Prismo Metals [CSE:PRIZ / OTCQB:PMOMF / FSE:7KU] has received game changing permit approval from the US Bureau of Land Management for 10 drill pads at its Hot Breccia copper project in Southern Arizona.
The drill pads will allow for drilling to test the prospective stratigraphy below the cover volcanic rock over a wide area, and in particular the large conductive anomaly identified by Prismo’s 2023 ZTEM survey.
Ground mapping, prospecting and sampling conducted earlier this year has supported the targeting process and target selection.
How big is Prismo Metals’s Hot Breccia project?
The Hot Breccia property consists of 1,420 hectares with 227 contiguous mining claims located in the world class Arizona Copper Belt between several very well understood world-class copper mines including Morenci, Ray and Resolution.
Prismo Metals said a bond has been posted with the Bureau of Land Management as the final step required before proceeding. Preparatory work in advance of drilling will be expedited by the miner through the use of the existing road infrastructure built in the 1970’s, which requires only minor repair and maintenance.
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Upon confirmation and acceptance of the bond by the BLM, road upkeep and maintenance will start to enable drilling to commence in Q3 2024, the company said.
Steve Robertson, President at Prismo Metals, said that securing the permit approval to proceed with this important drill program is a defining event for the mining company as it marks the first time in five decades that exploration on this target can be activated. Hot Breccia is a property where historical drillings reported several copper intercepts that exceeded 1% copper and elevated zinc.
The drill program will provide Prismo Metals with critical information on the vectoring needed to lead them to the heart of another mineralizing system in one of the most prolific copper districts on the planet.
How deep are Prismo Metals digging?
Prismo Metals has established a budget of $3 million to complete the proposed five drill hole, 5,000 metre program. Each drill hole is intended to drill through the entire Paleozoic carbonate stratigraphy and Prismo anticipates 1,000 metres per drill hole, although the exploration team will take advantage of the geological information provided by each drill hole to determine if any holes require extended drilling.
Robertson explained further: “The most recent exploration of this mineralized target was over 50 years ago. Since then, discovery of one of the world’s most significant copper deposits 40 km away at Resolution has changed the “Art of the Possible” for exploration in the region. This amplifies our eagerness to initiate drilling in order to continue advancement of the exploration process.”
Hot Breccia shows many features in common with these neighboring systems, most prominently a swarm of porphyry dikes and series of breccia pipes containing numerous fragments of well copper-mineralized rocks mixed with fragments of volcanic and sedimentary derived from considerable depth. Prismo ran a ZTEM survey last year that identified a very large conductive anomaly directly beneath the breccia outcrops.
Sampling at the project has shown the presence of copper mineralization associated with polymictic breccia that has brought fragments of sedimentary rocks and mineralization to the surface from depths believed to be 400-1,000 meters below the surface, so drilling of deep holes, possibly including a twin of an historic hole, is planned.
Prismo said assay results from historic drill holes are unverified as the core has been destroyed, but information has been gathered from memos, photos and drill logs that contain some, but not all, of the assay results and descriptions.
