Valor Secures Final Drilling Approvals For Picha Copper Project, Peru

Valor Resources Limited (“Valor” or the “Company”) is pleased to advise that it has received the final regulatory approval required to commence its maiden drilling program at the Picha Copper Project in Peru following receipt of the Autorización de Inicio (Permission to Begin Drilling) from the Peruvian Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM).

HIGHLIGHTS

• Ministry issues the Autorización de Inicio (Permission to Begin Drilling) for the Picha Copper Project in Peru (Figure 1 below), marking a key milestone for the Project.
• This follows the issuance of the DIA (Declaracion de Impacto Ambiental or Environmental Impact Statement - EIS) in March.
• The drilling permit allows for up to 120 holes to be drilled within the approved Effective Area (see Figure 2), comprising up to 40 drill platforms with three holes per platform.
• Community social agreements are already in place for 100% of the DIA Effective Area for a period of four years, allowing the Company to access and drill the Effective Area within the Project.
• As announced on 5 July 2023, Valor has reached agreement to sell the Picha Project to Firetail Resources (ASX: FTL) to focus on its Canadian uranium portfolio.
• Picha’s maiden drilling program, comprising 5,000m of diamond drilling, has been planned to initially test four key targets – Cobremani, Cumbre Coya, Maricate and Fundicion.
• Final drill program planning, including logistics and drilling contractor selection is underway with drilling scheduled to commence in September 2023.

Figure 1: Picha and Charaque Copper Projects in Peru.

The receipt of this all-important permit follows the receipt of approval for its Declaracion de Impacto Ambiental (DIA) (or Environmental Impact Statement) from MEM in March this year.

The drilling permit will allow drilling of up to 120 holes at Picha, comprising up to 40 drill platforms with three holes planned per platform (see Figure 2 below).

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. A short-list of drilling contractors has been determined and logistics planning is underway, with drilling scheduled to commence in September 2023.

Valor Executive Chairman, George Bauk, said: “I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate our highly experienced in-country team in Peru for their outstanding work in achieving this result.

“The grant of the Autorización de Inicio is the final regulatory approval required to allow us to commence drilling. Valor has developed an incredible pipeline of large-scale, high-impact porphyry, epithermal and CRD targets across the Picha Project tenements – and we are very much looking forward to unlocking the enormous potential of this project through the maiden 5,000m drill program scheduled to commence in September.

“Subject to the completion of the transaction announced recently whereby we are divesting up to an 80% interest in the Picha Project to Firetail Resources, the drill program will be implemented through Firetail and, of course, the Valor team will retain significant exposure through our ~20% shareholding in Firetail, board representation and a retained 20% interest in the Project.

“The Picha Project is an incredible asset, and I am very proud of the work which the Valor team has put in over the past two years to secure this unique project and advance it to the drill-ready stage. The new structure we have implemented through the Firetail transaction will ensure that we maximise the opportunity in Peru while freeing up resources to focus on our high-potential uranium and rare earths assets in Canada’s Athabasca Basin.”

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