Patriot Resources (ASX:PAT) has completed its first surface sampling program at the ‘high-grade’ Tassa Silver-Gold Project in Peru and commenced mapping at the southern Tassa 5 tenement.
The company collected 38 surface samples from the Pachamayo target. Pachamayo is directly north of the existing 31.4-million-ounce (Moz) silver equivalent (AgEq) inferred mineral resource.
The samples have been dispatched to ALS Laboratories in Peru for analysis, with results expected in the early December quarter.
Mapping at Pachamayo identified a 20m by 120m phreatic breccia controlled by a northeast-southwest structure. Alteration and breccia textures are interpreted as the shallow, upper portion of a preserved epithermal system.
CEO Dominic Duggan says the breccia textures support the company’s view that a parallel mineralised corridor continues north.
“The team has identified breccia textures with alteration interpreted as the upper expression of a preserved epithermal system, supporting our view that a parallel mineralised corridor continues north,” Duggan remarks.
“With Tassa Community approval in hand, the team now moves south to Tassa 5 — sharpening our targets so that when the drill permit lands, we are ready to drill the highest-priority targets.”
Patriot will now commence geological mapping and surface sampling across the Tassa 5 tenement and Priority 1 target zone.
Tassa 5 was staked in August, expanding tenure from 1,200 to 1,800 hectares and extending the interpreted strike of the Tassa Fault-controlled silver-gold corridor from 2.9km to 3.1km.
The company has appointed Miguel Montalván Aráoz as exploration manager, based in Peru. Montalván is a senior geological engineer with more than 20 years’ experience across epithermal, porphyry, skarn, volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS), and iron oxide copper-gold systems.
Following land access agreements with the Pachamayo and Tassa communities, Patriot is progressing a drill permit application with Peru’s Ministry of Energy and Mines.
Engagement with local drilling service providers has commenced in parallel with the sampling program.
The Tassa Project hosts an inferred mineral resource of 31.4Moz AgEq @ 52.68 grams per tonne AgEq from 18.53 million tonnes, which remains open in all directions.
Patriot has also defined an exploration target of 559–774Moz AgEq beyond the resource.
Patriot Resources is an Australian explorer advancing silver-gold and critical minerals projects across Peru, Zambia, and Canada.
Write to JC Villarba at Mining.com.au
Images: Patriot Resources
