Peru is continuing to prove fruitful for Inca Minerals – with a new prospect at its flagship Riqueza project giving up high-grade zinc, silver and lead.

Channel sampling at Inca’s (ASX:ICG) new Rastrillo deposit has returned up to 13.38 per cent zinc, 350 grams per tonne (g/t) of silver and 16.93 per cent lead.

Anything above 10 per cent is considered high-grade for zinc and lead and above 50 g/t is considered high-grade for silver.

Rastrillo is now a candidate for a maiden resource and a high priority for Inca, boss Ross Brown told investors.

Earlier in February, Inca put its foot on grades of up to 33.91 per cent zinc, 24.92 per cent lead and 123g/t silver at its Cerro Rayas project.

The shares closed up 10 per cent at 0.5c on Thursday.

ICG shares over the past six months.
ICG shares over the past six months.

Analysts are bullish on zinc following the closure of a number of mines in Australia and Ireland and the cutting of production at others.

The metal, which is used to galvanise steel, is also emerging as a potential commodity of interest in the energy storage thematic that is tipped to drive demand.

In mid-2017, researchers from the University of Sydney came up with a process to make a zinc air battery.

“It’s not quite as efficient as lithium, but it’s cheaper,” Patersons Securities senior resources analyst Simon Tonkin told delegates at the RIU Explorers Conference in Fremantle, Western Australia this week.

“So basically these batteries could be placed in buildings around the city and put solar panels on top and they could basically be discharged during peak times.”

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