Solaris resources provides Warintza update

Warintza update

Exploration activities at the Warintza Project continue with seven drill rigs targeting high value growth of the recently reported Warintza mineral resource estimate, with drilling at Warintza Central targeting extensions to near surface, high-grade mineralisation, and major growth targeted from the expansion of drill coverage at Warintza East within a largely undrilled footprint. With the protests in Ecuador having concluded on 30 June 2022, the flow of samples from the company’s core processing facility to its prep laboratory, which has now resumed operations, and onward for final assay in Lima has restarted, with a considerable backlog of assays pending.

Regional exploration update

Solaris has undertaken the first significant programme of regional exploration at Warintza since the original stream sediment sampling program that identified the Warintza porphyry cluster in the 1990s. This work has identified additional porphyry targets, potentially expanding the footprint of the cluster to the northeast, and possibly a new area of porphyry emplacement to the west, approximately halfway to the adjacent San Carlos copper porphyry deposit. 

In addition, this work has established a series of skarn targets, as well as a large high sulfidation epithermal target adjacent to the Warintza porphyry cluster where overlapping mineralised porphyries have intruded a layered sequence of carbonate and volcanic rocks that have provided a fertile setting to develop these styles of mineralisation.

Porphyry targets

• Mateo: 3 x 1.4 km area of copper-molybdenum enrichment in soil samples located approximately 5 km to the east of Warintza East. A programme of detailed mapping and sampling is underway to refine the target in support of drilling.
• Cora: 1.2 x 1.4 km copper-molybdenum-gold soil anomaly in andesitic volcanic sequences cut by porphyry dikes approximately 3 km to the northeast of Warintza East. This anomaly resembles those that defined the Warintza East and Warintza South discoveries. Detailed mapping and sampling are planned to refine the target in support of drilling.
• Medio Camino: 3.5 x 1.5 km area of porphyry-related alteration, and copper-molybdenum veining 5 km to the west of Warintza West and 7km east of the adjacent San Carlos copper porphyry deposit. An extensive programme of soil and rock chip sampling has been completed to refine the large target area, with results pending.

Skarn targets

Five skarn targets have been identified, with three of these forming a partial arc on the northeastern side of the Warintza porphyry cluster, which is typical of skarn mineralisation related to porphyry systems.  

• Playas and Justo: Extensive mineral alteration typical of skarn systems has been identified in an area of copper mineralisation concentrated in a permeable horizon 3.5 km northwest of Warintza West. Soil sampling of the 10 km2 area surrounding the Justo target has been completed in an effort to refine the target, with results pending. Soil sampling is also planned at the Playas target, along with detailed mapping at both targets based on the results of soil sampling.
• Betty and Yawi: Betty, a 1.2 x 1.4k m skarn and potential carbonate replacement target located 0.5 km north of Warintza Central, features significant copper values in rock samples in carbonate horizons within volcano-sedimentary sequences. Within the Yawi target, a 2 x 1 km skarn/carbonate replacement target features strongly anomalous zinc values in limited soil sampling within a high conductivity anomaly interpreted from ZTEM. Additional soil sampling is planned at both targets.
• La Celestina: Marble exposed in streams in this 1.7 x 1.2 km area host copper-zinc veinlets that may represent leakage from a mineralised zone below, with soil geochemistry showing enrichment of pathfinder elements and anomalous copper.  Two windows of garnet-bearing skarn containing copper mineralisation are exposed through the marble. Detailed mapping and sampling of marble and exposed skarn are underway to help define drill targets.

High Sulfidation epithermal gold target

• Caya: Large 5 x 3 km gold anomaly in stream sediments, 6km to the northeast of Warintza East, where recent follow-up soil and rock sampling in the southern part of the anomaly has identified a flat-lying volcano-sedimentary layer that has a high permeability over at least 300 m in thickness. In this portion of the anomaly, an area of 0.7 x 1.3 km features anomalous gold, copper and pathfinder element values in soil and rock samples, and a concentration of dickite clay and vuggy silica, characteristic of high sulfidation systems.

Corporate update on proposed Solaris Exploration spin-out

Solaris continues to advance the proposed spin-out and has made considerable progress with the internal re-organisation of the company, its subsidiaries and mineral concessions including the transfer of its non-core assets held in Ecuador outside of the Warintza porphyry cluster (involving the authorisation of the Ministry of Energy and Mines), Peru, Chile and Mexico into a newly incorporated wholly-owned subsidiary of Solaris named Solaris Exploration Inc. Following the internal re-organisation, it is expected that 100% of the common shares of Solaris Exploration Inc. will be spun out to shareholders of Solaris relative to their shareholdings.

Read the article online at: https://www.globalminingreview.com/exploration-development/07072022/solaris-resources-provides-warintza-update/