Rio entered an option agreement in May to earn up to 80% of the project by spending C$30 million (US$22.7 million) on exploration.
 
Highlights of the first two holes were 44.78m at 0.38% copper and 2.1g/t silver from 45.22m, plus 63m at 0.18% copper from 19m.

Forum said Rio had drilled 21 holes over the summer and copper mineralisation at the project had been "significantly expanded" along strike and down dip from Forum's initial drilling success on the Jansem showing last year.

The Rick Mazur-led junior said Jansem's mineralised zone was now 294m in strike length, 130m wide and with an estimated true thickness varying from several metres up to 50m.

Forum's shares lost C1c yesterday to close at 7c, close to a 52-week high of 8.5c reached last week.

It had announced a raising at 6c in August to raise $75,000 towards exploration at its Love Lake nickel-copper-platinum-palladium project also in Saskatchewan, while its drill-ready Athabasca Basin uranium projects wait on the backburner.

It is capitalised at $7.5 million (US$5.7 million).