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Culpeo Minerals Limited (“Culpeo” or the “Company”) (ASX:CPO, OTCQB:CPORF) is pleased to announce, that a possible new third zone of copper sulphide mineralisation has been identified within the El Quillay copper trend at its Fortuna Project in Chile (Figure 1). Considerable exploration potential exists within the 3km long trend which hosts high-grade copper mineralisation in a series of parallel structures.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Significant new El Quillay West targets generated through remodelled geophysical data at the Fortuna Project enhancing recent exploration success.
- New target has potential for additional zone of mineralisation 500m to the southwest of the already defined El Quillay Fault Zone (see Figure 1).
- An Induced Polarisation (IP) chargeability anomaly, indicative of copper sulphide mineralisation, has a large footprint of 500m x 300m.
- The new El Quillay West target has had no prior exploration.
- The El Quillay Fault Zone extends for >3km where previous drilling returned an intersection of 26m @ 0.81% CuEq1.
- Upcoming drilling to test lateral and depth extensions of mineralisation within multiple structures proximate to the El Quillay Fault Zone.
- Culpeo’s exploration program continues with new breccia targets at Lana Corina and Vista Montana to be drilled in the coming weeks.
Culpeo Minerals’ Managing Director, Max Tuesley, commented:
“The identification of the new El Quillay West target confirms our belief that a much larger mineralised system exists at El Quillay than previously recognised. Geophysical data remodelling has identified a large chargeability anomaly suggesting the presence of a third zone of parallel mineralisation to the south-west of the El Quillay North Prospect. We look forward to drill testing these targets during 2024.”
Figure 1: Plan view of El Quillay copper trend, showing multiple zones of potential parallel mineralisation
RESULTS
During January 2024, Resource Potentials Pty Ltd (ResPot) was commissioned to review, reprocess, model, image and interpret historic Pole-Dipole Induced Polarisiation (PDIP) survey data. ResPot identified four PDIP chargeability anomaly targets from the raw PDIP data, which have potential for copper sulphide mineralisation.
The four PDIP chargeability anomalies are located within the north-western part of the PDIP survey area, including one chargeability anomaly high coincident with known copper sulphide within the El Quillay North Prospect area (Figure 2). Three of the PDIP target areas are untested by existing drilling, including a high-priority target with follow-up ground based exploration planned.
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Culpeo Minerals
Overview
Culpeo Minerals (ASX:CPO, OTCQB:CPORF) is a copper-focused Australian exploration and development company with a portfolio of Chilean assets. The company’s projects are focused on Chile’s Coastal Cordillera Belt, where the Lana Corina, Culpeo’s flagship asset, presents significant opportunities for further exploration with high-grade copper and molybdenum mineralization. ’–– The recent acquisition of the Fortuna Project just 10 kilometres north of Lana Corina has increased the company's exploration tenure by 400 percent and has enabled the company to identify multiple out-cropping copper targets.
Chile leads the world in copper production by a wide margin, contributing 28 percent of global copper production. Comparatively Peru, in second place, contributes less than half as much at 11 percent. Earning the top spot is partially a result of Chile’s natural deposits, but the country’s significant output is a testament to its mining-friendly regulations.
Exploration work at Lana Corina, to date, has returned high-grade assay results for both copper and molybdenum. Assays have indicated a grade of over 1 percent copper equivalent, and up to 15,000 parts per million (ppm) molybdenum. The presence of molybdenum creates an additional future revenue source and increases the value of the project.
Molybdenum is roughly ten times the value of copper by weight as it is a strategic metal used in industries that require durable steels, such as catalytic converters on vehicles and various military applications.
Lana Corina contains higher-than-average molybdenum grades, as is typically seen when co-occurring with copper, further enhancing the asset's potential. The company has already completed 7,000 meters of drilling on the project, with additional opportunities to increase the footprint of known mineralization.
Much of the company’s portfolio is within the Coastal Cordillera Belt, which hosts medium-sized, high-grade copper deposits estimated at 50 to 100 million tonnes at 1 percent copper equivalent. The copper within this belt is typically higher grade than the prolific copper porphyry deposits in the Andes.
In August 2023, Culpeo acquired an 80 percent interest in the Fortuna Project, approximately 10 kilometers north of its existing Lana Corina Copper and Molybdenum Project in the highly prospective Coastal Belt of Chile. The company later secured an additional tenement package at Fortuna, increasing its land package to 4,500 hectares.
A management team with expertise throughout the mining industry leads the company toward fully exploring its promising portfolio and increasing shareholder value.
Company Highlights
- Culpeo Minerals is an Australian exploration and development company focusing on its copper assets in underexplored copper districts in Chile.
- Chile is the world’s number one copper producer and also contains the highest copper reserves.
- The company’s flagship Lana Corina asset is a recent copper discovery and diamond drilling results include 257 meters @ 1.10 percent copper equivalenrt (CuEq) (refer ASX announcement 11 May 2022).
- The company holds 80 percent interest in the Fortuna project, located 10 kilometers north of Lana Corina, where seven outcropping prospects have been identified. Recent drilling at El Quillay North returned a near surface intercept of 26 meters @ 0.81 percentCuEq (ASX announcement 17th January 2024) El Quillay North is hosted within the larger El Quillay Fault which is over 3 kilometers long and hosts significant potential to expand on the success of this recent drilling.
- A management team with decades of experience throughout the natural resources industry in particular South America, leads the company towards fully capitalizing on its prospective assets.
Key Projects
Lana Corina Copper-Molybdenum Project
The Lana Corina project is within the Coastal Cordillera region in Chile. This past-producing asset is highly prospective to become a world-class project as exploration continues. Culpeo has already completed its maiden drill campaign and is now moving towards its Phase 2 drill campaign.
Project Highlights:
- High-grade Results: The inaugural drill campaign at the Lana Corina project indicates high-grade copper and molybdenum. The company is now moving towards its Phase 2 drill campaign. Assays from the maiden campaign include:
- ○257 meters @ 1.10 percent copper equivalent (CuEq) in CMLCD002 from 170 meters
- 173 meters @ 1.09 percent CuEq in CMLCD003 from 313 meters
- 169 meters @ 1.21 percent CuEq in CMLCD010 from 239 meters
- 104 meters @ 0.81 percent CuEq in CMLCD001 from 155 meters
- 81 meters @ 1.16 percent CuEq in CMLCD005 from 302 meters
- 72 meters @ 0.91 percent CuEq in CMLCD013 from 352 meters
- Historic Production: The project has historically produced 1 million tonnes of 1.5 percent to 2.5 percent copper. This significant production indicates what’s possible as Culpeo further explores the assets.
- Targets for Future Exploration: The company’s exploration campaigns and historical data have identified 18 additional regional targets for follow-up exploration and potential drilling.
Fortuna Project
Spanning 4,025 hectares, the Fortuna Project tenements are located 10 kilometers north of Lana Corina consisting of seven additional groups of prospects: La Florida, El Quillay North, El Quillay Central, Elquillay South, Vaca Muerta, Piedra Dura and Lucero. Extensive outcropping copper mineralisation and historic mining operations are present throughout the project area.
Historic channel sampling at drill-ready Vaca Muerta returned with 150 meters @ 1.31 percent copper equivalent (CuEq); 102 meters @ 1.25 percent CuEq; and 173 meters @ 0.86 percent CuEq. Fortuna also has four high-priority outcropping targets: Vaca Muerta, Piedra Dura, La Florida and El Quillay. Mine records show approximately 200,000 tonnes @ 2 percent copper extracted historically.
Management Team
Max Tuesley - Managing Director
Max Tuesley is a geologist with 30 years of experience in base metal/gold exploration and mining. He has a proven track record of successful project and team management, both within Australia and Internationally, working on projects in Mongolia, Sudan, Laos, and the Philippines. Tuesley spent seven years with Xstrata in senior management roles with a focus on its Australian Copper Operations, including the Ernest Henry IOCG project.
He holds a Bachelor of Science from The Queensland University of Technology and an Honors Degree in economic geology from James Cook University. He is a member of the AusIMM.
Geoff McNamara - Non-executive Chairman
Geoff McNamara has 30 years of international resource sector experience as a geologist, project manager, and fund manager. He previously worked in private equity (FUM US$800 million) and was director of Societe General’s mining finance team in New York. Operational roles included project manager, senior mine geologist, and mine geologist for Ivanhoe Mines, Lion Ore International, and Western Mining Corporation. McNamara is the co-founder of Tesoro Gold, where he also currently sits as non-executive director. Tesoro Gold discovered the El Zorro Gold Project in Chile.
Zeffron Reeves - Non-executive Director
Zeffron Reeves is a geologist with over 20 years of experience in the resource sector working on projects from greenfields exploration, discovery, definition and feasibility, construction, and production to closure.
Reeves is currently co-founder and managing director of Tesoro Resources, which recently discovered the highly prospective El Zorro gold project in Chile. He was also managing director of ASX-listed Kopore Metals (previously, Metallum), which also had some development and operational projects in Chile. He has held senior management positions with Cleveland Mining and Ashburton Minerals, developing projects in Brazil.
Reeves has a Bachelor of Applied Geology (Honors), and a Master of Business Administration from Curtin University, and is a member of the Australia Institute of Geoscientists.
Paul Schmiede - Non-executive Director
Paul Schmiede is a mining engineer with over 25 years experience in mining, exploration and business and corporate development. He has had direct exposure to gold and base metal commodities in a range of jurisdictions, including Australia, Burkina Faso and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). He is currently vice-president of corporate development for TSX-V-listed Sarama Resources, which has development-stage gold assets in Burkina Faso. Prior to that, he was vice-president of operations and project development at Moto Goldmines, where he managed the pre-feasibility, bankable and definitive feasibility study for the more-than-22-million-ounce DRC-based Moto Gold Project (now Kibali Gold). Before joining Moto Goldmines, he held senior operational and management positions with Gold Fields Ltd and WMC Resources Ltd where he was responsible for underground and open pit operations as well as project development and planning.
Schmiede holds a first-class mine managers certificate (Western Australia), a Bachelor of Engineering (Mining) degree, and is a fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.
Sergio Uribe - Country Manager
Sergio Uribe is an administrative, management and development professional with experience in Chile. He has worked on numerous resource projects from greenfield exploration, discovery, production, closure, retreatment, and tailings reclamation. Part of the development team with Fortescue Metals Group during the development of its Pilbara mining operations, he has 10 years of resource sector experience. Uribe has represented numerous foreign companies investing in resource projects in Chile and was the commercial manager of Metallum Chile, where he was involved in the acquisition and development of their operation in Chile. Before this, he was general manager of Acorn Mining Chile and country manager for Cleveland Mining Chile.
Uribe has a business management degree from Universidad del Desarrollo and is a member of the civil police and a military reserve officer.
RM Research Outlines Potential Rerating of Culpeo Minerals Driven by Chilean Copper Projects
ASX-listed Culpeo Minerals maintains two copper projects in Chile - Lana Corina and Fortuna - both located in Chile’s Coastal Cordillera, targeting district-scale, underexplored mineralised systems.
“RM Research maintains a speculative buy on the back of the potential to outline high-grade copper-molybdenum at Lana Corina which we believe has potential for mineral resources of +80Mt (million tons) @ >0.80 percent CuEq (copper equivalent,” RM Research stated in its analyst report dated April 16, 2024.
Culpeo recently increased its ownership of Lana Corina to 50 percent, earning 80 percent to 100 percent. Recent drilling at Lana Corina showed copper-molybdenum mineralization over a strike length of 2 to 3 kilometres.
“The return of a drill rig to Lana Corina is imminent with extensions of breccia/porphyry hosted mineralisation being targeted as well as deeper copper and molybdenum associated with the silica cupola. Further surface geochemical results are also due this quarter from the La Florida Prospect,” the analyst report cited as near-term catalysts.
The Fotuna property is 10 kilometres north of Lana Corina, comprising three prospects along a 3-kilometre strike length. Results of recent drilling at Fortuna include 26 metres @ 0.81 percent copper equivalent, with elevated surface channel and rock chip samples up to 1.3 percent copper and 2.4 grams per ton gold.
Report highlights:
- Culpeo has increased its ownership of Lana Corina, where recent drilling returned impressive results of copper and molybdenum, over a 2 to 3 kilometre strike length. Near-term drilling will likely target extensions of the wide high-grade copper mineralisation hosted within the outcropping breccia pipes and associated porphyry intrusion.
- Achieving success in either the Lana Corina or Fortuna projects may lead to a rerating of Culpeo Minerals to more than $100 million market capitalization.
- RM Research maintains a speculative buy for Culpeo, driven by the potential to define the high-grade copper-molybdenum at Lana Corina, with a possible mineral resource of more than 80 million tons @ more than 0.80 percent copper equivalent.
Read the full report here.
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Significant Gold, Copper and Nickel Soil Anomalies at Lady Grey Project
- New Gold, Copper and Nickel soil anomalies identified in the recently completed soil sampling programme
- >2km long gold anomaly coincident with structural flexure
- Peak result of 256ppb Au, with a total of 87 samples returning ≥25ppb Au
- Historic Bounty Gold Mine which produced ~1.3moz Au on Covalent Lithium’s (SQM & Wesfarmers, 50/50) Earl Grey Mine, 189Mt @1.53% Li2O¹ Mount Holland mine site located adjacent to Lady Grey Project
- Peak result of 170ppm Cu, with a total of 300 samples returning ≥50ppm Cu
- Peak result of 263ppm Ni, with a total of 464 samples returning ≥100ppm Ni
- Strong spatial correlation between Gold, Copper, Nickel and Sulphur anomalism
- Exploration work programmes targeting drilling mid year
Mr Brian Thomas, Technical Director of Lanthanein commented: “We are greatly encouraged by the identification of multiple new gold, copper and nickel anomalies picked up by the recent tenement wide soil sampling programme which adds another dimension to the project wide prospectivity following the recent discovery of two large Lithium anomalies, Godzilla and Avenger. The Forrestania region is well known historically for its significant gold production with the old Bounty Mine producing ~1.3moz Au, plus the region has proven nickel endowment with the IGO’s, Forrestania Operations ~30km to the south. We will now accelerate our work programmes and approvals processes to be drilling these targets by mid-year.”
Figure 1: New Gold Anomalies at the Lady Grey Lithium Project.
Figure 2: New Copper Anomalies at the Lady Grey Lithium Project.
Figure 3: New Nickel Anomalies at the Lady Grey Lithium Project.
Figure 4: New Sulphur Anomalies at the Lady Grey Lithium Project.
UltraFine+TM Soil Sampling Programme
The survey was completed on a minimum spacing of 400m x 100m, with a total of 1,893 soil samples collected.
Figures 1 through 4 show the soil anomalies delineated from the sampling results. The five gold soil anomalies in Figure 1, represent areas with >50ppb Au – considered highly anomalous using this soil sampling technique. The largest gold anomaly is extends over 2km of strike and is located in a highly favourable structural setting. The copper and nickel anomalies are spatially adjacent to each other along with the high sulphur with a peak value of 5.33% and 50 samples >0.05% which would indicate the presence of weathered sulphides. Exploration reconnaissance and further geochemical sampling is planned to investigate the potential for magmatic sulphides and the presence of gossanous outcrop or subcrop.
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This article includes content from Lanthanein Resources, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
Miramar Secures EIS Funding for Bangemall Ni-Cu-Co-PGE Drilling
Miramar has been advised by the Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DEMIRS) that it has been awarded up to $180,000 towards the drilling campaign, which will target Norilsk-style nickel, copper, cobalt and platinum group element (Ni-Cu-Co-PGE) mineralisation at the Mount Vernon and Trouble Bore Projects for the first time (Figure 1).
Miramar is exploring for mafic intrusion-hosted Ni-Cu-Co-PGE sulphide mineralisation related to 1070Ma aged Kulkatharra Dolerite sills, part of the Warakurna Large Igneous Province and the same age as the large Nebo-Babel deposits in the West Musgraves.
Miramar’s Executive Chairman, Mr Allan Kelly, said the funding validated the Company’s exploration model and the potential district-scale opportunity within the Bangemall Project, and looked forward to the maiden drilling campaign.
“Over the last 24 months, the Company has advanced the Bangemall Projects from an exploration concept to regional-scale area selection followed by collection of project-scale datasets and, more recently, to delineation of individual drill targets through ground EM surveys,” Mr Kelly said.
“We have the opportunity to make a discovery of a new style of mineralisation in an underexplored geological province where we are the dominant landholder,” he added.
Upcoming work programme
Miramar’s initial aim is to show “proof of concept” of the Norilsk-style deposit model by discovering Ni-Cu- Co-PGE sulphide mineralisation.
- Upcoming work includes:
- Completion of heritage surveys where required
- Systematic rock chip sampling
- RC drilling
- Working towards grant of various tenement applications
Miramar already has Programme of Work (POW) approval for drilling at Mount Vernon and is currently waiting on approval for Trouble Bore.
Figure 1. Mount Vernon and Trouble Bore Projects showing airborne and ground EM anomalies in relation to Kulkatharra Dolerite sills.
Figure 2. Schematic diagram showing relationship between dolerite sills (green) and sedimentary units of the Edmund and Collier Basins, and the relative position of Miramar’s Ni-Cu-Co-PGE targets (red).
About the Ni-Cu-Co-PGE Bangemall Project
Miramar’s 100%-owned Bangemall Project comprises granted Exploration Licences and Applications covering approximately 2,190 km2 within the Gascoyne region of Western Australia.
The Proterozoic Edmund and Collier Basins have been intruded by numerous 1070Ma aged Kulkatharra Dolerite sills, part of the Warakurna Large Igneous Province, and the same age as the Giles Complex which hosts the large Nebo and Babel Ni-Cu deposits in the West Musgraves.
The region has been identified by both the Geological Survey of Western Australia and Geoscience Australia as having high prospectivity for Ni-Cu-PGE mineralisation associated with the Kulkatharra Dolerite sills, similar to the giant Norilsk-Talnakh Ni-Cu-PGE deposits in Russia.
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This article includes content from Miramar Resources Limited, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
Quarterly Activities Report for the Period Ended 31 March 2024
HIGHLIGHTS
- Discovery of large copper-gold porphyry system at La Florida Prospect (Fortuna Project)1:
- Surface sampling results returned grades of up to 3.96% Cu and 2.61g/t Au.
- Large 1.7km x 0.5km mineralised footprint.
- Maiden drill program at El Quillay North Prospect returned shallow, wide copper mineralisation2:
- 26m @ 0.81 CuEq from 29m, including 4m @ 1.87% CuEq from 51m; and
- 5.8m @ 0.78% CuEq from 15.2m.
- El Quillay South Prospect strike length extended to 1,200m and up to 100m wide
- Discovery of new high-grade mineralised trend at El Quillay East Prospect4:
- Grades up to 3.29% Cu and 1.32g/t Au and all samples >1.0% Cu from rock chip sampling
- Mineralised footprint spans an initial area of 250m x 150m with and open in all directions
- El Quillay East is a separate parallel structure to the extensive El Quillay Fault.
- Culpeo’s interest in the high-grade Lana Corina Project increased to 50%5.
- Equity capital raisings totaling A$2.5M (before costs) to existing and new sophisticated and high-net-worth investors.
- Cash balance of A$1.3M and no debt as at 31 March 2024 adequately funds exploration programs.
Operating Activities
During the Quarter, Culpeo’s exploration activities were primarily focused on the Fortuna Project, targeting mineralisation along strike and proximate to the El Quillay Fault zone which has been identified to host copper and gold mineralisation over a strike length of >3km.
Figure 1: Plan view of the Fortuna and Lana Corina Project areas
La Florida Prospect
The La Florida Prospect is a newly defined north-south trending belt of copper-gold mineralisation located within the northern sector of the Fortuna Project, measuring approximately 1.7km long by 0.5km wide (Figure 2). Mineralisation is hosted within andesitic volcanic rocks that have been intruded by quartz- feldspar porphyry lithologies. During the Quarter, a litho-geochemical survey was undertaken to characterise the nature and extent of the mineralised system. Rock chip samples were collected in areas including historic small scale mine workings, outcrop and subcrop on hills where bedrock/fresh rock was visible. All 14 rock chip samples returned anomalous copper and gold results, as shown in Appendix C.
The best copper result of 3.96% Cu was returned from CPO0008688, located in the northern part of the interpreted porphyry system where strong surface mineralisation was identified in the form of malachite and chrysocolla. This sample also returned a gold result of 1.17g/t Au. Of significance was CPO0008692, which returned high-grade copper and gold at 3.18% Cu and 2.61g/t Au1. The sample was taken from historical workings in fresh, unoxidised mineralisation.
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This article includes content from Culpeo Minerals, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
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