Rods spin for Solis Minerals on big Peruvian copper target
Solis Minerals (ASX: SLM) has fired up the drill rig at its Cucho copper project in Peru, launching an initial 5000-metre diamond drilling campaign to test the scale of a copper-porphyry system that has already delivered a string of long, mineralised intercepts from historical work and impressive high-grade surface samples.
The company has laid out plans for an initial 10-hole program to test a trio of newly defined targets at Cucho. The move represents a key part of Solis’ two-pronged South American energy metals strategy, running in parallel with ongoing drilling at its Cinto copper project in Southern Peru and recently completed lithium exploration in Brazil.
The new campaign is designed to test the three target zones for extensions to known mineralisation and probe for the system’s high-grade porphyry core. A highlight of Solis’ recent work was the discovery of a sizeable monzonite intrusive centre, measuring 950m by 450m, where hot, mineral-rich fluids have altered the surrounding rock – a geological signature often associated with major copper-molybdenum porphyry deposits. A total of 34 drill holes are permitted, giving management the flexibility to expand drilling if the initial results hit the mark.
Recent fieldwork at Cucho confirmed copper-molybdenum-silver mineralisation roughly one kilometre northeast of historical drilling, materially expanding the project’s footprint. Surface sampling also returned a suite of promising results, with rock chips grading up to 0.49 per cent copper. Notably, the samples also delivered molybdenum grades soaring to a whopping 0.63 per cent, injecting another tantalising dimension to the emerging copper story.
The project is not without a little history. A 2014 scout drilling program hit mineralisation in all seven holes, with some seriously long intersections including one hole delivering a hefty 269.1-metre interval grading 0.25 per cent copper from surface, with another hole running 175.4 metres assaying 0.28 per cent copper from surface. A third hole served up 178.7 metres going 0.23 per cent copper from just 38.6m downhole.
It is great to have the drill rig operating at Cucho. We are entering this programme with multiple compelling targets supported by historical drilling, surface geochemistry, mapping and geophysics. The initial 5,000 metre programme gives us the opportunity to test the broader scale of the Cucho system, while 34 permitted holes provide the flexibility to follow up quickly as results emerge. Solis Minerals CEO Mitch Thomas
The Cucho project sits in a well-endowed Peruvian copper district that has attracted the attention of mining heavyweights including Fortescue, Vale and Newmont. Notably, Element 29 Resources’ Elida porphyry copper project, just 40km from Cucho, hosts an inferred mineral resource of 321.7 million tonnes (Mt) grading 0.32 per cent copper.
The move on Cucho comes as drilling continues at the company’s other Peruvian asset, the Cinto copper project, where the company is also probing for signs of a major porphyry system lurking at depth. That project lies along the prolific Incapuquio fault zone, which already hosts several world-class copper mines, putting the company firmly in elephant country. The neighbourhood includes Anglo American and Mitsubishi’s 1.1-billion-tonne (Bt) Quellaveco mine, Southern Peru Copper Corp’s 1.2Bt Cuajone operation and Freeport-McMoRan’s giant Cerro Verde mine, which produces a massive 450,000 tonnes of copper per annum.
Elsewhere in its portfolio, Solis is awaiting assays from recently completed lithium drilling at its Mandacaru and Campo Grande projects in Brazil. The company picked up the 93,000-hectare project package from a subsidiary of mining goliath Rio Tinto for US$500,000 (A$714,000) cash and a 1.75 per cent net smelter royalty.
The Brazilian prospects share geological similarities to the Colina lithium project, 100km to the southwest, owned by lithium major PLS Group, which hosts a significant 77.7-million-tonne resource grading 1.24 per cent lithium oxide. The comparison carries extra weight given PLS Group cornerstoned a $6 million capital raise for Solis in May, taking a 5.1 per cent stake in the explorer in what appears to be a clear vote of confidence.
With a well-credentialed leadership group that includes veterans from both Rio Tinto and Teck, and a healthy cash balance of $3.97 million as at the end of September, Solis looks to be well placed to handle its busy exploration schedule.
As drills turn across two promising Peruvian copper plays in a world-class copper belt, a heavyweight backer on its register and key lithium assays in the pipeline from Brazil, Solis has more than a few irons in the fire. If the geology starts delivering on its promise, this explorer could find itself sitting on a much bigger South American metals story.
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