(Flor de Cobre project image via Element 29 Resources Inc.)
A mix of low inventories supporting bullish demand is expected to push copper prices higher this year and beyond ….
Investors are looking for new growth opportunities and one such player in the red metal market has recently come to market
with two quality projects in a country that produces the second most copper and one of the lowest-risk mining jurisdictions in the world.
Recently listed on the TSX-V in December 2020, this new emerging copper exploration and development company,
Element 29 Resources Inc. (TSX-V: ECU, Forum), is focused on advancing its portfolio of Peruvian projects towards development.
The Company is advancing two projects that are well located for future mine development, benefiting from nearby infrastructure including roads, powerlines, ports, water, and a skilled workforce. Its flagship is the
Flor de Cobre porphyry Cu-Mo project located in southern Peru, just 26 kilometres southeast from Freeport-McMoRan's Cerro Verde Cu-Mo-Au mine, is already armed with an historic resource hand and looking to update and expand the resource base in 2021.
Meanwhile, Element 29 is also aggressively exploring its 22,000 hectares of mining concessions at its newly discovered wholly owned
Elida porphyry copper-molybdenum-silver (Cu-Mo-Ag) system located in Central Peru just 85 kilometres from the coast. Elida is a large porphyry Cu-Mo-Ag system discovered in 2015 and was recently the subject of an
update and summary.
Element 29’s growth strategy is led by its strong board and management who have a proven track record of discovery and delivering significant value to shareholders. Headed by Brian Booth, President and Chief Executive Officer of Element 29, we caught up with him to dig a little deeper into what it going on with the Company ….
Stockhouse: Thank you for joining us. For investors who are new to Element 29 Resources, can you bring us up to speed on what you’ve got at your Flor de Cobre and Elida copper projects?
Brian Booth: Flor De Cobre, our most advanced copper project, is located in a copper mining district between the Cerro Verde (owned by Freeport McMoRan) and Chapi (Nexa Resources) copper mines at low elevation and nearby excellent infrastructure. This porphyry copper project has a historic resource
(1) with the highlight drill hole of 272 meters of 0.92% copper to a depth of 350 meters, including 124 meters of 1.37% copper (enriched) and 148 meters of 0.54% copper (primary) from 202 meters. The project has tremendous exploration potential at depth and on the rest of the 1,800-hectare property.
Elida is a new large copper-molybdenum porphyry project in central Peru. It too is at low elevation and nearby excellent infrastructure. This large project (2 kilometer by 2 kilometer multi-episodic copper porphyryhydrothermal system) has 18 holes drilled in 2015/16 by Lundin Mining
(2), with numerous >500m intercept widths returning up to 503 meters at 0.42% copper, including 393 meters at 0.46% copper. Elida has four untested remaining large porphyry centers to be explored.
Stockhouse: Wow, that’s a lot already there. Let’s start with Flor de Cobre. With all that already in place, what can we expect for the 2021 drilling program?
Brian Booth: In 2021, our 3,000 meter drill program at Flor de Cobre will be two-fold: (1) we’ll drill in and around [9 holes] the historic holes at the Candelaria target area with the goal of releasing an updated NI 43-101 resource by early 2022. - a major catalyst for the company. (2) We’ll also conduct exploration drilling at the Atravezado target area, which is located just 1.5 kilometers from Candelaria. Geophysical work at Atravezada, which itself is quite large at 1.0 kilometer by 1.2 kilometer, indicates tremendous potential for a high-grade copper porphyry deposit, evidenced by copper mineralization associated with porphyry related alteration and geological features.
Stockhouse: Turning to the Elida project, what we can expect in 2021?
Brian Booth: Our 3,600 meter drill program at Elida will focus on in-fill and expansion drilling between the widely spaced 18 historic drill holes at Target Area 1. This will allow us to produce a NI 43-101 estimate on the project by year end. I’ll remind everyone that Target Area 1 has the potential for 200 to 500 million tonnes with grades of 0.35% to 0.45% copper, 0.03% to 0.05% molybdenum and 3.5 grams/tonne to 4.5 grams/tonne silver
(3) so Elida itself has tremendous potential for good grades and size and would be a second company-making project for most companies.
Stockhouse: The social license to operate in mining is so important. Tell us more about the relationships the company has with its stakeholders around your projects?
Brian Booth: While Element 29 may be a new company in the public markets, we came to be in 2018. And before that, these projects were held by GlobeTrotters, our largest shareholder. So we’ve been working in these regions for a long time. Over that time, we’ve built relationships and trust with local stakeholders. Our transparent, on-the-ground support has been key, and its what we’ll continue to do as we move our projects forward.
Stockhouse: Looking at the next twelve months, what can we expect in terms of news for investors to keep an eye out for?
Brian Booth: In the near-term we anticipate obtaining the drill permits to start our drilling programs at Flor de Cobre and Elida. At Flor de Cobre, you can expect drill results throughout the year as we aim to update the historic resource to bring it to NI 43-101 standards for release later in the year. At Elida, we’ll tighten up the historic drilling so expect drill results throughout 2021 as our goal is to publish a maiden resource estimate on that project early in 2022. The Elida project already has a lot of core on hand from previous drilling, which will allow us to conduct preliminary metallurgy work. It’s going to be a busy, catalyst-rich 2021.
Stockhouse: Now for a longer focus, what can we expect from Element 29?
Brian Booth: Since the projects are so advanced and we have a double-track work plan in 2021 underway – drilling and metallurgical studies leading to NI 43-101 reports and preliminary engineering studies in 2022.. – we are able to fast track and shorten the usual timelines to release preliminary economic assessments (PEA) at Flor de Cobre and resource growth both Elida and Flor de cobre (Atravezado) in 2022. We know there’s value in the ground with these projects and want to show the markets the tremendous value of the company with PEAs as soon as we can.
Stockhouse: You have quite a deep experience in Peru, what brought you to the Company?
Brian Booth: As a P.Geo. with over 35 years of experience in the mining sector, I have worked all around the world. But my 10 years working in Peru were wonderful. Peruvians are great to work with and the country is mining friendly. With two great copper projects that have tremendous upside and growth potential, so with all the pieces in place, it was an easy decision for me to lead Element 29 when asked.
Stockhouse: Thank you again for taking the time to tell us about Element 29 Resources Inc. is there anything further you’d like to add?
Brian Booth: Element 29 is in the right metal, in the right jurisdiction with two great projects. Our two new large copper projects are in mining friendly Peru, both at low elevations, near infrastructure with strong community support. Both are well mineralized, with an historic resource at Flor de Cobre and previous drill holes at Elida, that indicate both can be large, high-grade resources. We’ve got an aggressive work plan in 2021 to unlock the value on these two great projects. We’re only getting started!
More information is available at
e29copper.com.
FULL DISCLOSURE: This is a paid article produced by Stockhouse Publishing.
Footnotes:
- The original source of the historical estimate is a press release of Rio Amarillo Mining Ltd. dated November 15, 1996: This historical estimate is relevant to the Flor de Cobre property as it suggests the porphyries in the area are mineralized and there may be mineralization of interest present. The parameters, assumptions and methods used to calculate the historical estimate are unknown. Additionally, the historical estimate does not use the resource categories as found in CIM 2014 Definition Standards; and the difference to the CIM categories are not known. It is also unclear what portion of this historical resource estimate is on the current Flor de Cobre property configuration. The qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as a current mineral resource, and it is unclear what work might be required to confirm the resource. For these reasons, the historical estimate is should not be relied upon. The Company is not treating the historical estimate as a current mineral resource.
- Refer to Element 29’s January 5, 2021 news release. Drilling and sampling was carried out by Lundin Mining Peru SAC (2014-2015). ALS-Global Laboratories in Lima, Peru, analysed the half-core by ME-ICP41, which includes 35 elements using an Aqua Regia digestion ICP-AES analysis and gold fire assay with an AA finish (Au-AA23). The over limits underwent ME-OG46 for ore grade elements using an Aqua Regia digestion. Reported widths are drill core lengths; true widths are unknown at this time. Assay values are uncut. The calculated Copper Equivalent (CuEq. (%)) grade was used to determine the significant intervals (>0.20% CuEq. and >30 m core length, with higher grade intervals using a >0.40% CuEq. and >15m core length). *CuEq. = Cu(%) + Mo(%) x 2.667 +Au (ppm) x 0.6320 +Ag (ppm) x 0.0097 (no metallurgy has been completed at Elida, therefore no metallurgical recovery was applied in the copper equivalent formula). Cu Price= $3.00 USD/lb, Mo Price = $8.00 USD/lb, Au Price=$1,300.00 USD/oz, Ag Price=$20.00 USD/oz.The numbers correspond to Table 4 in the Elida Technical Report (refer to www.sedar.com for the full report).
- The exploration target area at Elida Central/Area 1 of 200Mt to 500Mt, with grades of 0.35% - 0.45% Cu, 0.03% - 0.05% Mo and 3.5 g/t - 4.5 g/t Ag, is based on 18 drill holes (9,880 m) completed by Lundin Mining Peru SAC (Lundin), and the surficial mapping and detailed interpretations by Lundin and GlobeTrotters.