Eloro Resources Ltd. (TSX: ELO; OTCQX: ELRRF; FSE: P2QM) (“Eloro”,
or the “Company”) is pleased to announce commencement of a
preliminary economic assessment (“PEA”) for the Iska Iska
silver-tin polymetallic project in the Potosi Department of
southwestern Bolivia. The PEA study will consider the inferred
mineral resource estimate (“MRE”) of 560 million tonnes grading
13.8 g Ag/t, 0.73% Zn and 0.28% Pb in the Polymetallic (Ag-Zn-Pb)
Domain and 110 million tonnes grading 0.12% Sn, 14.2 g Ag/t and
0.14% Pb in the Tin Domain (Sn-Ag-Pb). While the Polymetallic
Domain and the Tin Domain do not overlap or share any resource
blocks, for the purposes of the PEA the mineral resources within
both domains will be combined.
Lycopodium, based in Brisbane, Australia, will
be the lead consultant providing overall coordination of the PEA
with development of metallurgical flowsheets. The various aspects
of the PEA study including design of tailings and waste dump
facilities, mine design and infrastructure, environmental and
hydrology studies, will be done by internationally qualified
consultants. Micon International will provide independent oversight
on financial modelling, metallurgy and mineral resource estimates.
Mike Hallewell, BSc. F.I.M.M.M., F.S.A.I.M.M., F.M.E.S., C.Eng.,
Senior Strategic Metallurgist, and Dr. Bill Pearson, P.Geo.,
Executive Vice President Exploration, will oversee the study for
Eloro in consultation with Dr. Osvaldo Arce, P.Geo., and his team
at Minera Tupiza in Bolivia.
Tom Larsen, CEO of Eloro, said: “We are
delighted to commence the PEA study on Iska Iska just 3 years after
we began our initial exploration drill program. This is another
major step in moving the development of Iska Iska forward. We are
also planning additional definition drilling to further expand the
higher-grade zones as well as planning to carry out definitive
“ore-sorting” tests at TOMRA in Germany. We have assembled an
excellent team which has already been onsite this week to kick off
preparations for the PEA study. Recent induced
polarization/resistivity surveys west of Santa Barbara have
outlined several promising drill targets to extend the Tin Domain
and initial drill testing is planned on these new targets.”
Qualified Person
The inaugural MRE for Iska Iska has been
prepared by Micon International Limited. Independent Qualified
Persons (QPs) engaged for the Technical Report are Charley Murahwi,
P.Geo., FAusIMM, Richard Gowans, P.Eng., Ing., Alan J. San Martin,
MAusIMM (CP) and Abdul Aziz Drame, P.Eng., all of whom are
independent QP’s as defined by NI 43-101. Mr. Murahwi completed
site visits in January 2020 and November 2022.
Dr. Bill Pearson, P.Geo., Executive Vice
President Exploration at Eloro and a Qualified Person as defined by
NI 43-101 has reviewed and approved the technical content of this
news release. Dr. Pearson, who has more than 45 years of worldwide
mining exploration experience, including extensive work in South
America, manages the overall technical program, working closely
with Dr. Osvaldo Arce, P.Geo. General Manager of Eloro’s Bolivian
subsidiary, Minera Tupiza S.R.L., and a Qualified Person in the
context of NI 43-101. Dr. Quinton Hennigh, P.Geo., Senior Technical
Advisor to Eloro and Independent Technical Advisor, Mr. Charley
Murahwi, P. Geo., FAusIMM, of Micon are regularly consulted on
technical aspects of the project.
Eloro is utilizing both ALS and AHK for drill
core analysis, both of whom are major international accredited
laboratories. Drill samples sent to ALS are prepared in both
ALS Bolivia Ltda’s preparation facility in Oruro, Bolivia, and
the preparation facility operated by AHK in Tupiza with pulps sent
to the main ALS Global laboratory in Lima, Peru, for analysis. More
recently, Eloro has had ALS send pulps to their laboratory at
Galway in Ireland. Eloro employs an industry standard QA/QC program
with standards, blanks and duplicates inserted into each batch of
samples analyzed with selected check samples sent to a separate
accredited laboratory.
Drill core samples sent to AHK Laboratories are
prepared in a preparation facility installed and managed by AHK in
Tupiza with pulps sent to the AHK laboratory in Lima, Peru. Au and
Sn analysis on these samples is done by ALS Bolivia Ltda in Lima.
Check samples between ALS and AHK are regularly done as a QA/QC
check. AHK is following the same analytical protocols used as with
ALS and with the same QA/QC protocols.
About Iska Iska
Iska Iska silver-tin polymetallic project is a
road accessible, royalty-free property, wholly controlled by the
Title Holder, Empresa Minera Villegas S.R.L. and is located 48 km
north of Tupiza city, in the Sud Chichas Province of the Department
of Potosi in southern Bolivia. Eloro has an option to earn a 100%
interest in Iska Iska.
Iska Iska is a major silver-tin polymetallic
porphyry-epithermal complex associated with a Miocene possibly
collapsed/resurgent caldera, emplaced on Ordovician age rocks with
major breccia pipes, dacitic domes and hydrothermal breccias. The
caldera is 1.6km by 1.8km in dimension with a vertical extent of at
least 1km. Mineralization age is similar to Cerro Rico de Potosí
and other major deposits such as San Vicente, Chorolque, Tasna and
Tatasi located in the same geological trend.
Eloro began underground diamond drilling from
the Huayra Kasa underground workings at Iska Iska on September 13,
2020. On November 18, 2020, Eloro announced the discovery of a
significant breccia pipe with extensive silver polymetallic
mineralization just east of the Huayra Kasa underground workings
and a high-grade gold-bismuth zone in the underground workings. On
November 24, 2020, Eloro announced the discovery of the Santa
Barbara Brecia Pipe (“SBBP”) approximately 150m southwest of the
Huayra Kasa underground workings.
Subsequently, on January 26, 2021, Eloro
announced significant results from the first drilling at the SBBP
including the discovery hole DHK-15 which returned 29.53g Ag/t,
0.078g Au/t, 1.45%Zn, and 0.59%Pb over 257.5m from 0.0m to 257.5m.
Subsequent drilling has confirmed significant values of Ag-Sn
polymetallic mineralization in the SBBP and the adjacent CBP. A
substantive mineralized envelope which is open along strike and
down-dip extends around both major breccia pipes. Continuous
channel sampling of the Santa Barbara Adit located to the east of
SBBP returned 164.96 g Ag/t, 0.46%Sn, 3.46% Pb and 0.14% Cu over
166m including 446 g Ag/t, 9.03% Pb and 1.16% Sn over 56.19m. The
west end of the adit intersects the end of the SBBP.
Since the initial discovery hole, Eloro has
released a number of significant drill results in the SBBP and the
surrounding mineralized envelope which along with geophysical data
has defined an extensive target zone. In its September 20, 2022
press release, the Company reported that new downhole geophysical
data has significantly extended the strike length of the high-grade
feeder zone at Santa Barbara a further 250m along strike to the
south-southeast from existing drilling. The 3D inverse magnetic
model which correlates very strongly with the conductive zone
suggested that the high-grade feeder zone may extend across the
entire caldera for as much as a further 1 km along strike for a
total potential strike length of at least 2 km. As reported, the
definition drill program was modified to sectionally drill this
potential extension with the intention of defining a major open
pittable deposit in the valley of the caldera.
The Company completed 84,495m of drilling in 122
holes from the definition drill program in the Santa Barbara target
area, as previously announced on November 27, 2022.
On November 22, 2022, Eloro announced the
pending acquisition of the Mina Casiterita and Mina Hoyada
properties covering 14.75 km2 southwest and west of Iska Iska.
These properties connect with the TUP-3 and TUP-6 claims previously
staked by Eloro. Eloro has also staked additional land in the area.
Subject to the finalization of the granting of the mining rights
process and the completion of the acquisition transaction for the
Mina Casiterita and Mina Hoyada properties, the total land package
in the Iska Iska area to be controlled by Eloro will total 1,935
quadrants covering 483.75 km2.
Artisanal mining in the 1960’s identified high
grade tin (Sn) veins on the Mina Casiterita property that are
hosted in an intrusive dacite. Production from 1962 to 1964 is
reported by the Departamento Nacional de Geología in Bolivia to be
69.85 tonnes grading 50.60% Sn.
Recently completed magnetic surveys by Eloro
have outlined an extensive, near surface, magnetic intrusive body
on the Mina Casiterita property immediately southwest of Iska Iska.
This intrusive hosts the previously mined high-grade tin veins and
is very likely the continuation of the porphyry tin intrusion
projected to be below the epithermal Ag-Sn-Zn-Pb mineralization at
Iska Iska. Initial reconnaissance drilling at Casiterita returned
0.17% Sn over 52.75m in the vicinity of these old artisanal
workings.
On July 26, 2023, Eloro released results of
substantial metallurgical work on samples from the Polymetallic and
Tin Domains. Preliminary tests at TOMRA in Germany indicate the
mineralization at Iska Iska is amenable to “ore-sorting” with
removal of at least 40% of the waste in the Polymetallic Domain and
up to 80% in the Tin Domain which would substantially increase
concentrator feed grades as well as reduce future operating costs
and significantly lower the cut-off grades (COG) for the mineral
resource estimates (MRE) and the PEA.
Positive “ore-sorting” results were obtained
from composite samples of both the tin (Sn) and polymetallic
(Ag-Zn-Pb) mineralization domains in the Santa Barbara deposit
indicating its wide applicability throughout the entire
deposit.
Further metallurgical studies conducted by
Wardell Armstrong International on a composite sample of the tin
mineralization has improved tin concentrator stage recovery to 50%.
This recovery is un-optimised and has been achieved using a mixture
of Multi Gravity and tin flotation techniques which are
specifically designed to recover the finer grained cassiterite.
The concentrator could produce an approximately
5%Sn concentrate grade amenable to the tin fuming process that
ultimately could produce a 60-70%Sn concentrate for smelting.
The level of metallurgical and pyrometallurgical
work that has been conducted is exceptionally high for an inaugural
MRE but is justifiable due to the significance of this large
potentially open pittable tin and polymetallic resource. The
additional metallurgical/mineralogical knowledge will enable Eloro
to rapidly move forward with the PEA.
About Eloro Resources Ltd.
Eloro is an exploration and mine development
company with a portfolio of gold and base-metal properties in
Bolivia, Peru and Quebec. Eloro has an option to acquire a 100%
interest in the highly prospective Iska Iska Property, which can be
classified as a polymetallic epithermal-porphyry complex, a
significant mineral deposit type in the Potosi Department, in
southern Bolivia. A recent NI 43-101 Technical Report on Iska Iska,
which was completed by Micon International Limited, is available on
Eloro’s website and under its filings on SEDAR. Iska Iska is a
road-accessible, royalty-free property. Eloro also owns an 82%
interest in the La Victoria Gold/Silver Project, located in the
North-Central Mineral Belt of Peru some 50 km south of Barrick’s
Lagunas Norte Gold Mine and Pan American Silver’s La Arena Gold
Mine.
For further information please contact
either Thomas G. Larsen, Chairman and CEO or Jorge Estepa,
Vice-President at (416) 868-9168.
Information in this news release may contain
forward-looking information. Statements containing forward-looking
information express, as at the date of this news release, the
Company’s plans, estimates, forecasts, projections, expectations,
or beliefs as to future events or results and are believed to be
reasonable based on information currently available to the Company.
There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will
prove to be accurate. Actual results and future events could differ
materially from those anticipated in such statements. Readers
should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.
Neither the TSX nor its Regulation Services
Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX)
accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this
release.
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