Cerro de Pasco: Silver and gallium grades increase in southern part of deposit

 Cerro de Pasco Resources (CSE CDPR / FRA N8HP) completed its 40-hole drill program on the huge, polymetallic Quiulacocha tailings project at the end of October 2024. More than 1,000 samples were taken from a significant portion of the deposit. Since then, the company has been reporting drill results that have exceeded initial expectations every time – as they did again, now!

At the beginning of the week, the company presented the results from eight further drill holes, which once again showed higher silver grades than Cerro de Pasco had previously estimated. An originally unexpected bonus: the consistent and increasing presence of gallium!

The highlights of the latest drill results

• – Hole SPT10 intersected 31 meters of 47 grams per tonne silver (“Ag”), 1.30% zinc (“Zn”), 0.87% lead (“Pb”) and 58 g/t gallium (“Ga”) including a 5 m intercept of 0.21% copper (“Cu”) and 0.43 g/t gold (“Au”)
  – Hole SPT11 intersected 27 m of 43 g/t Ag, 1.22 % Zn, 0.84 % Pb and 64 g/t Ga including a 3 m intercept of 0.20 % Cu and 0.23 g/t Au
  – Hole SPT21 intersected 27m of 45g/t Ag, 1.29% Zn, 0.81% Pb and 59g/t Ga including a 2m interval of 0.21% Cu and 0.23g/t Au
  – Hole SPT22 intersected 26m of 46g/t Ag, 1.26% Zn, 0.98% Pb and 69g/t Ga including a 2m interval of 0.25% Cu and 0.19g/t Au
  – Hole SPT23 intersected 28m of 53g/t Ag, 1.53% Zn, 1.12% Pb and 83g/t Ga including a 5m intercept of 0.31% Cu and 0.32g/t Au
  – Hole SPT32 intersected 31 m with 47 g/t Ag, 1.26 % Zn, 0.89 % Pb and 65 g/t Ga
  – Hole SPT1_1 intersected 26 m of 52 g/t Ag, 1.54 % Zn, 1.17 % Pb and 84 g/t Ga including a 1 m intercept of 0.31 % Cu and 0.12 g/t Au and
  – Drill hole SPT1_2 intersected 16 m with 48 g/t Ag, 1.39 % Zn, 0.99 % Pb and 65 g/t Ga

According to Cerro de Pasco, the results show that the metal content continues consistently at depth and laterally over 800 meters.

Now also significant copper and gold contents

In addition, Cerro de Pasco has repeatedly been able to demonstrate significant grades of copper and gold in recent drilling. One highlight that CEO Guy Goulet emphasized in this regard was a drill hole with 0.53% copper, 0.45 g/t gold and 95.8 g/t silver. In addition, it is now becoming clear that thicker layers of mineralization and higher grades are located in the southern part of the area tested by drilling.

Lead and gallium grades in particular increase towards the south, exceeding 1% lead and 100 g/t gallium several times! In the southern part of the area drilled, the average gallium content is 59 to 84 g/t, roughly twice as high as in the northern part (21 to 41 g/t). Of course, all of the gallium grades drilled by Cerro de Pasco to date are to be considered extremely high!

High gallium content at the perfect time

The fact that gallium is found so consistently and at ever higher grades in the Quiulacocha deposit, in our view, further enhances the economic potential of the project. The metal, which is classified as critically important, is essential for advanced electronics and renewable energy technology.

Its strategic importance has recently increased significantly after China, which controls a large part of the market for metals such as gallium, germanium and antimony, restricted exports to the USA and other nations. This geopolitical development not only underlines the increasing need for secure and diversified sources of gallium, but also that Cerro de Pasco has excellent timing with its discovery.

As if that were not enough, the iron values detected also indicate a consistent occurrence of pyrite throughout the deposit. The pyrite, which makes up an estimated 50% of the tailings, could therefore prove to be a valuable by-product for the Quiulacocha project, according to the company.

Cerro de Pasco has already announced metallurgical studies that should also answer this and other questions. They include the estimation of grades, by-products and impurities.