Atalaya reports increase in mineral resources at Proyecto Masa Valverde

PMV is located in the Iberian Pyrite Belt of southern Spain approximately 28 km to the south of Atalaya’s 15 million tpy processing plant at Proyecto Riotinto. PMV consists of two deposits, Masa Valverde and Majadales, which are 1 km apart. Majadales was initially discovered by Atalaya’s exploration team in 2019.

Highlights:

• Significant increase in tonnage and contained copper, silver and gold vs prior estimate
  • Increases of 42%, 33%, 26%, and 34%, respectively at the Masa Valverde deposit.
• Masa Valverde Initial Indicated Mineral Resource:
  • 16.9 million t at 0.66% Cu, 1.55% Zn, 0.65% Pb, 27 g/t Ag, and 0.55 g/t Au (1.51% CuEq).
  • Containing an estimated 112 kt Cu, 262 kt Zn, 110 kt Pb, 14.7 Moz Ag, 0.3 Moz Au.
• Masa Valverde Inferred Mineral Resource:
  • 73.4 million t at 0.61% Cu, 1.24% Zn, 0.61% Pb, 30 g/t Ag, and 0.62 g/t Au (1.37% CuEq).
  • Containing an estimated 448 kt Cu, 911 kt Zn, 448 kt Pb, 70.8 Moz Ag, 1.5 Moz Au.
• Two copper-rich zones (10.2 million t indicated and 48.1 million t inferred) could deliver higher grade material for processing at the existing Proyecto Riotinto plant with minimal modifications.
• Majadales initial inferred mineral resource:
  • 3.1 million t at 0.94% Cu, 3.08% Zn, 1.43% Pb, 54 g/t Ag and 0.32 g/t Au (2.55% CuEq).
• A preliminary economic assessment (PEA) on PMV is expected to be completed in H2 2022, with a focus on scenarios that would leverage the existing plant at Proyecto Riotinto and access the orebodies via a single ramp.
• Permitting process continues, with submission of an exploitation concession application.
• Continued potential for further resource expansion, with compelling targets already identified via recent detailed ground geophysical survey.

Alberto Lavandeira, CEO, comments:

“The current resource definition drilling programme that began in May 2021 has successfully expanded the mineral resource base and has also upgraded a portion to the indicated category.

“We remain excited about the continued exploration potential at PMV, given the many anomalies our exploration team has identified. We hope to make further discoveries, building on our success in discovering the Majadales deposit, which is shallower and higher grade than Masa Valverde and thus may play a key role in optimising future development scenarios.

“At the Masa Valverde deposit, the significant increase in tonnage above cut-off, the sub-horizontal geometry and the defined continuity of the main mineralised zones will allow us to evaluate larger scale, more efficient and lower operating cost underground mining methods. These scenarios will be evaluated in the upcoming PEA, which is expected to focus on development scenarios that leverage our nearby Proyecto Riotinto processing plant, where copper-rich material from PMV could potentially be treated with minimal plant modifications, highlighting the opportunity to develop another project with low capital intensity.”

Read the article online at: https://www.globalminingreview.com/mining/05042022/atalaya-reports-increase-in-mineral-resources-at-proyecto-masa-valverde/