Salazar Resources (TSX‑V:SRL) reports a 2m intersection grading 1.8% tungsten and 740 grams per tonne silver from historical drilling at its Pijili Project in Ecuador.
The company has completed a technical review of tungsten‑silver mineralisation identified in drill hole MERC‑011 at the Mercy concession, part of the 100%‑owned Pijili Project.
The intersection forms part of a broader 18.6m interval grading 0.99% copper (Cu), 0.25g/t gold (Au), 0.03% molybdenum (Mo), 189.8g/t silver (Ag), and 0.23% tungsten (W), hosted within a hydrothermal breccia associated with a shear fault.
Surface data indicates a significant tungsten anomaly in the northern part of the Mercy concession, measuring 600m by 450m.
CEO Fredy Salazar says the intersection is ‘significant’ because it came from assays the company already owned, highlighting the value of reviewing existing data through a critical minerals lens.
“Copper, silver, and tungsten are all on the [US’] 2025 critical minerals list, and MERC‑011 returned all three over the same 2m. At 1.80% W — 2.27% WO3 [tungsten trioxide] — that is several times the median grade the [US] Geological Survey reports for tungsten skarn deposits worldwide,” Salazar notes.
“What makes it significant for Salazar is where it came from — assays we already owned. We have spent years looking at this ground for copper and gold, and we are now going back over a 100%‑owned portfolio with a critical minerals lens.”
Drill hole MERC‑011 intersected 151.8m grading 0.25% Cu, 0.08g/t Au, 0.01% Mo, and 3.2g/t Ag within the broader porphyry system.
The ‘higher‑grade’ tungsten‑silver zone occurs 4.7–23.25m depth and represents a separate mineralising event superimposed on the main porphyry system.
Salazar Resources plans to conduct detailed mapping of the hydrothermal fracture and fault zone containing the ‘highest grades’.
The company will re‑analyse its other 100%‑owned projects for critical minerals including tungsten, scandium, germanium, antimony, magnesium, and vanadium.
The 1,397‑hectare Pijili Project is located in central Ecuador. Salazar also holds a 25% carried interest in the Curipamba/El Domo copper‑gold project currently under construction.
Write to JC Villarba at Mining.com.au
Images: Salazar Resources
