VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA - April 30, 2025 (NEWMEDIAWIRE) - Pampa Metals Corp. ("Pampa Metals" or the "Company") (CSE:PM / FSE:FIR / OTCQB:PMMCF) is pleased to advise that drill hole PIU-06 2025DDH (PIU-06) has confirmed a new porphyry copper-gold discovery, located immediately to the north of Aldebaran Resources' emerging Altar North system, within the broader Piuquenes-Altar cluster.
PIU-06 was the first drill hole designed to test the Piuquenes East porphyry vein and breccia system mapped at surface and is collared approximately 800 m east of the Company's Piuquenes Central deposit. PIU-06 intersected porphyry A and B-type quartz stockwork veining and reported a significant mineralized interval as follows:
- Including 98m @ 0.49 % Cu, 0.16 g/t Au, 1.26 g/t Ag (from 292m)
The discovery of an entirely new porphyry breccia system at Piuquenes East, well removed from the Piuquenes Central system, is considered extremely encouraging. The system displays the multi-phase character of many world class deposits including several of the giant San Juan (and adjacent Chile) porphyry districts and deposits. Piuquenes East is a multi-phase porphyry breccia system at the very earliest stages of exploration, entirely open to the north, west and east with no drilling testing any of these potential extension areas.
Joseph van den Elsen, Pampa Metals President and CEO commented:
"To have returned such significant results from the first hole into the Piuquenes East discovery is an important milestone for Pampa Metals and validates the Piuquenes project as host to multiple porphyry systems and a company making asset. Importantly, we have now confirmed Piuquenes East as a zoned-multi-phase porphyry-breccia system which is entirely open in all directions, and where we believe the core of the system is yet to be tested. We are excited to continue our systematic exploration of the full 2,500-hectare tenure package through further geological mapping, geophysics and drilling. a zoned porphyry-breccia Concurrently, we continue to move towards completion of the acquisition of Rugby Resources and its Cobrasco and Mantau projects, and the resulting creation of a leading, multi-asset South American porphyry copper explorer, and look forward to recommencing drilling at Cobrasco in 2H 2025."
Piuquenes Copper-Gold Porphyry Project, San Juan, Argentina
Piuquenes is a newly discovered cluster of gold rich copper porphyry deposits located immediately adjacent to the north of Aldebaran Resources' giant Altar porphyry copper system. Other large porphyry copper projects in the San Juan Miocene porphyry belt include El Pachn (Glencore), approximately 30 km to the south, the operating Los Pelambres copper mine (60% Antofagasta plc) in Chile, and Los Azules (McEwen Mining) 50 km to the northeast. Corporate and exploration activity along the belt remains high, with major companies including Rio Tinto, South 32, BHP and Teck also active.
Figure 1: Plan showing locations of Piuquenes Altar porphyry mineralization occurrences (clusters)
Diamond Drillhole PIU-06 2025DDH (PIU-06)
As previously reported (refer 3 February 2025 News Release), PIU-06 was the first drill hole designed to test the Piuquenes East porphyry vein and breccia system and was collared approximately 800 m east of the core of the Piuquenes Central system.
The hole was drilled on an azimuth of 125 degrees and dip of -60 degrees to a final depth of 790.5 m. Multi-phase porphyry style quartz veining is evident from ~50m downhole, becoming consistent from ~180 m downhole to ~500 m and again from ~580 m to ~680 m downhole (refer 3 February 2025 News Release). The strongly mineralized interval from 292 m commences at the base of Cu oxidation/leaching and is composed of A- and B-style porphyry style quartz veins hosted by pre-mineral intrusive diorite porphyry. It is noteworthy that consistent Au, above 0.2 g/t Au, commences at 226 m whereas Cu is leached (typically <500 ppm Cu) until 292 m indicating that the limit of the Cu-Au mineralized vein system is open to the west. Below 292 m, Cu is present as vein-hosted and disseminated chalcopyrite and supergene chalcocite. Importantly, pyrite is abundant below the base of leaching and bornite is absent, which together with the lack of interpreted causative porphyry intrusions, is interpreted to indicate that hole PIU-06 has not intersected the core of the Piuquenes East porphyry system.
Below 545 m downhole the porphyry vein system is cut by pyrite-rich quartz-tourmaline-anhydrite cemented hydrothermal breccia (refer 3 February 2025 News Release) which generally diminishes the grade (typically <1,000 ppm Cu and <0.1 g/t Au).
TerraSpec analysis (routinely undertaken using ALS TRSPEC-20 & INTERP-11 analytical package) and visual logging indicate alteration in the porphyry vein system consists of biotite-dominated potassic alteration overprinted by chlorite-sericite-smectite (SCC) and sericite-pyrite (phyllic) alteration. Within, and below the breccia, pyrophyllite-kaolinite bearing advanced argillic alteration is present and is interpreted to overprint the earlier alteration phases. This advanced argillic alteration is locally associated with high-sulfidation Cu-Au mineralization with the maximum individual 2 m assay reporting 0.64% Cu, 0.30 g/t Au, 10.35 g/t Ag associated with pyrophyllite alteration overprinting sericite-anhydrite.
Diamond drill hole PIU-07 was collared approximately 180 m southwest of PIU-06 with an azimuth of 130 degrees and dip of -60 degrees to test the southwestern extension of the porphyry vein and breccia system mapped at surface and encountered in PIU-06.
The hole encountered multi-phase breccia from the base of cover at 33 m to 657 m downhole and then pre-mineral diorite porphyry until end of hole at 727.0 m. Copper and Au results are modest, similar to the breccia complex in PIU-06 with exceptions being local high sulfidation style higher grades (see below) and several 30 -45 m intervals of 500 800 ppm Cu.
The breccia complex is similar to that encountered in PIU-06 and is interpreted to be the same body. The complex is multi-phase and displays a range of textures and compositions. The complex is dominated by hydrothermal breccias with quartz-tourmaline-pyrite-anhydrite cement as well as a matrix of degraded rock. Textures range from angular clast supported to rounded cemented and matrix supported clasts. Clasts are dominated by pre-breccia intrusive phases with the pre-mineral diorite porphyry being the dominant clast component. Clasts contain truncated porphyry-style A- and B- veins and the breccia complex is overprinted by a variably developed D-vein set.
Alteration is intense and sulfide contents are high, although pyrite is the dominant sulfide. Alteration is similar to PIU-06 with the upper portion of the hole dominated by SCC style alteration and more local phyllic alteration. From 308 m downhole pyrophyllite-dickite-kaolinite-alunite advanced argillic alteration is common (confirmed by routine ALS TRSPEC-20 & INTERP-11 analytical package). Locally this advanced argillic alteration is associated with high sulfidation mineralization reporting a maximum assay of 0.28 % Cu, 0.48 g/t Au, 67.9 g/t Ag over two metres.
The Piuquenes East porphyry system is an entirely new discovery, well removed from the Piuquenes Central system. It is a multi-phase porphyry breccia system at the very earliest stages of exploration. The system displays the multi-phase character of many world class deposits with high temperature (potassic) alteration and veining overprinted by two phases of moderate temperature alteration and veining (SCC and phyllic) which are in turn overprinted by advanced argillic alteration and associated high sulfidation Cu-Au-Ag mineralization. This sequence of spatially and temporally overlapping events is a characteristic of many of the giant San Juan (and adjacent Chile) porphyry districts and deposits and it is considered highly encouraging to have defined these multiple stages in the initial stages of exploration. Although to-date the breccia component of the Piuquenes East system is only sporadically mineralized, it is noted that many porphyry systems contain unmineralized breccias that zone into highly mineralized breccia complexes.
The system is entirely open to the north, west and east with no drilling testing any of these potential extension areas. This area is largely marked by thin talus cover with only minor outcrop and has been subject to minimal exploration.
Ongoing surface mapping and integration of the recently received complete drill data is aimed at more accurately defining zoning patterns and defining next steps for exploration of the system.
Pampa Metals is a copper-gold exploration company listed on the Canadian Stock Exchange (CSE:PM), Frankfurt (FSE: FIR), and OTC (OTCQB: PMMCF) exchanges.
In November 2023, the Company announced it had entered into an Option and Joint Venture Agreement for the acquisition of an 80% interest in the Piuquenes Copper-Gold Porphyry Project in San Juan Province, Argentina.
QUALIFIED PERSON
Technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Dr. Stuart Smith, PhD, a member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists and a "qualified person" as defined by NI 43-101. Dr. Smith is a Consultant to the Company.
Neither the CSE nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENT
This news release contains certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical fact, that address events or developments that Pampa Metals expects to occur, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will" or "may" occur. These statements are subject to various risks. Although Pampa Metals believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guaranteeing of future performance, and actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements.
(1) Intersection calculated using 0.2% Cu cut-off with maximum internal dilution of 12m (2) References to other deposits and districts are referential only and is not intended to imply that deposits of similar scale have been or will be encountered in the Piuquenes project area. (3) References to other deposits and districts are referential only and is not intended to imply that deposits of similar scale have been or will be encountered in the Piuquenes project area.
