This morning, Solaris Resources (TSX:SLS) announced a huge new discovery at the Warintza South target at the Warintza Project. Ongoing exploration has revealed multiple high-grade targets, and Warintza South is the latest in a string of discoveries at the project. 

Mr. Jorge Fierro, Vice President, Exploration, Solaris Resources, said in a press release, “We are delighted to have made a significant new discovery at Warintza South, with the firstever hole returning a long interval of well mineralized copper porphyry. The multi-km dimensions of the target present a large-scale opportunity. Interpretation of the drill core together with recent mapping and sampling provide important vectors for follow-up drilling to be completed once additional access and infrastructure are established.”

The high-grade resource at Warintza has been the source of excitement for investors, as Solaris’ stock price has continued to rise throughout 2021 and 2022. The company recently spun out its non-core assets to focus on drilling at Warintza in Ecuador, but placed other projects in another entity including projects in Chile, Peru, and Mexico. 

Solaris (TSX:SLS) is up 133% in the trailing twelve-month period ended January 18, 2022. The company continues to gather interest as a prime takeout target for a major mining company as the copper mining industry struggles to keep up with growing demand due to the green energy transition. For Solaris Resources’ Warintza project, that means high potential for a producer to direct its interest toward the company in the future as it continues toward an updated resource in 2022. 

Highlights from Warintza South:

• SLSS-01 was the first hole ever drilled at Warintza South, which is an entirely separate porphyry deposit, located approximately 3kms south of the Warintza Central zone that has been the focus of the Company’s resource expansion drilling efforts to date

• SLSS-01 was drilled vertically and returned 606m of 0.41% CuEq¹ of continuous porphyry copper mineralization from near surface, within a broader interval of 755m of 0.36% CuEq¹, marking a significant new discovery on the Project

• Warintza South is reflected by a high conductivity anomaly over twice the size of Warintza Central, illustrating the very broad proportions of this newly discovered porphyry system, with approximate dimensions of 2.5km x 2.0km x 0.7km

• SLSS-01 targeted an exposure of leached capping within this anomaly; an ongoing program of detailed sampling, including an additional 265 soil samples and 131 rock samples, significantly expanded the geochemical anomaly and shifted its core to the northeast (Figure 1)

• Follow-up drilling targeting the interpreted core of the porphyry system is set to commence after additional drill platforms are prepared based on this recent mapping and sampling work refining the target and a dedicated exploration camp is set up to support a ramp-up in activities

• Warintza South marks the fourth major copper discovery within the 7km x 5km Warintza porphyry cluster, with the adjacent Yawi and Caya targets still to be tested, as well as other recently generated targets within the broader land package to be revealed in a forthcoming update

Mr. Jorge Fierro, Vice President, Exploration, commented: “We are delighted to have made a significant new discovery at Warintza South, with the first ever hole returning a long interval of well mineralized copper porphyry. The multi-km dimensions of the target present a large-scale opportunity. Interpretation of the drill core together with recent mapping and sampling provide important vectors for follow-up drilling to be completed once additional access and infrastructure are established.”

Figure 1 – Plan View

Figure 2 – Long Section of 3D Geophysics Looking Southwest

Figure 3 – Long Section of Warintza South 3D Geophysics Looking Northeast

Figure 4 – SLSS-01 Drill Core

Notes to Figure 4: SLSS-01 core interval from 377.03 to 379.15m, averaging 0.74% Cu, 0.04% Mo and 0.05g/t Au. Quartz-diorite intermineral dike is cutting andestic volcanics. Alteration and mineralization is mainly composed of early-stage, halo-type associations with quartz, anhydrite, chlorite, biotite, epidote, pyrite, chalcopyrite, and magnetite cut by A- and B-type Mo-bearing quartz veinlets.

Table 1 – Warintza South Results

Hole ID	Date Reported	From (m)	To (m)	Interval (m)	Cu (%)	Mo (%)	Au (g/t)	CuEq¹ (%)
SLSS-01	Jan 18, 2022	0	755	755	0.28	0.02	0.02	0.36
Including		42	648	606	0.32	0.02	0.02	0.41
Including		188	512	324	0.35	0.02	0.02	0.45
Notes to Table 1: True widths cannot be determined at this time.

 

Table 2 – Collar Location

Hole ID	Easting	Northing	Elevation (m)	Depth (m)	Azimuth (degrees)	Dip (degrees)
SLSS-01	801494	9645194	1215	755	0	-89
Notes to Table 2: The coordinates are in WGS84 17S Datum.

Source: Solaris Resources

 

The above references an opinion and is for information purposes only. It is not intended to be investment advice. Seek a licensed professional for investment advice. The author is not an insider or shareholder of any of the companies mentioned above.