Solis Minerals (ASX:SLM) has begun drilling at its flagship Ilo Este Copper Gold Project in Peru to follow up historical intercepts that returned broad porphyry-style copper-gold mineralisation.
The company is conducting a total of 5,000m of diamond drilling, beginning at the northern magnetic anomaly to the southern magnetic anomaly, also testing targets identified in recent mapping and surface sampling programs.
CEO Mitch Thomas says historical drilling at drillhole YAR001 returned an intersection of 159m @ 0.20% copper and 0.16 grams per tonne gold from surface, as well as 291m @ 0.21g/t gold from 102m at drillhole IE-DDH005-15.
“This project represents a compelling exploration opportunity in a highly prospective geological setting,” Thomas says.
“Our team has worked diligently to refine a 5,000m work program and secure all necessary approvals, and we look forward to updating shareholders as results become available.”
Located in southern Peru and analogous to AusQuest’s (ASX:AQD) Cangallo prospect, Solis wholly owns the Ilo Este Project within its reach of 76 exploration concessions.
Solis Minerals is focused on developing its copper portfolio along the coastal belt of Peru.
Global copper demand is forecast to rise modestly (by around 1.6%) in 2025, with growth affected by market uncertainty linked to tariffs and potential trade disruptions.
Copper mine output is forecast to grow by some 3% in 2025. The global growth is expected to be mainly driven by expansions at existing mines such as Kamoa-Kakula in the DRC, Quellaveco in Peru, Quebrada Blanca in Chile, Oyu Tolgoi in Mongolia and the new Malmyz mine in Russia.
Global copper mine production is then projected to rise by 2% in 2027 to reach 24.1 million tonnes with Chile, Peru, and the DRC expected to drive the growth.
Write to Maddison Elliott at Mining.com.au
Images: Solis Minerals
