EuroPacific Metals (TSX-V:EUP) CEO Karim Rayani joined Proactive to discuss recent positive drill results from the company’s Miguel Vacas copper project in Portugal.
Recent drilling targeted high-grade zones, with initial results showing significant copper grades such as 22.8 meters grading 2.76% copper, including 9 meters grading 7.49% copper, Rayani highlighted.
He expressed optimism over the project’s potential, as the company plans further infill and step-out drilling to confirm the oxidative blanket and prepare for a resource calculation.
Proactive: News out from the company about your drilling efforts that are going on right now at Miguel Vacas. So, let's talk about that project first and then talk to me a bit about what's going on drilling-wise in these results.
Karim Rayani: So, the project lies in Portugal, 180 km east of Lisbon. It is a copper project and it is quickly shaping up to be one of the highest grade copper projects that lies along the Iberian Peninsula. The pyrite belt extends from Portugal through to Spain. It is about 250 km long, 50 km wide. And this area has the largest concentration of massive sulfides in the world. There are roughly 400 million tons of ore that is basically identified along this belt. And we're right in the center of all this action.
Your latest drilling now has targeted a high-grade zone, is that right?
Correct. This is a historic past producer. We're essentially defining an open pit deposit in a shallow, open pit. We think we have between 20 and 25 million tons. There's an oxidative blanket, roughly 300,000 tons, that we're currently bringing to a current report. This is really all leading into our first hole which hit as high as 7.49% copper. So, we expanded our program, went down to 350 m, undercut that zone and down to the 300-meter level. We hit a 30-meter zone, which is grading with pretty similar results. It seems like it's getting richer with larger widths. We should be able to come up with a resource calculation after another drill program.
Are you going to do more holes within this area as well, or do you want to expand sort of the area that you're looking at?
We did a couple of test holes to the north and that program, those two holes, went extremely well. Right now, we're focused more in a southern direction, going along strike. We've done some infill drilling and we've done some step outs and this is just to confirm the oxidative blanket so we can get to a resource calculation and then you basically set up a small-scale operation.
It sounds like you're very excited about this particular project. It sounds like there's some great potential here.
This is probably the richest copper project right now for copper grades along this peninsula. We feel that there is about 20 to 25 million tons. It could be bigger. The drills will be able to tell a better story as we advance.
Quotes have been edited for clarity and style