Shares in Talisman Mining were higher after the company said it had begun a new drilling program at its Halloween project adjacent to Sandfire's DeGrussa copper/gold mine near Meekatharra.

The company said the diamond drilling would test key copper-gold targets over the next three weeks with assay results expected before the end of December.

Talisman shares closed up 2.5 cents, or 10.2 per cent, at 27 cents.