Mineral explorer Valor Resources continues to deliver the goods at its Picha copper and silver project in southern Peru. Recent channel sampling by the company at two separate areas has returned a 40.5 metre long surface channel grading 0.49 per cent copper at its Cumbre Coya prospect, with a 17.6m channel going 1.95 per cent copper also unearthed at the Maricate prospect some 500m away.
Valor has been conducting a comprehensive geological mapping and geochemical sampling program at Picha and the latest results are part of a program that saw 137 rock chips and channel samples collected at the two prospects.
At Cumbre Coya, 31 samples returned grades of more than 0.5 per cent copper with individual sampling delivering assays grading as high as 3.51 per cent copper and an impressive 549 grams per tonne silver.
Other channels identified at Cumbre Coya include 8m at 1.91 per cent copper and 11.08 g/t silver and 8m at 1.41 per cent copper and 16.38 g/t silver.
A strike length stretching for about 800m has now been defined at the prospect.
Curiously, several samples in the Cumbre Coya area also returned elevated levels of lead, zinc and molybdenum. Lead mineralisation reached a peak of more than 20 per cent in a 16m long channel that also yielded 0.49 per cent copper, 188.79 g/t silver and 8.45 per cent lead.
Management says Cumbre Coya now represents a high priority drill target.
At Maricate, 17 samples returned assays going more than 0.5 per cent copper with grades reaching peaks of 5.46 per cent copper and 116 g/t silver.
The 17.6m channel identified at Maricate also includes a richer 10m section going 2.95 per cent copper and 47.8 g/t silver.
Another 4m channel at 1.38 per cent copper and 241 g/t silver was also discovered at Maricate.
Mineralisation at the prospect has now been outlined over a one kilometre strike.
Valor Resources Executive Chairman, George Bauk said: “The Picha project continues to exceed expectations. The latest results confirm the enormous potential of the area. We now plan to move rapidly towards the next phase with drilling preparations already underway. We have broadly identified our drilling target priorities and have now commenced the permitting process working with local authorities and the community.”
Valor believes the mineralisation identified so far at Picha shows similarities to other copper and silver stratabound style deposits in Peru. The project could also potentially host carbonate replacement type and porphyry style deposits according to Valor.
The latest assays from the sampling campaign add to other serious results recently reported by the company at Picha.
At the Cobremani prospect, to the north-west of Maricate, a 35.6 metre long channel with an average 1.3 per cent copper and 22.85 g/t silver was unveiled by Valor last month.
Individual sampling in the vicinity of Cobremani also returned multiple mineralised assays, including 1.33 per cent copper and 1.52 per cent copper.
At Maricate, a cracking 13.39 per cent copper sample was also reported and other samples at the prospect showed elevated levels of molybdenum, lead and silver, with the latter reaching a solid 164 g/t silver.
Valor has now completed geological mapping of the entire 20 square kilometre Picha tenure and identified five priority copper targets.
Sampling at Maricate and Cumbre Coya remains ongoing.
The company is eyeing ground geophysics to pin-point priority targets ahead of a subsequent drilling campaign in the coming months.
Peru is one of the largest copper and silver producers in the world. The country hosts numerous significant ore bodies including the Chucapaca copper, silver and gold deposit only 17km from Picha, where some 7.5 million ounces of gold equivalent have been defined.
Valor also appears to be ticking boxes in its quest to discover copper and silver deposits at Picha just when the price of copper continues to trade close to historical highs at about US$9,800 per tonne.
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By Matt Birney
