PAT completes maiden sampling at Peru silver project - drill permit in progress

Our silver Investment Patriot Resources (ASX: PAT) just completed its maiden sampling program at its silver-gold project in Peru.

PAT’s project already has a 31.4Moz silver equivalent JORC resource estimate.

This resource estimate sits inside a giant 559 to 774Moz silver equivalent JORC Exploration Target, more on this below.

Today PAT confirmed it has collected 38 surface samples from the Pachamayo target, directly north of that 31.4Moz silver equivalent JORC resource.

These samples are currently at the lab, with assay results expected in early Q4.

Mapping at Pachamayo also defined a 120m long breccia which PAT interprets as the upper levels of a well preserved epithermal system.

In simpler terms, this supports the idea that the mineralised corridor extends north from beyond the current resource into this area (although drilling will be needed to confirm this).

This sampling from the northern part of the project at Pachamayo was enabled from the first community agreement PAT signed, which we covered here.

Since then, PAT has secured the community agreement from the Tassa community, allowing it to also progress exploration activities where the current resource and exploration target sit.

(source)

So now with the community approvals secured, the team is now heading south to the newly staked Tassa 5 tenement for some sampling.

This sampling will be completed along the ~3.1km strike of the corridor to help rank targets for PAT's first ever drill program.

PAT has also begun the drilling application process with Peru's Ministry of Energy and Mines, so the drill permit process is now underway and PAT will be able to move fast once granted.

This is the next key share price catalyst for PAT, which will allow the company to try to turn the exploration target into a defined resource estimate via all important drilling.

Also today, PAT appointed Miguel Montalván as Exploration Manager, a geologist with 20+ years in Peru, to lead the team through to drilling, so good to see some local experience on board.

PAT’s large exploration target

PAT now only needs the drilling permit in hand to be able to drill its 31.4M ounce silver equivalent JORC resource estimate (which is in progress).

The current resource sits inside a giant independently verified JORC exploration target of 559 Million ounces to 774 Million ounces silver equivalent.

(note exploration targets are conceptual in nature and it is uncertain whether more exploration will result in a mineral resource estimate)

$46BN Teck had this project optioned between 2019-2024, before PAT acquired it.

Teck ran ~36km of IP geophysics across it.

Built an (expensive) 3D geological model.

Had 1,832 surface samples.

Then, right before drilling the project, Teck’s board of directors pivoted the entire company's focus to copper.

PAT now has the benefit of all that data AND the data from companies who owned the asset before (there is some drilling data from 2010).

Since acquiring the asset, PAT delivered the first-ever integration of 20+ years of multi-source datasets into a single JORC-compliant geological model which shows:

• A structure over 2,880m north-south by ~950m wide, down to ~550m depth
• 19 mineralised zones across the corridor (the current 31.4 Moz Inferred Resource is in just 3 of them)
• 479 to 663 Moz of silver at 42-49 g/t - confirming this is a silver-dominant system, not a headline dressed up with base-metal credits
• 1,832 surface samples, 8,500m of historical diamond drilling,
• ~36km IP geophysics,
• ~70km ground magnetics

Which culminated into this image:

(source)

You can see our Deep Dive on this here: Silver about to pop? PAT to drill up to 774 million ounce silver exploration target.

What do we want to see PAT do next?

🔄 Drill and update the current silver resource

We want to see PAT drill its silver project in Peru and confirm the existing 31.4M ounce silver equivalent JORC resource estimate.

With the first drill campaign, we want to see the previous results confirmed with infill drilling.

Here are the milestones we are tracking for that program:

• ✅ Land Access Agreements
• 🔄 Drilling permits (today PAT confirmed the permits have been lodged)
• 🔲 Drilling starts
• 🔲 Drilling results

🔄 Divestments of side assets

We noticed recently that PAT said it was looking to divest its recent copper discovery in Zambia (next door to $7BN Sinomine’s copper project) AND its lithium asset in Canada .

(source)

We want to see PAT land a deal that is positive for us as shareholders.

Ideally some sort of cash payments OR scrip in the entity that takes the assets.