Drilling at the La Coipita project. Credit: AbraSilver
AbraSilver Resource (TSX: ABRA) said assay results from drilling at its La Coipita copper and gold property in Argentina showed the presence of a significant porphyry system with expansion potential.
Result highlights from drillhole DDH-LC25-006 include 114 metres of 0.7% copper, 0.07 gram per tonne gold and 81 parts per million (ppm) molybdenum from 410 metres downhole, which has been interpreted as a secondary enrichment zone, AbraSilver said Thursday in a statement. A higher-grade interval of 20 metres at 1.03% copper, 0.08 gram per tonne gold and 71 ppm molybdenum from 412 metres depth was also reported.
Combined, the intercepts comprised 621 metres grading 0.38% copper, 0.07 gram gold and 62 ppm molybdenum, which AbraSilver said demonstrates the scale of the mineralized system.
“Wide intercept with moderate copper and modest gold piques interest and puts the project back in focus, and while still early, this hints at potential material upside in a copper belt,” National Bank Financial analyst Don DeMarco said in a note. He has an “outperform” rating on the stock.
AbraSilver shares fell 0.7% to C$2.92 apiece in afternoon trading in Toronto Thursday, giving the company a market capitalization of C$448 million. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of C$1.93 to C$3.64.
Teck earn-in
The drill program at La Coipita is fully funded and operated by a subsidiary of Teck Resources (TSX: TECK.A, TECK.B; NYSE: TECK) as part of an earn-in and joint venture agreement. Teck is planning to spend $20 million in exploration at La Coipita over five years.
“These results confirm the presence of a well-developed porphyry system with large-scale potential,” AbraSilver CEO John Miniotis said in a statement. “With drilling fully funded and operated by Teck, we believe this discovery represents a major step forward in unlocking the value of this underexplored district, which is located in a major copper belt.”
AbraSilver is waiting for assay results for two more holes.
Hole DDH-LC25-007, which is located about 500 metres east of DDH-LC25-006, was completed to a depth of 846.1 metres. It has intercepted two separate secondary enrichment zones between 40-275 metres and 422–593 metres, AbraSilver said.
Hole DDH-LC25-008, located about 500 metres north of DDH-LC25-006, was completed to a depth of 915 metres. It intersected low-grade high-sulphidation copper mineralization.
Second year
Last year, Teck completed 2,476 metres of diamond drilling in five holes, along with geophysical surveys and target mapping. The 2025 drill campaign marks the second year of the earn-in program.
La Coipita is a district-scale property covering over 700 sq. km in western San Juan province near the Chilean border. Elevation across the property ranges between 3,500 and 4,500 metres above sea level.
The property lies within the Miocene porphyry-epithermal belt of Argentina and Chile, which is host to deposits such as the Filo del Sol equal partnership between BHP (NYSE, LSE, ASX: BHP) and Lundin Mining (TSX: LUN), McEwen Mining’s (TSX, NYSE: MUX) Los Azules, and Barrick Gold’s (TSX: ABX; NYSE: GOLD) El Indio, Veladero and Pascua Lama.
AbraSilver is also advancing the Diablillos project in northwest Argentina. It hosts proven and probable reserves of about 42.3 million tonnes grading 91 grams silver and 0.81 gram gold for 123.5 million contained oz. silver and 1.1 million oz. contained gold.