Empire Resources (ASX: ERL) has hit high-grade copper during its...

Empire Resources (ASX: ERL) has hit high-grade copper during its recent two-hole reverse circulation drilling program at its Yuinmery copper-gold project in Western Australia.

The copper was identified on the A Zone prospect where one hole intersected 12m grading 2.05% copper and 0.31 grams per tonne gold from 138m, with a 2m interval comprising 5.1% copper and 0.50g/t gold.

These results follow previous drilling in 2011 and 2012 at A Zone, which returned 19m grading 1.9% copper and 0.3g/t gold from 160m, with a 5m interval containing 4.4% copper and 0.4g/t gold.

Other notable previous drill results were 7m grading 3.2% copper and 0.5g/t gold from 192m, including 4m grading 4.5% copper and 0.5g/t gold; and 8m grading 2.4% copper and 1.3g/t gold from 275m, with a 3m interval grading 4% copper and 3.3g/t gold.

The copper struck within A Zone is 1.3km along strike from the Just Desserts copper-gold deposit at the project which has a resource of 1.27 million tonnes grading 1.9% copper and 0.7g/t gold, at a 1% copper cut-off.

Empire Resources plans to continue drilling at A Zone to prove up a maiden resource and expand its overall resource inventory at Yuinmery.