Element 29 Announces Results from Elida Phase-III Drill Program including 1039.6 metres of 0.54% CuEq2
Vancouver, British Columbia – January 22, 2025 – Element 29 Resources Inc. (TSXV: ECU | OTCQB: EMTRF | BVL: ECU) (“Element 29” or the “Company”) announces results from the first two drill holes from its 2,249.8 metre (“m”) Phase-III diamond drill program at its Elida Porphyry Copper (“Cu”) – Molybdenum (“Mo”) – Silver (“Ag”) Deposit (“Elida” or the “Property”) in central Perú (Figure 1).
The Company continues to intersect long intervals of Cu-Mo-Ag mineralization starting near surface and extending to vertical depths of over 1000 m highlighting the potential for further resource expansion. The objective is to complete the remaining Phase-III drill program starting in early Q2, 2025.
Elida Drilling Highlights
- Drill hole ELID033 intersected 0.54% CuEq2 (0.39% Cu, 0.036% Mo, 2.96 g/t Ag) over 1039.6 m starting from bedrock surface to the end of the hole (“EOH”) at 1109.6 m.
- Drill hole ELID035 intersected 0.54% CuEq2 (0.33% Cu, 0.045% Mo, 2.76 g/t Ag) over 922.4 m starting at bedrock surface to the EOH at 979.0 m.
- Drill hole ELID033 extended the porphyry Cu-Mo-Ag mineralization with higher Cu grades than the existing pit-constrained Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate to a vertical depth of more than 1000 m along the western side of the Zone-1.
- The Cu-Mo-Ag grades in ELID033 also increased significantly at depth with the last 310.1 m grading 0.71% CuEq2 (0.56% Cu, 0.040% Mo, 3.49 g/t Ag). This suggests the Cu-Mo-Ag mineralization is increasing at depth on the western side of Zone-1.
Richard Osmond, President and CEO of Element 29 Resources, states, “The Elida porphyry system continues to impress with both drill holes returning significant intervals of copper mineralization at higher grades than the existing Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate starting at bedrock surface and extending vertically to a depth of more than 1000 m. We look forward to completing the Phase-III drill program and continuing to expand Elida into a potential Tier-1 copper deposit.”
Watch this short video by Richard Osmond, CEO, on the drill highlights – HERE.
The Elida Phase-III diamond drill program was designed to expand the existing pit-constrained initial Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate1 of 321.7 million tonnes of 0.32% Cu, 0.03% Mo, and 2.61 g/t Ag at a 0.2% Cu cutoff and a 0.74:1 strip ratio (“Mineral Resource”). These drill holes were also planned to infill gaps within the existing pit-shell to potentially increase the higher-grade 59.7 million tonne resource of 0.49% Cu, 0.036% Mo, and 3.99 g/t Ag at a 0.40% Cu cut-off (“Higher-Grade Resource”) and continue drilling to depths of up to 1000 m while in porphyry Cu-Mo-Ag mineralization.
ELID033 (Figure 2)
ELID033, drilled at a -81.8o dip towards 273.8o azimuth, was designed to (1) infill within the existing pit-shell to potentially expand the Higher-Grade Resource, and (2) extend the mineralization outside the pit-shell to 1000 m along the western side of Zone-1. The assays returned 1039.6 m of 0.54% CuEq2 (0.39% Cu, 0.036% Mo, 2.96 g/t Ag) from bedrock surface (69.9 m) to the EOH at 1109.6 m. Starting at 245.8 m depth within the pit-shell, the hole intersected 342.2 m of 0.57% CuEq2 (0.41% Cu, 0.037 Mo, 3.66 g/t Ag), highlighting the potential to increase the overall grades of the Mineral Resource.
This hole also intersected 310.1 m of higher-grade porphyry mineralization at 0.71% CuEq2 (0.56% Cu, 0.040% Mo, 3.49 g/t Ag) starting from 799.5 m to the EOH at 1109.6 m. This interval occurs within a sequence of calc-silicate hornfels-altered calcareous siltstones, garnet-pyroxene skarn-altered lenticular limestones, and minor biotitic hornfels-altered siltstones which are cut by a swarm of narrow early-intermineral porphyry dykes. These porphyry dykes are strongly potassic altered and better mineralized than the central quartz monzonite porphyry stock of Zone-1. Near the contacts, the porphyry dykes have partially assimilated xenoliths of strongly secondary biotite altered host rock with increased chalcopyrite content. The mineralization within the host rocks and porphyry dykes occurs as disseminations and veinlets, including EDM-veins, EB-veins, A-veins, B-veins and C-veins which are cut by E-veins from a late retrograde epidote-chlorite alteration overprint.
ELID035 (Figure 3)
ELID035, drilled at -85.2o dip towards a 270.4o azimuth approximately 5 m north of ELID034, was designed to (1) infill within the existing pit-shell to potentially expand the Higher-Grade Resource, and (2) extend the mineralization outside the pit-shell to a depth of 1000 m between holes ELID033 and ELID025. The hole intersected 922.4 m of 0.54% CuEq2 (0.33% Cu, 0.045% Mo, 2.76 g/t Ag) from bedrock surface (56.6 m) to the EOH at 979.0 m. Within the pit-shell, the hole intersected 361.2 m of 0.52% CuEq2 (0.40% Cu, 0.029 Mo, 4.02 g/t Ag) starting at bedrock surface, highlighting the potential to increase the overall grades of the Mineral Resource.
Within the pit-shell, the higher-grade Cu-Mo-Ag mineralization occurs within the garnet-pyroxene skarn-altered lenticular limestones and calc-silicate hornfels-altered calcareous siltstones associated with early-intermineral disseminations and quartz veins, cut by E-veins from a late retrograde epidote-chlorite alteration overprints as seen in the lower section of ELID033.
Outside the pit-shell, the geology transitions into more biotitic hornfels-altered siliciclastic sequence of siltstones interbedded with feldspathic arenites that are more strongly foliated by a preexisting deformation. The mineralization within this sequence occurs with occasional early-intermineral quartz veins cut by dense E-veins, which are dominantly controlled by the foliation. This mineralization also appears as disseminations and patches within the biotitic hornfels and quartz veins and is associated with a later chlorite overprint equivalent to the retrograde alteration within the calcareous sequence. This represents the dominate source of mineralization within this sequence. The mineralization remains open at depth.
ELID034 (Figure 3)
ELID034 was drilled to a depth of 161.2 m at -86o dip towards a 274.8o azimuth before the hole was accidentally lost at 161.2 m in garnet-pyroxene skarn-altered lenticular limestones interbedded with calc-silicate hornfels-altered calcareous siltstones similar to ELID035. The hole intersected 107.2 m of 0.39% CuEq2 (0.28% Cu, 0.025% Mo, 3.06 g/t Ag) from bedrock surface (57.65 m) to the EOH at 161.2 m.
Next Steps
The Company plans to complete an AMT geophysical survey in Q1 covering the larger 2.5 x 2.5 km porphyry hydrothermal footprint to potentially map out zones of deeper Cu sulphide mineralization to depths of greater than 1000 m for future drill programs. The Company also plans to continue the Phase-III drill program starting in early Q2 2025 to complete the remaining four holes of the planned 5000 m of drilling. Preliminary metallurgical test work is also planned for later in 2025 to better understand the overall Cu-Mo-Ag recoveries.
Analytical Quality Control & Quality Assurance
Elida Resources S.A.C., a wholly owned subsidiary of Element 29 Resources Inc., supervises drilling and carries out sampling of HQ and NQ core. Logging and sampling are completed at a secured Company facility situated near the Elida project site. Sample intervals are nominally 2 m long. Drill core is cut in half using a rotary diamond blade saw and samples are sealed on site before transportation to the ALS Peru S.A.C. independent laboratory in Lima by an independent transportation company. Samples are analyzed for 35 elements using an Aqua Regia digestion and ICP-AES analysis (ME-ICP41). Samples reporting over limits are analyzed by Aqua Regia digestion with ICP-AES finish (ME-OG46). ALS meets all requirements of International Standards ISO/IEC 17025:2005 and ISO 9001:2015 for analytical procedures.
Element 29 employs an independent, internal quality assurance/quality control program that includes insertion of duplicate, blank, and certified reference samples at the field site. The Company is not aware of any drilling, sampling, recovery, or other factors that could materially affect the accuracy or reliability of the data reported.
Qualified Person
The scientific and technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Richard Osmond (P.Geo.), Element 29’s President and CEO, who is the “Qualified Person” as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards for Disclosure for Mineral Projects.
Notes:
- The Mineral Resource Estimate was prepared by Mr. Marc Jutras, P.Eng., M.A.Sc., Principal, Mineral Resources at Ginto Consulting Inc. Mr. Jutras is an Independent Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (“NI 43-101) in accordance with the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (“CIM”) Standards on Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves, as adopted and amended by the CIM Council. Refer to the September 27, 2022 news release for further details.
- The CuEq grades are calculated using CuEq = Cu% x 0.85 + [Mo% x 5.3744] + [Ag g/t x 0.0060] utilizing metal prices of Cu = US$4.10/lb, Mo = US$33.90/lb and Ag = US$26.00/oz based on a 2-year average of daily spot price (from January 16, 2022, to January 14th, 2025). The daily Mo price was determined by applying a factor of 1.50 to the LME daily spot price for Molybdenum (Platts).
About Elida Porphyry Cu-Mo-Ag Deposit
The Elida porphyry Cu-Mo-Ag deposit occurs along the east side of a large block of 29 contiguous concessions totaling 19,749 hectares (“ha”) that are 100% owned by Element 29 Resources Inc. The project is in west-central Perú and is road accessible from the capital city, Lima, along the Pan American Highway, 170 kilometres northwest to the coastal city of Barranca, then inland 75 kilometers along a secondary road with paved and unpaved surfaces.
Elida is well located for future mine development and will benefit from nearby infrastructure and a skilled workforce. The project is situated at a moderate elevation between 1,500 m and 2,000 m with access to transportation routes to coastal shipping ports and power infrastructure, including a 45 mega-watt hydroelectric generation facility situated just 15 kilometres from the Property.
The Elida porphyry complex is a Cu-Mo-Ag mineralized multiphase porphyry system with a 2.5 x 2.5 km hydrothermal alteration footprint at surface, associated with Eocene-aged quartz monzonite stocks, emplaced into the Cretaceous volcano-sedimentary sequence and a granodiorite member of the Peruvian Coastal Batholith. Elida is one of the first Eocene-age mineralized porphyry systems discovered in Peru.
Previous drilling by Element 29 intersected multiple, long intervals of porphyry Cu-Mo-Ag mineralization which has been traced to a depth of greater than 900 m where it remains open. Most of the Cu-Mo mineralization is carried in A-veins, B-veins and C veins that were formed during the waning stages of potassic alteration, with a significant secondary amount of Cu mineralization carried in later E-veins from a late chlorite-epidote overprint.
Based on 14,361.4 m of diamond drilling, Element 29 completed an independent pit-constrained Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate which outlined 321.7 million tonnes of 0.32% Cu, 0.029% Mo and 2.61 g/t Ag at a 0.2% Cu cut-off grade and a 0.74:1 strip ratio.
Information on the Mineral Resource is in the technical report, available on the Company’s website and on SEDAR+, titled “NI 43-101 Technical Report, Mineral Resource Estimation of the Elida Porphyry Copper Project in Perú” with an effective date of September 20, 2022 and prepared in accordance with Form 43-101F1 by Marc Jutras, PEng MASc, Principal, Mineral Resources, Ginto Consulting Inc., a Qualified Person as defined in National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, who is independent of Element 29 Resources Inc.
About Element 29 Resources Inc.
Element 29 is an emerging junior resource company with a highly experienced management team and board focused on exploring and potentially developing Tier-1 copper deposits in Perú, one of the lowest-cost, lowest-risk mining jurisdictions globally.
The Company's principal objective is to explore and potentially develop its Elida Porphyry Copper Deposit in west-central Perú which has an initial inferred Mineral Resource Estimate of 321.7 million tonnes grading 0.32% Cu, 0.03% Mo and 2.61 g/t Ag at a 0.2% Cu cutoff grade and a low 0.74:1 modeled strip ratio. The Mineral Resource Estimate information is available in “NI 43-101 Technical Report, Mineral Resource Estimation of the Elida Porphyry Copper Project in Perú” dated September 20, 2022, and prepared in accordance with Form 43-101F1 by Marc Jutras, P.Eng., M.A.Sc., Ginto Consulting Inc.
Alongside Elida, the Company has three (3) early stage, highly prospective porphyry Cu projects in Perú for more than 25,000 ha of titled concession. These include the Flor de Cobre porphyry Cu-Mo prospect situated in the Southern Perú Copper Belt, just 26 km from the Cerro Verde copper mine (Freeport-Buenaventura) as well as the Paka and Pahuay porphyry Cu skarn prospects related to potential tertiary-aged, mineralized porphyry complexes intruding along the eastern margin of the Peruvian Coastal Batholith.
All projects are well located for future mine development and will benefit from nearby infrastructure including roads, powerlines, ports, water, and a skilled workforce.
More information is available at www.e29copper.com.
For more information:
Richard Osmond
CEO and Director
1-888-246-7881
[email protected]
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Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains certain forward-looking information and forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation (collectively, "Forward-looking Statements"). Any statements that are contained in this press release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be Forward-looking Statements. Forward-looking Statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as "may", "will", "intends", "proposed", "believes", "continues", "plans", "expects" or similar expressions (or the negative and grammatical variations of any of these terms). Forward-looking Statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the Company's resource properties and future capital requirements; and the Company's plans, focus and objectives.
Forward-looking Statements involve various risks and uncertainties and are based on certain factors and assumptions. Although Element 29’s management considers these beliefs and assumptions reasonable based on currently available information, there can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Forward-looking Statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks, and important factors, among others, that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations include: uncertainties related to the Company's ability to access investors for the Financing; the timeliness and success of regulatory approvals; fluctuations in copper and other commodity prices; uncertainties inherent in the exploration of mineral properties; risks associated with general economic conditions; changes in legislation, income tax and regulatory matters; currency and interest rate fluctuations; inability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources; and other risk factors set forth in the Company's prospectus under the heading “Risk Factors”.
Readers are further cautioned not to place undue reliance on Forward-looking Statements as there can be no assurances that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which they are placed will occur. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any Forward-looking Statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for Element 29 to predict all of them or assess the impact of each such factor or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause results to differ materially from those contained in any Forward-looking Statement. Any Forward-looking Statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. 1This news release contains information about adjacent properties on which Element 29 has no right to explore or mine. Readers are cautioned that mineral deposits on adjacent properties are not indicative of mineral deposits on the Company’s properties