Laconia Resources records high-grade Peruvian copper hits
THE DRILL SERGEANT: Laconia Resources (ASX: LCR) has identified high-grade copper-gold-silver in historical diamond drilling and surface channel sampling at its newly-optioned Fortuna prospect, located within the company’s Rasuhuilca project in Peru.
Although the company indicated the results represent early-stage exploration work, it also said it considers them to be of some significance for two reasons.
First, they suggest high-grade copper discovered at the adjacent Española prospect at Rasuhuilca continues into Fortuna, presenting potential for further increases in the project’s total resource inventory.
Second, they support Laconia’s growing belief the shallow high-grade copper-gold-silver mineralisation sits as a cap over an extensive copper porphyry system at Rasuhuilca.
“The company is extremely encouraged by the identification of further strong copper-gold-silver grades from our flagship Peruvian project,” Laconia Resources managing director Ian Stuart said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.
“Our knowledge of the wider Rasuhuilca Volcanic system continues to grow through the systematic processing and follow up of the excellent historical data.”
The copper in the cap, combined with knowledge of the geology, mineralisation and alteration, supports Laconia’s view that the porphyry may be an “El-Indio style” gold and copper porphyry system.
Fortuna is contained within a package of 11 tenements, over which Laconia recently acquired an option and is one of several targets at Rasuhuilca, including Española.
Plan View of the Fortuna Prospect, showing surface sample locations
(coloured by copper content) and the drill hole locations. Source:
Company announcement
Laconia intends conducting further sampling work over coming months at all targets, as well as Fortuna, with a view to undertaking an extensive drilling program across the project in the second half of this calendar year.
“The presence of significant copper, in conjunction with the gold and silver epithermal veins already identified, adds significantly to the potential of the entire Rasuhuilca project,” Stuart said.
“We are looking forward to starting our preliminary 2,000 metre drilling program to upgrade and grow the Rasuhuilca resource.”
This program, which is subject to regulatory approval, will be aimed at both upgrading the existing JORC resource of 360,000 tonnes at 1.97g/t gold and 179g/t silver and growing it by including mineralisation from these other targets.
The company is working on permitting and community agreements utilising the Declaración de Impacto Ambiental (“DIA”) process of the Peruvian regulatory system, to obtain approval for the drilling program to commence.