Grades of the strategic metal gallium sometimes exceed 100 g/t!
As early as the end of October 2024, Cerro de Pasco Resources (CSE CDPR / FRA N8HP) had completed the first 40-hole drilling program at the Quiulacocha polymetallic tailings deposit. Now, the company is once again presenting results for a portion of the more than 1,000 samples taken, in which the silver grades exceed initial expectations. Not to mention that Cerro de Pasco is also able to demonstrate ever higher grades of the strategically important metal gallium!
In total, the results of eight additional drill holes from the northern part of the Quiulacocha tailings pile, which mainly contains silver, zinc and lead from open-pit mining in past decades, will be presented today. All figures represent the total drill core length from surface. The highlights:
- Drill hole SPT27 intersected 21 meters (“m”) of 49 grams per tonne (“g/t”) silver (“Ag”), 1.47% zinc (“Zn”), 0.68% lead (“Pb”) and 35 g/t gallium (“Ga”)
o Including 6 meters of 0.16% copper (“Cu”) and 0.24 g/t gold (“Au”)
– Hole SPT35 intersected 19 meters of 55 g/t Ag, 1.62% Zn, 0.68% Pb and 40 g/t Ga
including a 3-meter interval grading 0.14% Cu and 0.15 g/t Au
– Hole SPT36 intersected 21 meters grading 50 g/t Ag, 1.30% Zn, 0.64% Pb and 32 g/t Ga
including a 4-meter interval grading 0.12% Cu and 0.14 g/t Au
– Hole SPT39 intersected 22 meters grading 47 g/t Ag, 1.63% Zn, 0.86% Pb and 50 g/t Ga
including a 5-meter interval grading 0.16% Cu and 0.20 g/t Au
– Hole SPT40 intersected 20 m grading 55 g/t Ag, 1.63% Zn, 1.35% Pb and 97 g/t Ga
including a 5-meter interval grading 0.22% Cu and 0.23 g/t Au
– Hole SPT1_6 intersected 17 meters grading 54 g/t Ag, 1.49% Zn, 0.95% Pb and 60 g/t Ga
– Hole SPT12 intersected 27 meters of 52 g/t Ag, 1.28% Zn, 1.30% Pb and 110 g/t Ga
o including a 9 meter interval grading 0.18% Cu and 0.12 g/t Au
– Hole SPT1_3 intersected 32 meters grading 52 g/t Ag, 1.18% Zn, 1.07% Pb and 88 g/t Ga
– including a 16 meter interval grading 0.12% Cu and 0.06 g/t Au

As Cerro de Pasco Resources’ CEO Guy Goulet explains, silver has been detected in all 32 drill holes analyzed from this area to date – and the average grade now exceeds 50 g/t of the precious metal. In addition, the concentration of lead and gallium is observed to increase steadily towards the south. Several samples returned more than 1% lead and 100 g/t gallium. Gallium values in the southern part of the area under investigation range from 50 to 110 g/t, almost double the average value for the northern section!
The consistent and increasing presence of gallium, a metal essential to advanced electronics and renewable energy technologies, significantly enhances the project’s economic potential. The importance of gallium has recently increased sharply in response to China’s export restrictions to the United States and other countries. This has pushed the price of gallium to new highs, underscoring the strategic importance of the metal in global supply chains. This geopolitical shift underscores the urgent need for secure and diversified sources of gallium, so it is fair to say that Cerro de Pasco Resources has demonstrated excellent timing with its discovery.
In addition, the company encountered broader schists containing copper, silver and gold in the southern part of the area that was explored by drilling. Significant zones of 9 and 16 meters in thickness, for example, had more than 0.10% copper. The highest value measured was 0.47% copper, 0.56 g/t gold and 58 g/t silver.
Cerro de Pasco has now demonstrated that the metal content continues at depth and laterally for over 1,000 meters of the area that has been drilled. In addition, the iron content indicates that pyrite is also found continuously in the deposit. Pyrite, which makes up approximately 50% of the tailings, could thus prove to be an important by-product for the company. The upcoming metallurgical tests, among other things, should determine whether this is the case. These should not only assess the potential for pyrite recovery, but also estimate grades, by-products and impurities.
Conclusion: Cerro de Pasco Resources’ Quiulacocha project is a very special case, as it is not a natural deposit, but the tailings from decades of mining one of Peru’s largest polymetallic mines. In the past, mineral contents that many companies would jump at today were considered insufficiently profitable. This not only explains the high metal concentrations that Cerro de Pasco is continuously drilling but also makes the future mining process considerably easier – and thus cheaper – than in a conventional mine. In particular, the gallium contents detected by the company are not usually observed in natural deposits. We are now waiting for the final drill results and are looking forward to the metallurgy tests and the following steps!
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