London-listed Atalaya Mining on Wednesday announced the acquisition of a polymetallic project about 28 km from its Proyecto Riotinto mine, in Spain.
Atalaya will pay €1.4-million cash for the Masa Valverde project, located in Huelva.
“Masa Valverde already has a significant defined resource which could increase during subsequent evaluation phases, paving the way for quick project development,” said CEO Alberto Lavandeira.
The project is one of the largest undeveloped volcanogenic massive sulphide deposits in the prolific Iberian Pyrite Belt. It has historical inferred resources of 66-million tonnes at 0.67% copper, 1.92% zinc, 0.90% lead, 34 g/t silver and 0.63 g/t gold, or 2.57% copper-equivalent.
Further infill drilling would start shortly with the aim of upgrading current resources and providing the basis to complete scoping and prefeasibility studies reports.
“The proximity to our Riotinto operation, which is on track to meet its previously announced 2020 production guidance of 55 000 t to 58 000 t of copper during 2020, and the experience gained during its development and construction, will be fundamental as we convert this project into a mine," said Lavandeira.