Patriot Resources has identified a new silver and base-metal target at Elvira in southern Peru, where maiden surface sampling returned silver, lead, zinc, copper and highly anomalous molybdenum. The area lies 2km north-east of the company’s 31.4-million-ounce silver-equivalent Tassa resource.
Initial work across the Elvira sector of the Pachamayo target covered 65 hectares and included 38 surface rock samples. It outlined a mineralised opaline silica breccia extending for about 120 metres and measuring up to 20 metres wide.
The strongest sample from the breccia contained 27.7 grams per tonne of silver, 3,000 parts per million of lead and 2,550 parts per million of arsenic. A second sample returned 17.6 grams per tonne of silver, alongside elevated pathfinder elements including 111 parts per million of antimony and 36 parts per million of bismuth.
Sampling in the surrounding altered volcanic tuffaceous rocks also produced notable results. One rock chip returned 1,130 parts per million of zinc and 343 parts per million of molybdenum, while another contained 1,695 parts per million of lead and 246 parts per million of molybdenum.
Elvira sampling points to possible epithermal system
Patriot said the results confirmed localised silver and base-metal anomalism beyond the current Tassa resource, about 2km to the south-west. The combination of silver, lead, zinc, arsenic, antimony, bismuth and molybdenum is regarded by the company as a classic epithermal signature, similar to that found in the main Tassa zone.
The opaline silica exposed at the surface is considered significant because it commonly forms near the top of epithermal systems. Patriot believes the feature may indicate that the mineralisation has been preserved, with higher-grade zones potentially located beneath the weather-resistant silica cap.
The company is now assessing whether Elvira represents an extension of the main Tassa hydrothermal system or a separate mineralised centre. The presence of bismuth and molybdenum may also point to a hotter, intrusion-related source, according to management.
Tassa has an inferred JORC-compliant resource of 18.53 million tonnes grading 52.68 grams per tonne for 31.4 million ounces of silver equivalent. Patriot has also defined an exploration target of between 359 million and 422 million tonnes grading 48 to 57 grams per tonne silver equivalent, equivalent to a potential 559 million to 774 million additional silver-equivalent ounces.
Further mapping and sampling is planned along the two-kilometre corridor between Tassa and Elvira, while the company awaits drill permits for the main Tassa resource area. The work is intended to establish whether the two mineralised zones are connected.
The exploration programme comes as investment in Peru’s commodities sector reached US$3.3 billion in the first half of the year, a 42.7 per cent increase year on year. Peru has the world’s largest silver reserves and is among the leading producers of zinc and molybdenum.
