Solaris Resources (TSX: SLS; NYSE: SLSR) has provided a mineral resource estimate (MRE) for the in-pit portion of its Warintza project in southeastern Ecuador in support of an upcoming pre-feasibility study (PFS).
The resource totalled 909 million tonnes grading 0.53% copper equivalent (CuEq) in the measured and indicated categories, plus an additional 1.43 billion tonnes at 0.37% CuEq in inferred, at the base case cut-off grade of 0.25% CuEq.
Applying a higher cut-off grade (0.50% CuEq) to reflect the near-surface, higher-grade mineralization, the resource would then total 427 million tonnes measured and indicated at 0.71% CuEq and 177 million tonnes inferred at 0.62% CuEq.
“We are very pleased to be able to release this standalone MRE which draws on our combined years of experience with open pit copper projects in the Americas,” commented Javier Toro, chief operating officer of Solaris.
Warintza represents a world-class copper discovery that was made in 2001, then under the ownership of Equinox Resources until the project was spun out in 2018. Since then, Solaris has been tasked with its exploration and development, and it recently attracted interest from majors such as China’s Zijin Mining.
