SolGold’s (TSX: SOLG; LSE: SOLG) Cascabel copper-gold asset in Ecuador received a boost on Tuesday after a long-awaited third resource update for Alpala, the project’s main deposit, showed larger than anticipated resources.
The new resource estimate has added 1.6 million tonnes copper, 2.5 million oz. gold and 92.2 million oz. silver (a metal not previously estimated), to Alpala’s measured and indicated resources.
The deposit’s resource now stands at 2.66 billion tonnes at 0.53% copper-equivalent in the measured and indicated category, and 544 million tonnes at 0.31% copper-equivalent in the inferred category.
“This significantly increases our confidence that the economics identified in the preliminary economic assessment are achievable and are based on a bankable porphyry orebody,” chief executive Nick Mather said in a statement.
The Australian miner has long said its project in Ecuador is one of the largest copper-gold porphyry systems ever discovered.
Ecuador has attracted a flurry of interest from big miners looking to increase their exposure to copper. The highly conductive metal is in demand for use in renewable energy and electric vehicles, but big, new deposits are rare.
Diversified majors particularly favour large-scale, long-life projects such as the one SolGold promises. BHP (NYSE: BHP; LSE: BHP) upped its stake in the company last year to 14.7% from 11.1%, becoming the Ecuador-focused company’s top shareholder.
The country has been trying to move from an explorer hotspot to a mining exporter. Its oil-led economy has been hit hard over the past few months.
— This article first appeared in our sister publication, Mining.com.
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