Element 29 drilling aims to verify historic copper resource at Flor de Cobre in Peru 

Element 29 Resources (TSXV: ECU; US-OTC: EMTRF) has announced results from two of 11 holes it’s drilling this year to verify historical resources at its Flor de Cobre copper project in southern Peru .   

Highlights from the program included 349 metres grading 0.77% copper, 0.006% molybdenum and 1.7 parts per million (ppm) silver starting from 78 metres in drillhole FDC001; and 378.6 metres grading 0.5% copper, 0.006% molybdenum and 1.3 ppm silver starting from 71 metres in drillhole FDC002.  

“We are very encouraged by how similar the results of these first two drill holes are to the copper grades in the historical data,” said Steve Stakiw, Element 29’s newly appointed CEO, in a press release. “Primary mineralization also extends beyond the depths of the historical holes and enhances the primary sulphide exploration potential below the enrichment zone.” 

The Flor de Cobre project is located in the Southern Peru Copper Belt, about 30 km southeast of the Cerro Verde copper mine which produced about 887 million lb. of copper under Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE: FCX) last year.  

The current drill program, which is expected to cover 4,000 metres, aims to validate the project’s historical copper resource estimate of 57.4 million tonnes grading 0.67% copper associated with a supergene enrichment blanket formed on the Candelaria porphyry. That estimate, which predated National Instrument 43-101 standards, was completed in 1996 by Rio Amarillo Mining and Phelps Dodge. 

The company allocated a total of 2,180 metres of drilling to twin nine historic drill holes in order to verify the historical data.  

“Hole FDC001 twinned legacy diamond drill hole K-008 and FDC002 twinned legacy reverse circulation drill hole CAR-188,” the company said. “The twinned hole results were very similar to the legacy holes with small difference in the downhole position of the enrichment zone.” 

The remaining 1,820 metres or two drill holes were allocated to test the primary copper sulphide mineralization potential below the supergene enrichment blanket to depths of more than 500 metres. 

At press time in Toronto, Element 29 Resources was trading at 56¢ per share within a 52-week trading range of 35¢ and 74¢. The company has 79.2 million common shares outstanding for a market cap of $44.3 million.