Latin Resources (ASX:LRS) has moved to further improve the potential of its Ilo Este copper porphyry project in Peru with a new round of drilling with local joint venture partner Compania Minera Zahena.
Drilling of Zahena’s first hole at Ilo Este has commenced and a second rig will commence a second hole this week.
Latin assigned the rights and an earn-in option to transfer 70% ownership of the project to Zahena for a total consideration of US$1 million cash and minimum exploration work commitments totalling 11,000 metres of diamond drilling valued at approximately US$3 million.
Latin’s Peruvian Subsidiary will receive an “exploration success” payment of US$5 million in the event that a successful definitive feasibility study is produced to exploit mineral resources from Ilo Este either during the option period or following the formation of newco.
The three holes that Latin drilled in 2014 proved there was potential for a copper project if the company could find better grade – which represents a big opportunity for the current Zahena drilling campaign.
These three holes each host porphyry copper mineralisation and cover 1.1 kilometres of strike in the northern intrusive belt, with the southern intrusive belt still to be tested.
The likely extension of the northern intrusive belt under cover to the East South East increases the size potential of the already very large system, as does the possible fault offset upper portion of the porphyry which may host the typically higher grade phyllic zone.
Ilo Este has first class infrastructure on the doorstep, right in the heart of a major copper producing region, where there are 125 billion pounds of contained copper in published reserves and resources including the Cuajone, Toquepala and Cerro Verde copper mines, all within 130 kilometres of Ilo Este.
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