Eloro Resources Announces Commencement of Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for Iska Iska Project, Potosi Department, Southwestern Bolivia
Eloro Resources Ltd. (TSX: ELO; OTCQX: ELRRF; FSE: P2QM) (“Eloro”, or the “Company”) is pleased to announce commencement of a preliminary economic assessment (“PEA”) for the Iska Iska silver-tin polymetallic project in the Potosi Department of southwestern Bolivia. The PEA study will consider the inferred mineral resource estimate (“MRE”) of 560 million tonnes grading 13.8 g Ag/t, 0.73% Zn and 0.28% Pb in the Polymetallic (Ag-Zn-Pb) Domain and 110 million tonnes grading 0.12% Sn, 14.2 g Ag/t and 0.14% Pb in the Tin Domain (Sn-Ag-Pb). While the Polymetallic Domain and the Tin Domain do not overlap or share any resource blocks, for the purposes of the PEA the mineral resources within both domains will be combined.
Lycopodium, based in Brisbane, Australia, will be the lead consultant providing overall coordination of the PEA with development of metallurgical flowsheets. The various aspects of the PEA study including design of tailings and waste dump facilities, mine design and infrastructure, environmental and hydrology studies, will be done by internationally qualified consultants. Micon International will provide independent oversight on financial modelling, metallurgy and mineral resource estimates. Mike Hallewell, BSc. F.I.M.M.M., F.S.A.I.M.M., F.M.E.S., C.Eng , Senior Strategic Metallurgist, and Dr. Bill Pearson, P.Geo., Executive Vice President Exploration, will oversee the study for Eloro in consultation with Dr. Osvaldo Arce, P.Geo., and his team at Minera Tupiza in Bolivia.
Tom Larsen, CEO of Eloro, said: “We are delighted to commence the PEA study on Iska Iska just 3 years after we began our initial exploration drill program. This is another major step in moving the development of Iska Iska forward. We are also planning additional definition drilling to further expand the higher-grade zones as well as planning to carry out definitive “ore-sorting” tests at TOMRA in Germany. We have assembled an excellent team which has already been onsite this week to kick off preparations for the PEA study. Recent induced polarization/resistivity surveys west of Santa Barbara have outlined several promising drill targets to extend the Tin Domain and initial drill testing is planned on these new targets.”
Qualified Person
The inaugural MRE for Iska Iska has been prepared by Micon International Limited. Independent Qualified Persons (QPs) engaged for the Technical Report are Charley Murahwi, P.Geo., FAusIMM, Richard Gowans, P.Eng., Ing., Alan J. San Martin, MAusIMM (CP) and Abdul Aziz Drame, P.Eng., all of whom are independent QP’s as defined by NI 43-101. Mr. Murahwi completed site visits in January 2020 and November 2022.
Dr. Bill Pearson, P.Geo., Executive Vice President Exploration at Eloro and a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101 has reviewed and approved the technical content of this news release. Dr. Pearson, who has more than 45 years of worldwide mining exploration experience, including extensive work in South America, manages the overall technical program, working closely with Dr. Osvaldo Arce, P.Geo. General Manager of Eloro’s Bolivian subsidiary, Minera Tupiza S.R.L., and a Qualified Person in the context of NI 43-101. Dr. Quinton Hennigh, P.Geo., Senior Technical Advisor to Eloro and Independent Technical Advisor, Mr. Charley Murahwi, P. Geo., FAusIMM, of Micon are regularly consulted on technical aspects of the project.
Eloro is utilizing both ALS and AHK for drill core analysis, both of whom are major international accredited laboratories. Drill samples sent to ALS are prepared in both ALS Bolivia Ltda’s preparation facility in Oruro, Bolivia, and the preparation facility operated by AHK in Tupiza with pulps sent to the main ALS Global laboratory in Lima, Peru, for analysis. More recently, Eloro has had ALS send pulps to their laboratory at Galway in Ireland. Eloro employs an industry standard QA/QC program with standards, blanks and duplicates inserted into each batch of samples analyzed with selected check samples sent to a separate accredited laboratory.
Drill core samples sent to AHK Laboratories are prepared in a preparation facility installed and managed by AHK in Tupiza with pulps sent to the AHK laboratory in Lima, Peru. Au and Sn analysis on these samples is done by ALS Bolivia Ltda in Lima. Check samples between ALS and AHK are regularly done as a QA/QC check. AHK is following the same analytical protocols used as with ALS and with the same QA/QC protocols.
About Iska Iska
Iska Iska silver-tin polymetallic project is a road accessible, royalty-free property, wholly controlled by the Title Holder, Empresa Minera Villegas S.R.L. and is located 48 km north of Tupiza city, in the Sud Chichas Province of the Department of Potosi in southern Bolivia. Eloro has an option to earn a 100% interest in Iska Iska.
Iska Iska is a major silver-tin polymetallic porphyry-epithermal complex associated with a Miocene possibly collapsed/resurgent caldera, emplaced on Ordovician age rocks with major breccia pipes, dacitic domes and hydrothermal breccias. The caldera is 1.6km by 1.8km in dimension with a vertical extent of at least 1km. Mineralization age is similar to Cerro Rico de Potosí and other major deposits such as San Vicente, Chorolque, Tasna and Tatasi located in the same geological trend.
Eloro began underground diamond drilling from the Huayra Kasa underground workings at Iska Iska on September 13, 2020. On November 18, 2020, Eloro announced the discovery of a significant breccia pipe with extensive silver polymetallic mineralization just east of the Huayra Kasa underground workings and a high-grade gold-bismuth zone in the underground workings. On November 24, 2020, Eloro announced the discovery of the Santa Barbara Brecia Pipe (“SBBP”) approximately 150m southwest of the Huayra Kasa underground workings.
Subsequently, on January 26, 2021, Eloro announced significant results from the first drilling at the SBBP including the discovery hole DHK-15 which returned 29.53g Ag/t, 0.078g Au/t, 1.45%Zn, and 0.59%Pb over 257.5m from 0.0m to 257.5m. Subsequent drilling has confirmed significant values of Ag-Sn polymetallic mineralization in the SBBP and the adjacent CBP. A substantive mineralized envelope which is open along strike and down-dip extends around both major breccia pipes. Continuous channel sampling of the Santa Barbara Adit located to the east of SBBP returned 164.96 g Ag/t, 0.46%Sn, 3.46% Pb and 0.14% Cu over 166m including 446 g Ag/t, 9.03% Pb and 1.16% Sn over 56.19m. The west end of the adit intersects the end of the SBBP.
Since the initial discovery hole, Eloro has released a number of significant drill results in the SBBP and the surrounding mineralized envelope which along with geophysical data has defined an extensive target zone. In its September 20, 2022 press release, the Company reported that new downhole geophysical data has significantly extended the strike length of the high-grade feeder zone at Santa Barbara a further 250m along strike to the south-southeast from existing drilling. The 3D inverse magnetic model which correlates very strongly with the conductive zone suggested that the high-grade feeder zone may extend across the entire caldera for as much as a further 1 km along strike for a total potential strike length of at least 2 km. As reported, the definition drill program was modified to sectionally drill this potential extension with the intention of defining a major open pittable deposit in the valley of the caldera.
The Company completed 84,495m of drilling in 122 holes from the definition drill program in the Santa Barbara target area, as previously announced on November 27, 2022.
On November 22, 2022, Eloro announced the pending acquisition of the Mina Casiterita and Mina Hoyada properties covering 14.75 km2 southwest and west of Iska Iska. These properties connect with the TUP-3 and TUP-6 claims previously staked by Eloro. Eloro has also staked additional land in the area. Subject to the finalization of the granting of the mining rights process and the completion of the acquisition transaction for the Mina Casiterita and Mina Hoyada properties, the total land package in the Iska Iska area to be controlled by Eloro will total 1,935 quadrants covering 483.75 km2.
Artisanal mining in the 1960’s identified high grade tin (Sn) veins on the Mina Casiterita property that are hosted in an intrusive dacite. Production from 1962 to 1964 is reported by the Departamento Nacional de Geología in Bolivia to be 69.85 tonnes grading 50.60% Sn.
Recently completed magnetic surveys by Eloro have outlined an extensive, near surface, magnetic intrusive body on the Mina Casiterita property immediately southwest of Iska Iska. This intrusive hosts the previously mined high-grade tin veins and is very likely the continuation of the porphyry tin intrusion projected to be below the epithermal Ag-Sn-Zn-Pb mineralization at Iska Iska. Initial reconnaissance drilling at Casiterita returned 0.17% Sn over 52.75m in the vicinity of these old artisanal workings.
On July 26, 2023, Eloro released results of substantial metallurgical work on samples from the Polymetallic and Tin Domains. Preliminary tests at TOMRA in Germany indicate the mineralization at Iska Iska is amenable to “ore-sorting” with removal of at least 40% of the waste in the Polymetallic Domain and up to 80% in the Tin Domain which would substantially increase concentrator feed grades as well as reduce future operating costs and significantly lower the cut-off grades (COG) for the mineral resource estimates (MRE) and the PEA.
Positive “ore-sorting” results were obtained from composite samples of both the tin (Sn) and polymetallic (Ag-Zn-Pb) mineralization domains in the Santa Barbara deposit indicating its wide applicability throughout the entire deposit.
Further metallurgical studies conducted by Wardell Armstrong International on a composite sample of the tin mineralization has improved tin concentrator stage recovery to 50%. This recovery is un-optimised and has been achieved using a mixture of Multi Gravity and tin flotation techniques which are specifically designed to recover the finer grained cassiterite.
The concentrator could produce an approximately 5%Sn concentrate grade amenable to the tin fuming process that ultimately could produce a 60-70%Sn concentrate for smelting.
The level of metallurgical and pyrometallurgical work that has been conducted is exceptionally high for an inaugural MRE but is justifiable due to the significance of this large potentially open pittable tin and polymetallic resource. The additional metallurgical/mineralogical knowledge will enable Eloro to rapidly move forward with the PEA.
About Eloro Resources Ltd.
Eloro is an exploration and mine development company with a portfolio of gold and base-metal properties in Bolivia, Peru and Quebec. Eloro has an option to acquire a 100% interest in the highly prospective Iska Iska Property, which can be classified as a polymetallic epithermal-porphyry complex, a significant mineral deposit type in the Potosi Department, in southern Bolivia. A recent NI 43-101 Technical Report on Iska Iska, which was completed by Micon International Limited, is available on Eloro’s website and under its filings on SEDAR. Iska Iska is a road-accessible, royalty-free property. Eloro also owns an 82% interest in the La Victoria Gold/Silver Project, located in the North-Central Mineral Belt of Peru some 50 km south of Barrick’s Lagunas Norte Gold Mine and Pan American Silver’s La Arena Gold Mine.
For further information please contact either Thomas G. Larsen, Chairman and CEO or Jorge Estepa, Vice-President at (416) 868-9168.
Information in this news release may contain forward-looking information. Statements containing forward-looking information express, as at the date of this news release, the Company’s plans, estimates, forecasts, projections, expectations, or beliefs as to future events or results and are believed to be reasonable based on information currently available to the Company. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.
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