Cerro de Pasco: Nine additional holes at Quiulacocha show higher than expected silver grades

Cerro de Pasco Resources (CSE: CDPR; OTCQB: GPPRF; FRA: N8HP) is finally able to demonstrate the true potential of its polymetallic Quiulacocha tailings project in central Peru: more silver than expected and extremely high-grade gallium with an average grade of 34.61 g/t to date. The company has just published a further 177 samples from nine drill holes, which suggest that the metal content is consistent at depth and laterally beyond 400 and 600 meters of the drill area examined so far.

The results are part of a 40-hole drill program at the Quiulacocha Tailings Project, which was completed on October 23 of this year. More than 1,000 samples were taken, of which 177 have been analyzed to date, including hole SPT04, which was released on October 15. The 177 samples analyzed to date have an average silver grade of 1.72 ounces per tonne (t) silver (53.64 g/t Ag), which is 37% higher than the average of the near-surface drill hole samples reported by Brophy in 2012 in the northern and central sections of the Quiulacocha Tailings Project. In addition to silver, zinc and lead were found to have average grades of 1.56% Zn and 0.77% Pb.

Gallium, an important mineral used in high performance microchips for advanced military technologies, is present in these 177 samples with an average grade of 34.61 g/t and reaching a maximum of 144 g/t, increasing towards the center of the Quiulacocha tailings project. Iron values also indicate consistent pyrite presence throughout the deposit. Pyrite (estimated to comprise 50% of the waste) could be a valuable by-product for the project. The potential for pyrite recovery, including likely grade, by-products, and impurities, will be evaluated as part of the upcoming metallurgical test program.

Figure 1: 40-hole Quiulacocha drill program with drill holes with assays completed. Bar graph shows silver grade over 400 meters of Quiulacocha declines, among other information.

Guy Goulet, CEO of CDPR, commented, “These results are extremely encouraging and exceed our initial projections, particularly in terms of the continuity and grade of silver. In addition to zinc, lead, silver, copper and gold, the detection of elements such as gallium and indium – which are critical to advanced 5G technologies, robotics and nuclear medicine – offers the potential for valuable by-products in the planned concentrates. Representative composite samples will now undergo metallurgical testing to support further studies. These results will be incorporated into our planning for an expanded drill campaign to commence in Q2 2025, focused on the remaining tailings piles.”

Conclusion: Assay results from 177 samples from nine drill holes from the northern and central areas of the polymetallic tailings (Ag-Zn-Pb;) represent only about 15% of the current drill program. In other words, 85% of the results are still pending. Cerro de Pasco expects to publish the remaining samples step by step from the beginning of next year. The results should always be evaluated in the context of the historical partial exploration in this part of the Quiulacocha Tailings. To date, the results indicate silver grades that are 37% higher than expected. In addition to the metal grades, the outstanding results of the metallurgical tests are, of course, crucial for the economic viability of the project. In its preliminary calculations, Cerro de Pasco has publicly based its calculations exclusively on the historically measured metal grades and a metal recovery rate of 41%. According to Cerro de Pasco, these figures alone would enable the project to generate an annual profit of CAD 140 million in a 10,000 tons per day / 3.6 million tons per annum production scenario. It is therefore worth paying close attention to the metal contents and perhaps even more so to the upcoming metallurgy.