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Culpeo Minerals Limited (“Culpeo” or the “Company”) (ASX:CPO, OTCQB:CPORF) is pleased to announce further results from surface sampling at the Piedra Dura Prospect, within the Fortuna Project (the Project), Chile. Results confirm the extension of mineralisation for an additional 400m to the north and 150m east, with grades up to 9.78% Cu and 13.4g/t Au.
HIGHLIGHTS
- High grade copper and gold surface results returned from follow-up sampling at the Piedra Dura Prospect, within the Fortuna Project.
- Grades of up to 9.78% Cu and 13.4g/t Au from outcropping zones of mineralisation.
- Mineralisation extended 400m to the north and 150m to the east, strike now >1.5km and up to 250m wide.
- Mineralisation remains open to the north and south.
- Drilling is ongoing at the El Quillay North Prospect.
Figure 1: Sample CPO0008661 returned 9.78% Cu and 7.52g/t Au.
Culpeo Minerals’ Managing Director, Max Tuesley, commented:
“The 2023 exploration program continues to impress with high-grade, out-cropping copper and gold mineralisation now extending an additional 400m to the north and 150m to the east at Piedra Dura. Assay results returned for Piedra Dura reveal new wide, high-grade copper and gold zones that have the potential to add significant volumes of near-surface mineralisation.
The latest results are an excellent outcome as we continue to demonstrate the potential for a district scale copper and gold deposit within the Fortuna Project. We look forward to reporting further news from Fortuna, including drill hole results in the coming weeks.”
PIEDRA DURA PROSPECT
The Piedra Dura Prospect is located 1.8km west of El Quillay within the Fortuna Project (Figure 2). The structurally controlled outcropping copper mineralisation has been delineated over 1.5km of strike and up to 250m width.
The Company previously reported the discovery of significant high-grade outcropping copper and gold mineralisation at Piedra Dura with several parallel structures identified1. Recent exploration activities focused on exploring additional prospective structures in the area.
The field program at Fortuna continued during November, with the collection of a further 27 rock chip samples, focussed on extending the Piedra Dura mineralisation to both the north and east.
Of the 27 samples collected, 11 returned high-grade copper results >2% Cu (Table 1) including a sample of 9.78% Cu and 7.52g/t Au (CPO0008661) from within a gossanous shallow dipping structure, strongly mineralised with secondary copper including malachite, azurite and covellite (Figure 1).
High-grade gold results accompanied the significant copper mineralisation with sample number CPO0008659 returning 13.4g/t Au and 6.04% Cu (Figure 3).
It is clear from the assay results that the western tenure of Culpeo’s Fortuna Project, which includes Piedra Dura, is highly prospective for economic copper and gold mineralisation. The recent rock chip sampling extends mineralisation 400m to the north and 150m to the east with the target structure remaining open to the north and south.
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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.
CPO:AU
Loyal to Acquire the High-Grade Highway Reward Copper Gold Mine
Key Highlights
- Loyal secures binding option to acquire the Highway Reward Copper Gold Mine in Queensland, Australia - one of the world’s highest-grade copper mines, with past production totalling 3.65Mt at 5.7% Cu and 260kt at 4.5 g/t Au.
- The acquisition is the first step in Loyal’s 2025 Strategic Plan to broaden its critical minerals portfolio into copper.
- No exploration has been conducted on the granted mining leases since operations ceased in July 2005 despite a ~680% increase in copper prices and a ~1,256% increase in gold prices since the 1997 feasibility study.
- Significant increase in copper and gold prices, combined with the previous exclusion of gold in sulphides from the mine plan, highlights the enhanced remnant copper-gold potential.
- Exploration potential for new discoveries both along strike and at depth, as previous mining only reached depths of 220 metres for open pit and 390 metres for underground operations, with limited exploration beyond mined zones.
- With $4.4 million in funding, Loyal is well-positioned to revisit the high-grade Highway Reward Copper Gold Mine by deploying modern exploration techniques. With global initiatives to enhance energy grids and no USA tariffs on Australian copper, the outlook for copper is strong and unencumbered.
Loyal‘s Managing Director, Mr. Adam Ritchie, commented:
"We are thrilled to secure this incredibly rare opportunity for our current and future Loyal investors. The Highway Reward Copper Gold Mine, considered one of the highest-grade copper mines in the world, is now primed for a revisit after 20 years of dormancy.
The granted mining leases of the Highway Reward mine provide an amazing speed to market opportunity - especially when both copper and gold are near all-time highs. The short-term and long-term opportunities at Highway Reward are exciting, considering the significant growth in commodity prices since the 1997 feasibility study. Copper is driving our electric future and gold continues to play an important role in our global economy.
Whilst a lot has changed in the past 28 years, the unwavering demand for copper and gold has only intensified. This is truly an amazing opportunity to unlock and showcase the immense potential of this forgotten mine. With modern technology and innovative mining techniques, we believe the Highway Reward Copper Gold Mine will provide exceptional value and returns to our Loyal shareholders."
Figure 1 Highway Reward Copper Gold Mine: Located 37 km south of Charters Towers within the Mount Windsor Volcanic Belt. Accessible via an all-weather highway, 172 km from the Port of Townsville, Queensland, Australia.
The Highway Reward Copper Gold Mine is located only 37 km from the active mining town of Charters Towers in Queensland, Australia, within the Mount Windsor Volcanic Belt. This area is renowned for its rich history in copper and gold mining, with strong social license support for mining activities. It features large-scale mining operations such as, Newmont’s 3.2 Moz Mt Leyshon gold mine and Yuxin Holding’s 3.4 Moz Pajingo gold mine. The region is close to the polymetallic, Thalanga Processing Plant and the Mount Carlton Processing Plant, with road and rail to Glencore’s Mount Isa copper hub, Townsville copper refinery and the Port of Townsville.
With the growth in commodity prices and advancements in exploration and mining technologies, the potential for remnant copper-gold mining has significantly improved. Previous mining operations targeted copper within chalcopyrite, while gold associated with both chalcopyrite and pyrite was excluded from the mine plan. With lower copper equivalent cut-off grades (copper & gold), higher continuity of copper-gold can be drill tested to demonstrate the reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction and mineral resource potential.
Graph 1: Highway Reward Copper Gold Mine - mining ceased in July 2005: 28 Years of Commodity Growth
Significant potential will be assessed and areas tested for copper-gold extensions to subvertical trends, that may exist below current mining levels at the Highway Reward Copper-Gold Mine. The previously mined, copper-gold rich pipes will also be assessed for drill testing along strike (Figure 2). Previous mining and surface mapping geological observations illustrate that high- grade copper-gold pipes have been identified in dacite, rhyolite, and volcaniclastic host rocks, therefore strong prospectivity exists for discovering additional pipes beyond the historically mined zones in all rock types on the property, except recent overlying sediments that conceal the basement host rocks (Figure 2). No modern advanced geophysical techniques or data processing methods have yet been applied to assess this potential.
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This article includes content from Loyal Metals 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.
