% copper, including values of 1,155 grams silver and 0.52% copper.

The company plans a ground geophysical program this year to test for an igneous or porphyry source at depth. Zeus is to launch a 12,000-metre drill campaign with a C$6.6 million budget and fixed drilling rates to limit budget risk, it said.

The program aims to expand the central Leviathan porphyry. It will use fences spaced 200 meters apart to reach the Grade Creek and Southern Flats zones. Also, it will test ideas for new porphyry centres in the Eastern Block and Western Deeps. Drilling will be oriented northwest for the first time to improve consistency and hit rate in southeast-dipping mineralization, the company said.

A joint induced polarization and magnetotellurics survey starts on May 1 to expand deep geophysical coverage across the expanded land package.

Flagship asset

Zeus is looking for permits to drill at its main Cuddy Mountain project. Here, surveys of soil, rock and geophysics show an area of 9 sq km copper-molybdenum anomaly next to Hercules Metals’ (TSXV: BIG) Leviathan discovery in western Idaho.