Patriot lands 31.4 million-ounce Peruvian silver prize
Brought to you by BULLS AND BEARS
Doug Bright
With the ink finally dry, Patriot Resources has taken full ownership of the Tassa silver-gold project in southern Peru, snapping up a high-grade, silver-heavy asset that already carries a significant resource with plenty of room to grow.
Tassa comes with a JORC inferred mineral resource of 18.53 million tonnes grading 52.68 grams per tonne (g/t) for 31.4 million silver equivalent ounces; This consists of a not-so-old 25.5 million ounces of contained silver, giving Patriot an immediate advantage on any rise in the price of the precious metal.
The company framed the deal in terms of its supportive long-term silver outlook, pointing to supply constraints and sustained industrial demand growth as the backdrop for its entry into the sector.
In particular, mineralization at Tassa mainly starts from the surface and remains open in all directions; This combination indicates strong potential for a range of low-riding development options, while also keeping the door wide open for resource expansion.
‘Mineralization remains open in all directions along a 2.8 kilometer trend, highlighting significant growth potential.’
Dominic Duggan, CEO of Patriot Resources
The silver-rich system, which extends along a 2.8-kilometer structural trend, is slightly perforated, raising the possibility that the current resource is just an early snapshot of a much larger epithermal reward.
The project’s high-grade credentials are highlighted by previous outstanding drilling interventions, which include 60 meters at 224.20 g/t silver from a depth of 24 m, a 16 meter slice at 383.9 g/t silver and a 24 meter section at 291 g/t silver.
A second hole was drilled from 154 meters at 37 meters with 113.5 g/t silver and 1.5 g/t gold; This includes a distance of 8.7 meters and a weight of 321 g/t silver. This hold was reinforced by a third hole pulling 152.9 g/t silver from 16 meters upstream and a six-metre gold strike grading 2.55 g/t from 201 metres.
Within the existing resource, the project’s S2 zone is shaping up to be a significant growth engine with an average of 102 g/t silver equivalent. It was marked as a priority target, remaining open throughout the attack and in depth.
Patriot Resources CEO Dominic Duggan said: “Completion of the Tassa acquisition secures a high-grade, silver-heavy asset for Patriot with a JORC resource of 31Moz AgEq. “The fact that mineralization remains open in all directions along a 2.8 kilometer trend underlines the significant growth potential remaining within this system, which will be targeted by the first drilling campaign.”
Patriot’s phase one campaign, planned for this year, is aimed at systematically filling and expanding the existing drilling array, which are already defined high-grade corridors. The company also plans to crack down on exploration by pursuing interpreted structural positions that could host additional mineralization outside the boundaries of the current resource model.
Tassa comes with some useful homework already done, thanks to previous work from Bear Creek Mining and Teck Resources; Modeling from these studies suggests that the current resource may only dredge the surface of a much larger mineralized system.
Patriot plans to get right out of the blocks and touch down at Tassa, turning directly to mapping and surface sampling to fine-tune its next round of targets.
These activities will be carried out in parallel with permits, community engagement and agreements, followed by a phase one drilling campaign later in the year to expand and develop the company’s resource base.
Patriot has now seized the keys to a silver system that is already big enough to matter, rich enough to excite, and open enough to keep the story going.
If the company’s phase one drilling does what it’s designed to do, Tassa can quickly go from being a great entry point to a growth play that’s hard to ignore, and that’s exactly the kind of runway that will lift the market.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au
