en.Wedoany.com Reported - Pivotal Metals has increased the total resource at its Horden Lake project in Quebec, Canada, by 42% to 52 million tonnes, with a copper equivalent grade of 1.05%, enhancing the feasibility of large-scale open-pit mining. This near-surface, high-grade resource is a rarity in the global copper mine development pipeline—its extraction costs could be significantly lower than underground development or low-grade porphyry deposits.
Approximately 87% of the updated resource, or 45 million tonnes at a copper equivalent grade of 1.07% containing 485,000 tonnes of copper equivalent, lies within the pit boundary. Pivotal Metals (ASX:PVT) noted that the resource remains open along strike and at depth, and that by-products have the potential to improve project economics, with further room for total resource growth. Managing Director Ivan Fairhall stated that the updated resource confirms the scale of Horden Lake and highlights its remaining exploration potential.
"Importantly, the resource growth came from drilling a small portion of undrilled conductors, and the deposit remains widely open, with multiple priority electromagnetic targets yet to be tested," Fairhall said. "We remain focused on systematically growing the resource while advancing the technical work required to evaluate development pathways—starting with a scoping study scheduled for completion in the third quarter of 2026."
Vice President of Exploration Paul Nagerl stated that the latest drilling validates the company's geophysical targeting approach. "This update demonstrates the capability of geophysics in locating extensions of the deposit and highlights the scale of Horden Lake's undrilled exploration potential," he said. "We have proven that we can effectively define targets, drill them, and convert them into resources. This is an excellent omen for our large-scale conductors that have been defined but not yet drilled."
The Horden Lake deposit is located approximately 131 kilometers north-northeast of Matagami in the Eeyou Istchee James Bay region of Quebec, with access to highways and hydroelectric power facilities. The deposit extends over 2,800 meters along strike and has been drilled to a vertical depth of approximately 540 meters along the intrusive footwall-sedimentary host rock contact. In addition to 292,000 tonnes of copper, the pit-constrained resource contains 237,000 ounces of gold, 17 million ounces of silver, 312,000 ounces of palladium and platinum, and 7,000 tonnes of cobalt—metals that collectively contribute an additional value equivalent to 257,000 tonnes of copper. Recent metallurgical testing indicates that these by-products can be recovered through conventional flotation, producing clean, high-grade concentrates, thereby enhancing project economics. As the deposit is currently only limited by completed drilling, there is significant potential to expand the resource; every drill hole intersecting the contact zone has encountered mineralization, and only eight holes have reached a vertical depth exceeding 300 meters.
Pivotal reported that the scoping study for the Horden Lake project is expected to be completed by the end of the third quarter of 2026, marking the first completed scoping study for the project. The company hopes the study will demonstrate potential development pathways for the project, positioning it among a small group of copper pre-development companies on the Australian Securities Exchange—against a backdrop of constrained supply and record-high copper prices. PVT also plans to conduct an exploration program to support more advanced studies, along with step-out drilling to continue expanding the deposit.
