As copper trades near multi-year highs and major miners scramble to secure long-life supply across the Andes, Solis Minerals Ltd (TSX-V:SLMN, ASX:SLM, OTCQB:SLMFF, FRA:08WA) is preparing to test two porphyry copper systems in Peru in what shapes as a defining first half of 2026.
Exploring for Copper-Goldin South America.
Presenting at the RIU Explorers Conference this week, the junior outlined imminent drilling at its 100%-owned Cinto project in southern Peru, followed by a larger campaign at the Cucho project in Ancash. Together, the programs represent the company’s first coordinated drill push across its Peruvian portfolio and a shift from surface work to systematic subsurface testing.
Peru provides the broader context. The country produced 2.7 million tonnes (Mt) of copper in 2024, ranking as the world’s third-largest producer, with mining accounting for 8.5% of GDP and 64% of exports. According to the EY Mining & Metals Investment Guide 2025/2026, around US$40 billion is expected to be allocated to mining projects in Peru in coming years, with copper dominating planned investment.
For early-stage explorers, that combination of geological endowment and established infrastructure remains a key drawcard.
Cinto: Testing a porphyry target in a producing belt
Cinto, located near Tacna in southern Peru, sits roughly 13 kilometres southeast of Southern Copper’s Toquepala operation and within a corridor that also hosts Cuajone and Quellaveco — some of the country’s largest porphyry copper systems.
The project is 100% owned and lies along the Incaquipiuo Fault, a regional structure associated with copper porphyry mineralisation.
Surface channel sampling has returned encouraging grades across multiple zones, including:
- 23.4 metres at 0.88% Cu
- 7.0 metres at 0.82% Cu
- 16.83 metres at 0.52% Cu
- 3.5 metres at 0.95% Cu
Visual mineralisation includes malachite and azurite at surface, with copper assays reported during 2025 exploration work.
Solis has secured a community access agreement and defined an initial 2.5-kilometre diamond drilling program to test attractive but as yet unverified geophysical and geochemical anomalies. Drilling is scheduled to commence in Q1 2026.
The proximity to existing large-scale operations provides both geological analogy and practical context. While Cinto remains an early-stage exploration target with no defined resource, its location within an established mining district reduces some of the jurisdictional and infrastructure uncertainty typically associated with frontier copper plays.
Cinto Project: Strong copper mineralisation at surface, IP defined targets and drilling strategy defined.
Cucho: Expanding beyond historical drilling
Cucho, where Solis can earn up to 100% ownership under a staged entry structure, represents the company’s larger-scale opportunity.
The project is a copper-molybdenum-silver system located about 44 kilometres from the coast in Ancash, with access to established infrastructure.
A 2014 diamond drilling campaign totalling 2,000 metres intersected mineralisation in all seven holes. Reported intersections included:
- 169.7m at 0.24% Cu, 0.012% Mo and 1.0 g/t Ag from surface
- 175.4m at 0.28% Cu, 0.012% Mo and 1.3 g/t Ag from surface
- 269.1m at 0.25% Cu, 0.011% Mo and 1.1 g/t Ag from surface
These results demonstrate broad, consistent mineralisation. However, historical drilling focused primarily on oxide zones within a restricted footprint of the overall tenement. A 2014 technical report concluded that “the main geochemical and geophysical anomalies were left without verification by drilling”.
Cucho – Exploration to date.
Solis is now planning a more extensive, approximately 5-kilometre diamond drilling program targeting those deeper, untested anomalies.
The project lies around 40 kilometres from Element 29 Resources (TSX-V:ECU, OTCQB:EMTRF)’s Elida project, which hosts an inferred resource of 321Mt at 0.32% Cu, 0.03% Mo and 2.61 g/t Ag. While Solis cautions that comparisons are illustrative only and that Cucho does not currently host a defined mineral resource, the broader district is clearly prospective for large-scale porphyry systems.
The next round of drilling will test whether Cucho’s mineralised footprint extends beyond the oxide zone and into a larger sulphide system at depth.
Cucho – Geophysical Targets.
Corporate structure and funding
Solis has 259 million shares on issue, with Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX:PLS) holding a 5% stake. The company reported A$4.2 million in cash as of December 31, 2025, and a market capitalisation of around A$10 million as of mid-February.
Management includes former Rio Tinto and Teck executives, along with directors involved in the A$600 million sale of Latin Resources to Pilbara Minerals. Chief executive Mitch Thomas previously served as Rio Tinto’s CFO of Battery Materials and CFO of Latin Resources during the Pilbara transaction.
The company has also outlined ongoing geological modelling at Ilo Este and Chancho al Palo alongside its copper-focused programs.
A catalyst-heavy first half
Solis has framed 2026 as a milestone year, with Cinto drilling targeted for Q1 and Cucho drilling for Q2.
Next steps – drilling copper-gold targets.
For a junior explorer at this stage, the upcoming campaigns represent the first meaningful test of its Peruvian portfolio under current management. Success at either project would shift the narrative from surface mineralisation and historical intercepts to discovery-scale potential.
With copper demand forecasts increasingly tied to electrification, grid expansion and supply constraints in established districts, the timing of Solis’ drill campaigns places it squarely in the flow of renewed interest in Andean copper exploration.