Delays hamper Falcon drilling at Guinaoang copper project

Delays at the level of local government are hampering exploration of the Guinaoang porphyry copper-gold project in the Philippines.

Pacific Falcon Resources (VSE), which is earning up to a 70% interest in the property, reports that the Philippine government has issued a drilling permit. But since the permit is subject to local approval, drilling is expected to be postponed for 1-2 months.

Plans call for an initial 9-hole program to test for an expansion of the higher-grade resource within the known porphyry deposit. At a cutoff grade of 0.2% copper, the Guinaoang deposit is estimated to contain 469 million tonnes grading 0.37% copper and 0.37 gram gold per tonne.

Unfortunately, the resource is too deep to support an open-pit mine and, as a result, Falcon is investigating the possibility of mining the high-grade core by means of bulk-tonnage underground techniques.

Based on a copper cutoff of 0.5%, the core is estimated to contain 73 million tonnes grading 0.61% copper and 0.62 gram gold.

The objective of Pacific Falcon’s deep drilling program is to outline a minimum of 200 million tonnes of a similar-grade material.

The company is well-financed for the program, with about $2 million in working capital.