Pacific Ridge Exploration (PEX.V) has released the assay results from the five diamond drill holes it completed on the BP Zone of the Chuchi gold-copper project. Every hole of the program intersected chalcopyrite and pyrite hosted in breccia zones and veins while the alkalic porphyry copper-gold mineralization was also encountered as disseminated mineral replacements. The drill program was initially designed to drill-test the areas where previous operators intersected the strongest results.
Although previous operators already completed 89 holes on the property, Pacific Ridge’s five hole drill program delivered four of the best intervals measured by width multiplied by the copper-equivalent grade (shown in the table below). While that is of course a nice stat, the average copper-equivalent grade is still too light and rock with an average grade of 0.21-0.26% CuEq won’t be sufficient to justify the construction of a mine.
Of course the intervals also contain higher grade zones (shown below) and 169 meters of 0.32% CuEq and 36 meters of 0.48% CuEq are obviously already better when it comes to grade, but then the thickness is lacking a bit.
It would be unfair to judge a company on the results of just five holes. And as Pacific Ridge’s technical team’s interpretation of these results is that drilling may have encountered the upper part of a large porphyry copper-gold system that still hasn’t been adequately tested. It’s also worth mentioning the BP Zone is just one of the multiple porphyry targets on the six kilometer long porphyry trend, which remains open laterally and at depth. Additionally, the results of the recent drill program indicate the historical drill results rare accurate and reliable and confirm the continuity of the low-grade mineralization.
We are looking forward to seeing Pacific Ridge’s plans for 2025, not just for Chuchi but also for its flagship Kliyul copper-gold porphyry project.
Disclosure: The author has a long position in Pacific Ridge Exploration. Pacific Ridge is a sponsor of the website. Please read the disclaimer.
