Solis Minerals Ltd is gearing up for an extensive exploration and drill testing season for its copper projects in the prolific Copper Coastal Belt of Peru, selecting a new CEO as outgoing CEO Michael Parker moves to a technical director role.
Formerly chief financial officer of Latin Resources, incoming CEO Mitch Thomas has worked extensively in South America, including three years in Peru with Rio Tinto at the La Granja Copper Project.
Thomas also worked with Rio Tinto’s copper-focused London M&A team and more recently played an instrumental role in the divestment of Latin Resources’ Salinas Lithium Project in Brazil to Pilbara Minerals Limited for $600 million.
Proven track record with copper projects
“We are delighted to welcome Mitch Thomas to Solis Minerals,” Solis non-executive chair Chris Gale said.
“Mitch has a proven track record of supporting early-stage and large-scale mining projects in South America to deliver shareholder value.
“We are very excited about the extensive drilling campaign in 2025 that will take place across our copper-rich tenement package in southern Peru.
“We are confident that Mitch, Mike Parker and the whole Solis team, will position Solis Minerals for success in 2025 and beyond.
“We also thank Mike Parker for his leadership over the past six months and for accepting the position of technical director in Peru.
“The extensive work in identifying drill-ready targets and adding more tenements to our now 66,000-hectare tenement package in southern Peru has placed Solis Minerals in a commanding position in what is one of the most attractive copper provinces globally.”
Read: Solis Minerals identifies extensive copper mineralisation at Cinto Project, Peru
Busy year of drilling
Mike Parker will transition to a predominantly technical focus for Solis, leveraging his experience as a geologist.
Parker has held senior country manager positions with First Quantum Minerals and was responsible for two major copper discoveries: the Lonshi and Frontier copper mines.
Solis intends to drill test the Chancho Al Palo project in the first quarter of this year followed by Ilo Este in the second, once permitting is complete.
The company is also undertaking various exploration activities at the Cinto, Chocolate and Canyon projects during the year with an eye to drill testing further targets in the second half of 2025.