Reviewed by Danielle Ellis, B.Sc.Sep 25 2024
The Luz Maria copper porphyry project of Western Metallica Resources Corp. (“Western Metallica” or the “Company”) announced the start of a first drill program, with operations set to begin in October. Within its 100%-owned Caña Brava Copper Project in the La Libertad Department of Northern Peru, lies the Luz Maria prospect.
Luz Maria Prospect: Location map of Phase 1 drill holes over RTP mag anomaly and >30 mV/V chargeability countor map. Image Credit: Western Metallica Resources Corp.
The project is strategically located less than 12 km east of Hudbay's Llaguen Cu-Mo deposit, a sizable emerging copper discovery that shares many similarities with nearby Caña Brava and hosts shallow high-grade mineralization. Alongside the first drilling at Luz Maria, the Company is also progressing with the creation of drill targets at Caña Brava, the Project's other porphyry opportunity.
The Peruvian Ministry of Energy and Mines (“MINEM”) has approved the Environmental Evaluation for Luz Maria and granted the Company permission to drill from 19 platforms at its copper-molybdenum porphyry potential.
Geochemical studies, induced polarization, and magnetic surveys using drones have improved the productivity of the Luz Maria porphyry target for early 2024. A list of drill-ready, prime copper targets was validated by the work, underscoring the possibility of a sizable porphyry Cu-Mo cluster beneath the sedimentary and colluvial cover and suggesting the possibility of a noteworthy discovery.
The first phase of this drilling program is scheduled to begin by the last week of October and will focus on the Cu and Mo geochemical anomalies as well as the modeled magnetic bodies that coincide with the strong charge ability (>30 mV/V) Induced Polarization Pole-Dipole.
Six priority holes have been identified; three of them are scheduled to test the favorable target or targets that most likely indicate the presence of Cu/Mo sulfide-rich magnetic bodies at relatively shallow depths.
Western Metallica is excited to initiate its inaugural drill program at its Luz Maria copper porphyry prospect. The Company has refined its interpretation of exploration data collected over the past few months on this very exciting flagship copper project, to extract the most meaningful information for target delineation. The team is excited about the potential for new discoveries at the Luz Maria prospect, which we believe, following drill confirmation of anticipated grades, could have a compelling impact on the Company and the Project value.
Gregory Duras, Chief Executive Officer and Director, Western Metallica Resources Corp.
The Caña Brava Project's Luz Maria porphyry system is a well-preserved system that is a priority drill target. Exploration efforts have so far successfully defined a prominent 3.0-by-1.5 km phyllic and potassic alteration footprint, which is similar in size to other significant Peruvian porphyry deposits and features multiple mineralized intrusion events.
The Eocene age of the mineralization, confirmed by a new high-resolution age dating from Luz Maria by the Company, is 44.5 Ma ± 0.2 Ma. This puts it firmly in the same age range as other very large porphyry systems of Peru and Chile, such as Las Bambas, Cotabambas, Constancia, Antapacay, and more recent discoveries like Elida, which are also copper-producing.
The company's diamond-sawn channel sampling campaign revealed a coherent and significant broadly contemporaneous Cu and Mo geochemical anomaly up to several hundred ppm in magnitude from multi-phase intrusions. At least four intrusion phases containing both Cu and Mo sulfide mineralization, locally linked to weak biotite replacement, were identified by detailed mapping.
Background
According to the news release, Western Metallica has the option to purchase all of the mineral claims, rights, and interests in Caña Brava, a Cu-Mo project in northern Peru.
The project is located in the understudied Northern sector of the Cu-Mo metallogenic belt, which is home to the world-class deposits Las Bambas (MMG), Cotabambas (Panoro Minerals Ltd.), Constancia (Hudbay Minerals Inc.), and Antapacay (Glencore) to the South, as well as discoveries like Elida (Element 29 Resources), the first porphyry deposit of this age found in North Peru.
The Caña Brava Project of the Company is strategically situated near industrial ports and major paved roads. It consists of large, contiguous mining concessions that facilitate future project scaling.
Situated 30 km from the shore and 1,500 m above sea level in the Western Cordillera of the Peruvian Andes, lies the highly promising 5,700-hectare package of concessions known as the Caña Brava Project.
The Caña Brava Project shares a potential to host shallow high-grade mineralization across a significant alteration footprint with Hudbay's Llaguen Cu-Mo Project, which is located on the western edge of the Miocene epithermal-porphyry copper-gold belt of Northern Peru.