PAM secures high-grade Chilean copper play in strong territory

Exploration and development microcap Pan Asia Metals Ltd (ASX:PAM) has seen its share price rise 2.47% on news it has acquired a high-grade copper project in Chile.

The play – known as ‘Rosario’ – is located 10 kilometres north of the El Salvador copper mine in the country’s northern Chanaral Province, and PAM has entered into an exclusivity agreement to conduct due diligence there.

Evidence from the project’s large collection of rock chips shows that average copper grade at the project is around 2.13%, but with some grades going beyond 5%. In addition, three prospective trends have been identified, with a strike length of more than 10 kilometres and mineralised zones up to 200 metres in length.

Managing Director Paul Lock said Rosario ticked all of the company’s boxes.

“The Project is located in an infrastructure rich setting, with all processing needs nearby; it demonstrates peer group leading copper grades from a large suite of rock chips’ and it is located in a premier copper producing region which is known for its cost advantages,” he said.

“The Project has what is needed to gain a position in the lower third of the cost curve: Rosario represents a tremendous opportunity to position PAM with a high-grade, low-cost copper project.

“We view copper as an equally important metal with lithium in the global electrification transition, the supply-demand dynamics are compelling with deficits projected due to declining production and grades, and a lack of new discoveries.”

He added that Rosario was not a pivot for PAM, but offered strategic options for the company.

Rosario lies 120 kilometres east of the port city of Chanaral and 160km north of the mining city of Copiapo, and in addition to proximity of El Salvador, Enami’s Oxide and Sulphide processing plant and Codelco’s Porterillos Copper Smelter are also close by.

At 12:00 AEDT, PAM shares were trading at 8.3 cents, a rise of 2.47% since the market opened.