Lodestar Targets First Drill at 22km² Chilean Copper Project in Q2 2027

en.Wedoany.com Reported - Lodestar Minerals (ASX: LSR) has signed an option agreement to acquire the Pacifico copper-molybdenum-gold porphyry project in the Atacama region of Chile, further consolidating the company's copper portfolio in the country.

The company has secured access to five exploration claims and staked three adjacent application areas. The consolidated project covers 22 square kilometres and includes a 6-kilometre prospective porphyry corridor, linking previously separate northern and southern exploration zones.

Chief Executive Officer Coraline Blaud said the project presents a "highly attractive" opportunity for the company to evaluate a prospective porphyry belt previously explored as standalone project areas. She noted that historical drilling has confirmed porphyry intrusions carrying copper-molybdenum mineralisation, while the central portion of the project remains relatively under-explored and has never been drilled.

First Quantum Minerals (TSX:FM) and Hudbay Minerals (TSX:HBM) previously completed 16 diamond drill holes in the area, totalling 8,039 metres, intersecting porphyry intrusions from near-surface to depths exceeding 700 metres. Assay results confirmed copper-molybdenum mineralisation, with peak grades of 0.67% copper (Cu) and 817 ppm molybdenum (Mo). Key intersections include a 150.7-metre interval from 4.8 metres downhole grading 0.15% copper equivalent (CuEq), and a 186-metre interval from 358 metres downhole grading 0.13% copper equivalent.

The company stated that the central portion of the corridor remains untested, with recent reconnaissance identifying outcropping porphyry dykes in never-drilled areas.

The project is located 42 kilometres north of the Relincho deposit, owned by the NuevaUnión joint venture between Teck Resources (NYSE:TECK) and Newmont (NYSE:NEM), which hosts reserves of 1.1 billion tonnes at 0.41% copper and 0.021% molybdenum. The project area contains more than 42 kilometres of existing roads and is situated near the Pan-American Highway, providing year-round access to three primary target zones.

Under the option agreement, the company made an initial cash payment of US$30,000 ($42,103) upon signing, securing exclusive access to the project. Annual payments thereafter escalate progressively, increasing from US$60,000 to US$600,000 by the fourth year; the final payment upon exercising the option in year five is US$3 million, plus a 1.5% net smelter return (NSR) royalty.

Lodestar currently plans to re-interpret historical drilling and geophysical survey data, conduct surface mapping and sampling, and is targeting the commencement of initial drilling in the second quarter of 2027. The company is a copper-gold exploration company with assets in Chile, the United States, and Western Australia.