Solis Minerals (ASX:SLM) will begin drilling at the Ilo Este Project in Peru later this month, following receiving all necessary approvals.
The program will comprise 10 holes for 5,000m of diamond drilling. The program aims to support the company’s objective of identifying copper-gold resources in southern Peru that have potential to host large-scale mining.
Solis’ exploration drill targets lie near southern Peru’s coastal belt and exhibit promising mineralisation at surface. The targets also benefit from access to critical infrastructure essential for future mining operations.
CEO Mitch Thomas says the start of drilling continues an exciting phase of exploration for Solis.
“The extent of at-surface geochemistry, strong geophysical targets and peripheral historical drilling with geologically significant copper-gold results at Ilo Este creates a particularly attractive project,” Thomas says.
Solis, which has a market capitalisation of $11.42 million, says Ilo Este has potential to be a large porphyry copper-gold system.
To date, exploration has defined a mineralised system over a 3km2 area, with strong potassic alteration and visible copper oxides such as malachite recorded at surface.
A 2023 geophysics induced polarisation survey outlined a previously undrilled 1,250m long high-chargeability anomaly from depths of 100 to 500m below surface. The company notes this suggests the presence of a sizable sulphide system.
The Ilo Este Project is a large copper porphyry system with coincident gold, silver, and molybdenum.
Porphyry copper deposits are considered the world’s largest source of copper mined today and are generally the lowest unit cost mines due to their size and additional bi-product credits for molybdenum, gold, silver, and other metals.
Solis Minerals is an emerging mineral explorer focused on unlocking the potential of its South American project portfolio. The company’s assets are primarily considered prospective for copper.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Solis Minerals
