Vizsla Copper set to spend $19.2 million on Alaska VMS project
Vizsla Copper Corp. [VCU-TSXV, VCUFF-OTCQB, 97E0-Frankfurt] said its board of directors has approved the 2026 exploration and development budget for the Palmer VMS Project in Southeast Alaska.
A total approved budget of $19.2 million will fund a 10,000-metre diamond drill program utilizing two drill rigs targeting areas for high grade expansion and high potential for new discovery, the company said in a press release.
The project development plan envisages continued environmental baseline studies, preparation of camp and support facilities for expanded drilling and assessment programs in 2027.
The Palmer Project is an advanced high-grade, polymetallic volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) project with 69 kilometres of road access to tidewater and over US$116 million invested to date. It hosts an updated mineral resource estimate and numerous underexplored targets distributed along more than 15 kilometres of prospective stratigraphy. The company said the project represents a district-scale opportunity with proven mineral endowment and significant potential for resource expansion and new discoveries.
The indicated resource stands at 4.77 million tonnes at 1.69% copper, 5.17% zinc (3.5% CuEq or 13.2% Zinc Eq) or 178 million pounds of copper, 542 millon pounds of zinc and precious metals and barite.
A key focus of the 2026 program will be the continued delineation of Zone 1, where a high-grade copper-rich core was identified during the 2023 and 2024 drilling campaigns. Highlight intercepts include 23.9 metres of grade 11.2% copper equivalent (CuEq) (28% zinc equivalent) in hole CMR230171 and 43.8 metres grading 8.2% CuEq (20.6% zinc equivalent) in hole CMR23-172, confirming the presence of a high-grade mineralized core.
This year’s drilling program is designed to systematically step out along strike to expand this core, while refining the geological and structural model and controls on mineralization.
Vizsla Copper shares eased 5.01% or $0.06 to $1.12 in early trading, Wednesday, The shares trade in a 52-week range of $2.68 and 50 cents.
Vizsla Copper has evolved from a move by Vizsla Silver Corp. [VZLA-TSXV] to spin out its British Columbia copper assets. The company is primarily focused on its Palmer VMS project and its Poplar and Woodjam porphyry-related projects in British Columbia. The company offers shareholders exposure to a growing pipeline of projects ranging from expansion driven brownfield development to exciting discovery-seeking greenfield exploration, the companies said in a press release.
The 44,200-hectare Poplar project covers Mesozoic-aged arc-related volcanic, sedimentary and intrusive rocks considered prospective for porphyry-related copper and gold mineralization. The company has focused on the Thira target, which is centred approximately 10 kilometres south of the porphyry-related Poplar copper-gold deposit (historic mineral resources of 152.3 million tonnes at 0.32% copper, 0.09 g/t gold indicated and 139.3 million tonnes at 0.29% copper and 0.07 g/t gold inferred).
Poplar is estimated to contain close to 2.0 billion pounds of copper and 750,000 ounces of gold.
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