Peru Maiden Drilling Campaign Underway

Australian battery minerals explorer, Firetail Resources Limited (Firetail or the Company; ASX: FTL) is pleased to confirm that the maiden drilling program at the Picha Copper Project in Peru has commenced.

Experienced drilling contractor, Explo Drilling Peru has mobilised to site and has started the planned diamond drilling program comprising ten drill holes for ~5,000m.

Firetail expects the drill program will be approximately 2-3 months in duration, with assays expected to be received in 6-10 weeks and then progressively during the drilling campaign.

Executive Chairman, Brett Grosvenor, commented:

"The Firetail team is extremely excited to start the drilling campaign at the Picha Copper Project in Peru. The commencement of the program coincides with an increase in focus by the Peruvian Government in supporting the Peruvian mining and exploration industry to remain as a world top 3 copper producer in the face of increasing demand for the commodity from the evolving EV market.

“The team has generated a significant number of targets through the exploration work completed so far, and we look forward to bringing regular drilling updates to our shareholders and followers in the coming weeks.”

Figure 1: Drill rig on site at Cobremani target

Picha Copper Project, Peru

On 21 August 2023, shareholders of Firetail voted to approve the issue of shares and performance rights relating to Firetail’s acquisition of up to an 80% interest in Valor’s Picha Copper Project and Charaque Copper Project in southern Peru¹.

Under the acquisition agreement, Firetail will acquire up to 80% of the issued share capital of Kiwanda S.A.C. (Kiwanda), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Valor which holds the mining concessions that make up the Picha and Charaque Projects.

The transaction was completed on 6 September 2023, and has resulted in Firetail inheriting Valor’s experienced in-country management and technical team as well as an Earn-in Agreement with leading global gold and copper producer Barrick Gold Corporation covering the Charaque Project².

Figure 2: Picha and Charaque Copper Projects in Peru

Final regulatory approval was received by Valor³ and announced on 4 August 2023. Receipt of the Autorización de Inicio (Permission to Begin Drilling) from the Peruvian Ministry of Energy and Mines (“MEM”) is a key milestone for the Picha Copper Project, and allows the Company to commence the maiden drilling program within the approved Effective Area.

The drilling permit allows drilling of up to 120 holes at Picha, comprising up to 40 drill platforms with three holes planned per platform. A maiden diamond drilling program of around 5,000m is proposed to test four targets within the Effective Area – Cobremani, Cumbre Coya, Maricate and Fundicion (see Figure 4 below).

Figure 3: Picha exploration team and camp site

Drill Targets

The drilling permit allows drilling of up to 120 holes at Picha, comprising up to 40 drill platforms with three holes planned per platform (see Figure 3 below). The maiden diamond drilling program, comprising around 5,000m, is designed to test four targets within the Effective Area – Cobremani, Cumbre Coya, Maricate and Fundicion4.

Firetail is pleased to present details of these high-potential targets and proposed drill-holes here:

• Cobremani Target – Drill-hole PDH-04 (surface geochemical anomaly including channel sample of 41.6m @1.12% Cu and 22.85g/t Ag, and strong geophysical anomaly at ~200m depth).
• Maricate Target – Drill-hole PDH-35 (surface geochemical anomaly including channel sample of 17.6m @ 1.95% Cu).
• Cumbre Coya Target – Drill-hole PDH-48 (surface geochemical anomaly including channel sample of 32.85m @ 0.61% Cu and 209 g/t Ag and chargeability anomaly) and Drill-hole PDH-76 (geochemical and chargeability anomaly at ~250m depth).
• Fundicion Target – Drill-hole PDH-70 (chargeability anomaly at ~250m depth), Drill-hole PDH-87 (geophysical chargeability anomaly at ~250m depth), Drill-hole PDH-91 (geophysical chargeability anomaly at ~300m depth) and drill holes PDH-102 and 112 (chargeability anomaly at ~150m depth).

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