Palamina Corp. (TSXV:PA) has launched two drilling campaigns in the Puno Orogenic Gold Belt (POGB), located in southeastern Peru. This gold belt is one of the least explored of its kind in the world, stretching across approximately 1,900 square kilometers. The company is advancing its own Usicayos Gold Project and participating in a second drilling initiative at Winshear Gold Corp.’s Gaban Project.

Palamina’s primary focus is on its Usicayos Gold Project, where it has six distinct exploration projects. The current drilling program, set for a total of 3,000 meters, is nearing its halfway mark. So far, the company has completed three diamond drill holes in the SDO East Zone. Drilling has also begun in the SDO South Zone, with the fourth hole complete and the fifth hole underway. These efforts aim to locate the potential bedrock source of gold in the Madre de Dios basin’s alluvial goldfields, situated to the north of POGB.

At the same time, Palamina is involved in another drilling campaign through its 15.4% stake in Winshear Gold Corp. Winshear has initiated its first drilling program at the Gaban Project’s Coritiri zone. This campaign, covering a distance of 1,600 meters, marks Winshear’s inaugural drilling efforts in the POGB. Palamina previously owned the Gaban Project before selling it to Winshear. As part of the sale, Palamina retains a 2% Net Smelter Return (NSR) royalty on the project, allowing them to potentially benefit from future production.

The POGB, where both projects are located, has gained renewed interest since the construction of the Intercontinental Highway in 2008, which improved road access to this remote area. This has led to a modern-day gold rush in the Madre de Dios region. Much of the gold mining in this region has been carried out by artisanal and small-scale miners, whose operations are generally restricted to depths of 50 to 100 meters due to operational limitations. However, mineralized orogenic gold systems in the POGB are known to extend to depths exceeding 1,000 meters. This suggests a potentially untapped gold resource in the region, one that Palamina and Winshear hope to explore with these drilling campaigns.

These two drilling programs represent significant efforts to explore and assess the mineral potential within the POGB. Both Palamina and Winshear aim to identify the primary bedrock source of gold that has fed the alluvial goldfields to the north. If successful, these campaigns could open up further opportunities for gold mining in the region and attract more investment to this underexplored area.

Palamina’s projects have benefited from historical and current mining activities in the region, as previous artisanal mining operations have provided partial ground-truthing. Artisanal miners have long exploited gold in the POGB, particularly near the surface, which has offered preliminary insights into the gold-bearing potential of this belt. Palamina is building on this groundwork with its more sophisticated and technically advanced exploration methods.