JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed Valor Resources on Tuesday announced an 80% increase in its Joint Ore Reserve Committee-compliant mineral resource estimate, along with a maiden measured resource estimate, for the Berenguela copper/silver project, in southern Peru.
The company’s 2017 drilling programme delivered a 37% increase in total contained copper to 772-million pounds; a 37% increase in total contained silver to 127-million ounces; and a 45% increase in total contained zinc to about 286-million pounds.
Valor also declared a maiden measured resource of 7.71-million tonnes at 1.6% of copper equivalent (CuEq), indicated resources of 28.23-million tonnes at 1.24% CuEq, and inferred resources of 9.98-million tonnes at 1.15% CuEq.
“We have now added over 357-million pounds of contained copper to the resource. This represents an 86% increase in total contained copper since Valor acquired the Berenguela project in May 2017,” said chairperson Mark Sumner.
The maiden measured resource brought about much greater geological certainty to the deposit and provided the company a strong foundation to proceed with further drilling and more advanced project studies, he added.
“We believe that the upcoming drilling programme will again add to this impressive start.”
Valor is currently completing an updated scoping study using the revised resource estimate to establish a new set of baseline economics.