The main ore horizon was intersected between 210.34m and 225.23m for 14.9m grading at 14.35% zinc, 6.07% lead and 5.6 grams per tonne silver, the company said.

An upper ore horizon was intersected between 194.6m and 197.67m for 3.1m assaying 4.33% zinc, 1.77% lead and 4.5gpt silver.

“At these grades, a mine would produce about US$200-300 per tonne of dirt compared with $40-60 for most gold mines,” said Herald executive director, Michael Wright.

“It’s roughly equivalent to a gold grade of 20gpt.”

However, with civil unrest increasing in Indonesia, the market is gun-shy of even the most promising of Indonesian prospects.

“This is a worry of the market, not miners,” said Wright. “We’ve been approached by many of the big companies, all wishing to get involved.

“The people in the area of the Sopokomil deposit are very friendly towards the company, and there is no civil unrest in the region.”

Herald plans to add as much value to the project as it can, but if it gets beyond its scope it will look for a partner.

The drilling program currently underway has one more hole to finish, which should be completed in about a month. After that a resource estimate is scheduled to be drawn up.