TORONTO, Feb. 12, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Western Metallica Resources Corp. (TSXV: WMS) (“Western Metallica” or the “Company”) is pleased to report results from its inaugural scout drilling program at the Luz Maria copper-molybdenum target, located within the Company’s 100%-owned Caña Brava Project, Northern Peru. Full results from the three initial drill holes have been received, confirming homogeneous copper and molybdenum grades throughout. The increase in sulfide content, and the change from disseminated pyrrhotite dominated mineralization in drill holes LM24DD001 and LM24DD002, to a stockwork of sulfide (pyrrhotite-pyrite-molybdenite-chalcopyrite) veinlets in drill hole LM24DD003, suggests an eastward vector towards a hotter centre of the porphyry system. Such evidence confirms the prospectivity for a major porphyry style copper-molybdenum deposit, as similar signatures can be associated with large and economic copper systems along the Andean Belt.
Greg Duras, President and CEO of Western Metallica Resources, stated: “We believe that the initial 3-hole 1,056 metres of drilling completed as part of our maiden scout drilling program has only scratched the surface of the significant and unlocked potential for porphyry-related copper and molybdenum mineralization at Luz Maria. The exploration work conducted, and the data compiled to date by our technical team has already defined a WNW-ESE trending, 10-kilometre, unexplored structural corridor of porphyry-related targets, of which Luz Maria was the first to be drill tested. This initial program has tested only a portion of Luz Maria’s 2.7-kilometre-long alteration footprint, and we believe these results position us at the discovery stage of an Eocene-age porphyry belt in northern Peru.”
Drilling Highlights:
The three diamond drill holes completed at the Luz Maria prospect all intersected broad intervals of strongly altered intrusive rocks, with well-developed potassic, phyllic and sodic alteration assemblages, typical of Andean porphyry systems (refer to table 1).
A total of 1,056.25 metres were drilled between October 2024 and early January 2025, strategically moving from West – from the site of the strongest regolith Cu and Mo anomaly coinciding with the outcrops of intrusive rocks - to East, where the unsupervised cluster classification 3D model, based on the geophysical data available, identified a high chargeability, high mag susceptibility and high metal factor (high chargeability / low resistivity) target under the sedimentary wall rock.
This first step scout drilling program only tested to a maximum depth of approximately 300 vertical metres and 300 metres on strike along the 2,700-metre-long major axis of the alteration footprint identified to date, representing approximately 5% of the Luz Maria anomaly.
Drill hole LM24DD003 was intended to continue well beyond the initially planned 350 metres to investigate the incipient strong alteration and increasing vein density at greater depth. Unfortunately, the hole did not reach target depth due to operational drilling difficulties.
The drill program has successfully proved that both the intrusive rocks, diorite in drill holes LM24DD001 and LM24DD002, quartz-monzonite in drill hole LM24DD003 and the sedimentary wall rock, all host homogeneous copper-molybdenum mineralization (refer to figures 3, 4, and 5) consistently along the length of the drill holes (400 ppm Cu and 100 ppm Mo in LM24DD001, 450ppm Cu and 100 ppm Mo in LM24DD002, and 350ppm Cu and 80 ppm Mo in LM24DD003), albeit in subeconomic quantities.
The rocks are strongly altered with biotite and pyrrhotite replacement of the ferromagnesian minerals, with a clear overprint by quartz-sericite alteration increasing progressively from West (LM24DD001) to East (LM24DD003).
Mineralization occurs as both chalcopyrite and molybdenite disseminations, and in stockworks of Early Biotite and B veins. The best result obtained so far is 1.8 metres at 0.2% Cu, from 146.7-148.50 metres, within a zone featuring high-density pyrrhotite-chalcopyrite infill and dissemination (refer press release dated January 14, 2025).
The increasing pyrrhotite at depth (refer to figures 1 and 2), and the stronger magnetic and chargeability signatures at depth, will support geological interpretation work aimed at targeting the hotter zones, closer to the porphyry source than the widespread low-grade mineralization and alteration found at Luz Maria (refer to figure 6).
HOLE_ID
Easting
Northing
Elevation
Azimuth
DIP
Final Depth
LM24DD001
734,497.676
9,130,700.676
1,415.326
220
-65
396.10
LM24DD002
734,610.316
9,130,681.539
1,373.504
220
-60
329.70
LM24DD003
734,643.946
9,130,470.747
1,366.259
40
-60
330.45
Total 1st phase metres
1,056.25
Table 1. Drill holes executed at Luz Maria prospect during the current program.
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Figure 1. Drillhole LM24DD003 @ 300.75-301.30 metres. Pyrrhotite infill and stockwork of Early Biotite and quartz-chalcopyrite-molybdenite B veins.
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Figure 2. Drillhole LM24DD003 @ 315 metres. Close up of disseminated pyrrhotite-chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite-chalcopyrite – molybdenite veinlets and quartz- -molybdenite veins.
Giovanni Funaioli, Vice President of Exploration of Western Metallica Resources commented: “The drilling program confirmed that the presence of a large alteration footprint, coupled with the multiphase intrusions, widespread potassic alteration and well developed stockwork, provides us with enough evidence that we are testing a major porphyry system as well as the existence of a mineralization vector from West to East, likely deeper than initially expected. We’ll also continue to explore the other targets identified on surface, such as Caña Brava 1, where the Company plans to drill a 1.5 km by 1.5 km phyllic alteration anomaly, with copper grades up to 0.4% at surface, in the near future.”
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Figure 3. Drill hole profiles of LM24DD001. The black histogram on the left of the drill hole trace is for mag susceptibility, the orange histogram on the right is for Cu ppm, and the black line on right for Mo ppm. Best values for copper (green box) and molybdenum (blue box) are pointed out.
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Figure 4. Drill hole profile LM24DD002. The black histogram on the left of the drill hole trace is for mag susceptibility, the orange histogram on the right is for Cu ppm, and the black line on right for Mo ppm. Best values for copper (green box) and molybdenum (blue box) are pointed out.
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Figure 5. Drill hole profile of LM24DD003. The black histogram on the left of the drill hole trace is for mag susceptibility, the orange histogram on the right is for Cu ppm, and the black line on right for Mo ppm. Best values for copper (green box) and molybdenum (blue box) are pointed out.
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Figure 6. Luz Maria interpreted NS cross section.
Background
Western Metallica holds the option to acquire 100% of the mineral claims, rights, and interests in Caña Brava, a Cu-Mo project located in Northern Peru (refer to press release dated August 10, 2023). The project lies within the under-explored Northern sector of the Cu-Mo metallogenic belt of Eocene age that hosts, to the South, world class deposits such as Las Bambas (MMG), Cotabambas (Panoro Minerals Ltd.), Constancia (Hudbay Minerals Inc.), Antapacay (Glencore) and discoveries such as Elida (Element 29 Resources), the first porphyry deposit of this age discovered in North Peru. The Company´s Caña Brava Project is well located in close proximity to industrial ports, major paved roads and is comprised of large, contiguous mineral concessions conducive to future project scalability.
The Caña Brava Project is a highly prospective 5,700-hectare package of concessions located 30 kilometres from the Peruvian coast, at an elevation of 1,500 metres in the Western Cordillera of the Peruvian Andes. The Caña Brava Project is neighboring Hudbay’s Llaguen Cu-Mo Project which lies on the Western margin of the Miocene epithermal-porphyry copper-gold belt of Northern Peru, with the potential for Caña Brava to similarly host shallow high-grade mineralization across a considerable alteration footprint. Western Metallica recently announced the launch of a first drill program at its Luz Maria copper-molybdenum porphyry prospect after having received its permit to drill from 19 platforms (refer to press release dated July 15, 2024). Luz Maria is a well-preserved porphyry system and priority drill target at the Caña Brava Project, where exploration work to date has successfully defined a cluster of multi-stage mineralized intrusions within a large 2.7-kilometre by 1.5-kilometre phyllic to incipient biotite-replacement alteration footprint, comparable in size to other major Peruvian porphyry deposits, and featuring multiple mineralized intrusion events (refer to press release dated September 24, 2024). The Company is also advancing with the drilling permitting on its Caña Brava 1 prospect, located on the Northwest sector of the Caña Brava Project, characterized by a distinctive 1.5-kilometre by 1.5-kilometre sized leached zone with goethite and hematite box works. Both environmental and social base lines, required to support the FTA process, have been completed for this sector. At Caña Brava 1, the diamond-sawn channel sampling campaign confirmed grades up to 0.3% Cu from 7 different intrusive recognized to date.
Quality Assurance and Quality Control
Sample preparation and analyses are conducted according to standard industry procedures. Rock samples are crushed, split, and pulverized prior to analysis of Gold by fire assay and Atomic Absorption and multi-elements by ICP-AES after four acid digestion. Analytical performance is monitored by means of certified reference materials (CRMs), coarse and fine blanks, coarse and pulp duplicate samples. Samples are prepared and analysed in SGS lab in Lima, Peru.
Qualified Persons
The technical and scientific information in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Mr. Giovanni Funaioli, EurGeol, Vice President Exploration of Western Metallica, who is a “Qualified Person" as defined by National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Mr. Giovanni Funaioli is an employee of the Company and is not considered independent under NI 43-101.
About Western Metallica Resources Corp.
Western Metallica is an Ontario registered company with its head office in Toronto, Ontario, trading on the TSX Venture Exchange under symbol WMS. Western Metallica is in the business of mineral resource exploration and development and holds the option to acquire a 100% interest in the Caña Brava copper-molybdenum project located in La Libertad Department, Peru. Western Metallica is also advancing its 100% owned Nueva Celti Copper Property in the Ossa Morena belt in Andalusia, Spain, and three other Spanish gold projects in the “Navelgas Gold Belt” in Asturias, Spain (Penedela, Valledor and Sierra Alta).
The TSXV has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release. Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.
This press release contains statements that constitute “forward-statements.” Such forward looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Company’s actual results, performance or achievements, or developments to differ materially from the anticipated results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.
Although the Company believes, in light of the experience of its officers and directors, current conditions and expected future developments and other factors that have been considered appropriate that the expectations reflected in this forward-looking information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on them because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. When used in this press release, the words “estimate”, “project”, “belief”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “expect”, “plan”, “predict”, “may” or “should” and the negative of these words or such variations thereon or comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements and information. The forward-looking statements and information in this press release include information relating to the planned drill program and the development of the Company’s projects and other mining projects and prospects thereof, the impact of the management additions on the Company; and the potential and economic viability of the Caña Brava Project. Such statements and information reflect the current view of the Company. Risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in those forward-looking statements and information.
By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.
The forward-looking information contained in this news release represents the expectations of the Company as of the date of this news release and, accordingly, is subject to change after such date. Readers should not place undue importance on forward-looking information and should not rely upon this information as of any other date. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management’s beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.
This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to sell any securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.
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