Solaris Resources drills 0.51% CuEq over 384 metres at Warintza, Ecuador

Solaris Resources Inc. [TSX-SLS; NYSE-SLSR] reported the first drill results from its 2024 drilling program and an exploration update at its Warintza project in southeastern Ecuador.

Highlights: Drilling activities ramped up through the first quarter rainy season with six rigs now in operation at Warintza Central, East and Southeast and drilling expected to continue throughout the year in support of expanding and upgrading resources. In addition, follow-up exploration drilling is set to commence at the Patrimonio discovery and regional exploration is underway at the promising Caya epithermal gold target.

SLS-76 was collared on the northeastern limit of the Northeast Extension zone and drilled northwest, returning 150 metres of 0.67% CuEq within a broader interval of 384 metres of 0.51% CuEq, before the hole was terminated in lower grade mineralization.

SLSE-31 was collared on the southern margin of Warintza Southeast and drilled east to the ~300m depth capacity of the KD-200 rig, returning 284m of 0.53% CuEq from near surface, with the final 10m averaging 0.75% CuEq and remaining open for extension drilling with a larger rig.

SLS-75, drilled northeast from a new 200m step-out platform at Northeast Extension zone, returned 26m of 0.52% CuEq and 46m of 0.66% CuEq within a low-grade section from surface with a post-mineral dyke before a final 62m mineralized interval averaging 0.51% CuEq.

SLSE-32 was collared on the northern margin of Warintza East and drilled north, returning 380m of 0.31% CuEq from surface within a broader interval of 634m of 0.27% CuEq where the hole cut the contact of the primary host lithology with bordering lower grade volcanic rock.

Exploration drilling is underway at Patrimonio to follow up on the discovery holes (144m of 0.50% CuEq and 148m of 0.52% CuEq, respectively, while field crews expand sampling coverage over the highest grade part of the anomaly to the south and down-dip of the replacement mineralization to locate the potential porphyry source.

Regional exploration programs are underway at the promising Caya epithermal gold target, located 6km to the northeast of Warintza East, where field crews are expanding sampling and alteration mapping west to cover an area where evidence of historical artisanal mining has been identified.

Funded for 2024 and 2025 programs with the offtake financing package announced in December, with plans to aggressively expand activities and consolidate the surrounding district with funds from closing the strategic investment announced in January.

The 2024 drilling program has progressively ramped up over the rainy season with approximately 700m drilled in January, 1800m in February, 3800m in March, and on track for 5,200m in April with six rigs now in operation. A minimum of 30km of drilling is planned in 2024, with a Mineral Resource Update expected by the end of June, and drilling planned to continue thereafter.

The company is funded for its 2024 and 2025 programs with the offtake financing package announced in December. As at December 31, 2023, the company had approximately US$39 million in cash and equivalents, with an additional US$40 million expected from its offtake financing package.

The company plans to expand activities and consolidate the surrounding district with funding from the closing of the strategic investment. The parties are continuing to work through the Canadian regulatory process to close the transaction and Solaris will update the market when it has a material update to provide.

Regional Exploration – Caya Epithermal Gold Target: Field crews have recently been active at the Caya target, where stream sediment sampling has identified a 5km x 3km gold anomaly, 6km northeast of Warintza East. Soil sampling has defined an open-ended area of 0.7km x 1.3km in which anomalous gold and other epithermal pathfinder elements are concentrated and obscured by an overlying stratigraphic unit.

Solaris is advancing a portfolio of copper and gold assets in the Americas, which includes a world-class copper resource with expansion and discovery potential at its Warintza Project in Ecuador; a series of grass roots exploration projects with discovery potential in Peru and Chile; and significant leverage to increasing copper prices through its 60% interest in the La Verde joint venture project with a subsidiary of Teck Resources in Mexico.