Prismo Metals (CSE: PRIZ; WKN A2QEGD) just reported assay results from 15 rock samples from the Ripsey Mine Project in Arizona. The samples come from the surface and shallow underground workings and extend the previously traced strike length of the mineralization to approximately 600 meters. Several samples showed high grades of gold and silver, as well as significant amounts of copper and zinc!
Highlights include 14.7 g/t gold, more than 100 g/t silver (over limit, detailed result pending), 3.28% copper and 3.26% zinc from a stope area in the east tunnel. Another sample from the main shaft yielded 14.6 g/t gold and also >100 g/t silver. In addition to these peak values, additional samples from the east tunnel and surface outcrops repeatedly show elevated values of silver, copper and zinc.
According to company information, additional mapping and sampling are now planned on Ripsey. The work is running in parallel to the drill preparations for the nearby Silver King project. The spectacular Ripsey results suggest that multiple zones along the Ripsey mineralization can be sampled, which broadens the potential for future drill targets. The data now reported are based on grab samples with documented sample widths between 0.4 and 1.5 meters; they do not yet define a resource, but serve to derive targets for early exploration phases.
Promising Location of Prismo Metals Ripsey Project in the Arizona Copper Belt
Prismo Metals’ Ripsey area lies within the Arizona Copper Belt – a historic mining region with numerous precious and base metal deposits. Prismo Metals emphasizes that Ripsey is located on patented land. According to the company, no separate approval would therefore be required for drilling, which could mean a significant time advantage. In addition, the option agreement for Ripsey does not contain any minimum expenditure for exploration during its five-year term. This structure is intended to give the company flexibility in budgeting between Ripsey and Silver King.
Operationally, Prismo Metals sees synergies: both projects are being processed from the same location, which, according to management, can create time and resource efficiency effects. Ripsey is located approximately 40 kilometers southeast of the historic Silver King Mine and approximately 20 kilometers west of the company’s own Hot Breccia property. The spatial proximity facilitates parallel field work – from mapping and sampling to prioritizing drill targets. Prismo Metals considers the recent Ripsey results to be a complement to the ongoing preparations for the first drilling program on Silver King.
Silver King: New Samples, Additional Structures and IP Survey
In addition to the Ripsey results, Prismo Metals reports on a second batch of samples from the Silver King project in Arizona. From an area interpreted as a potential northern continuation of a polymetallic vein east of the so-called “glory hole”, grades of 47 g/t Ag, 3.43% Pb and 3.42% Zn originate. Another vein was also identified in a small trench approximately 100 meters southwest of the historic mine, which shows anomalous values for silver and base metals. Elevated copper grades were also found in several grab samples at “Black Diamond”.
The latest mapping has expanded the drill targets: In addition to additional veins, zones with replacement mineralization have been identified. Prismo Metals also describes a felsic intrusion with strong sericite alteration and a moderately to strongly developed quartz-pyrite stockwork near the Black Diamond structure. This intrusive rock lies as an erosion window within a less altered quartz diorite intrusion and could – in analogy to historical work from 1980/81 – represent the upper parts of a porphyry system. Based on these observations, the company intends to carry out an induced polarization measurement (IP) over the license area in the short term. According to Prismo Metals, the start of the IP survey is planned for the coming week; the field work should take two to three weeks and provide geophysical control structures for subsequent drilling.
Overview of Silver King
Silver King is one of Arizona’s well-known historical silver producers. Since its discovery in 1875, almost 6 million ounces of silver are said to have been produced; historical peak grades of up to 61 ounces per ton are reported. The property is located approximately three kilometers from the main shaft of the Resolution Copper project – a joint venture between Rio Tinto and BHP, which is one of the largest undeveloped copper deposits in the world.
According to company information, Silver King is completely surrounded by claims of the Resolution Copper block, which gives the location strategic importance. Grab samples from a smaller mining operation in the late 1990s had shown locally very high silver and gold grades, which may indicate remaining high-grade areas; however, a transferability to today’s resource statements cannot yet be derived from this.
For investors and industry observers, Prismo Metals classifies the current steps as part of a two-pronged strategy: Ripsey is being further consolidated with mapping and sampling, while geophysical preliminary work at Silver King is intended to support drill planning. Whether and to what extent the grab sample results now reported will be confirmed in future drilling campaigns will then be shown in the next exploration phase.
