Westminster Stakes Strategic Ground in Peru and Updates on Peru Operations
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - June 9, 2021) - Westminster Resources Ltd. (TSXV: WMR) ("WMR" or "Westminster" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that the Company has applied for four new exploration licenses, located in the southwestern copper belt of Peru and in the same region as the company's 100%-owned Ilo Este and Ilo Norte copper projects (Figure 1).
Jason Cubitt, Westminster's President and CEO, commented, "We've been monitoring land positions in Peru for several years, with a particular interest in changes of control and the availability of new public data within our focus area. These acquisitions, generated by our in-country advisors, perfectly fit our model of big copper porphyry and IOCG targets within known copper mineralized systems."
Westminster is committed to using the best available data and current interpretive technologies and methodologies to direct its activities. Together with regional knowledge gained from work on the Ilo Norte and Ilo Este projects, the identification of prospective IOCG and copper porphyry targets was aided by revised geological, geochemical, and geophysical models, and the addition of spectral-data made available to the company. Each of the applied-for concessions was secured through staking. As such, the company was able to add 100% exposure to strategic and prospective ground at the lowest possible cost of entry.
The new projects are located to the south-east of Westminster's existing 100%-owned Ilo projects, within the highly prospective Upper-Cretaceous age rocks which run in a northwest - southeast orientation and host numerous world-class copper-molybdenum porphyry deposits in the region. Mineralization is generally associated with Paleocene-Eocene intrusive rocks and the Inca-Puquito fault system. Much of this region in Peru is covered with recent volcanic flow deposits, which mask the underlying prospective intrusive rocks, resulting in many areas being significantly under-explored by modern systematic exploration techniques.
Figure 1: Westminster Resources Ltd southern Peru project locations, showing simplified regional geology.
To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit:
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The Caruca concession is located in the Inclan District of Tacna, covering copper and molybdenum anomalies, and covering the Pampa M copper-molybdenum porphyry showing. The Pallagua 1 concession is located in the Estique district of Tarata, and covers a historically reported copper-rich vein. The Uchusuma A and B concessions in the Pachia district of Tacna, cover historically reported copper in veins.
The Company will evaluate and integrate existing data with its own reconnaissance fieldwork including detailed geological mapping and systematic geochemical sampling to develop a series of targets for further examination. More information on each of these claims will be released upon receipt of approved applications.
Westminster's Ilo Projects
Porphyry copper deposits are the world's largest source of copper mined today and are generally the lowest unit cost mines due to their size and additional by-product credits for molybdenum, gold, silver and other metals. Peru and Chile together produce approximately one third of the world's copper and the western flanks of the Andes Mountains in Southern Peru are host to Peru's largest and most prolific copper producers. Nearly 600,000 tonnes of copper is produced each year within 100 km of Westminster's concessions in the region and is set to increase in coming years with expansions and new mines coming online.
Previous exploration drilling of the Ilo Este copper project has successfully demonstrated the presence of a large copper porphyry system with coincident gold, silver and molybdenum mineralisation which has been mapped at surface over more than 3km2.
Westminster's Ilo Norte project is 29km north of the port city of Ilo and hosts IOCG and skarn replacement style mineralisation in a package of Jurassic volcano-sedimentary rocks. Historic diamond drilling completed by Latin Resources demonstrated improving results toward the north east of the project area.
Westminster has developed a multi-phase work program for 2021 at Ilo Este and Ilo Norte including a 3D Induced Polarization (IP) survey and 2,500m exploration drill campaign at Ilo Norte. The program will follow-up on an aeromagnetic survey flown by Teck Resources Ltd. in 2003, and limited reverse circulation (RC) and diamond core drilling in 2011 and 2013 by Latin Resources. Highlights from the historical drill programs (Table 1) include intercepts of 30m @ 0.93% Cu, and 18m @ 0.66% Cu.
Table 1: Selected drill results from LRS RC and diamond drilling completed in 2011 and 2013.
To view an enhanced version of Table 1, please visit:
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Tony Greenaway, Head of Exploration for Westminster noted, "We are excited about the addition of these new projects to the Company's portfolio in this highly prospective region of southern Peru. The work programs the Company has developed over the Ilo Este and Ilo Norte copper porphyry and IOCG projects will significantly add to the understanding of the mineralisation controls in the area and assist in defining target areas. The Company will be keeping its shareholders updated with a more detailed geological review of the new project areas and proposed next stage work programs over the coming weeks."
ABOUT WESTMINSTER RESOURCES
Westminster is a Latin American focused mining exploration company. The Company holds a 100% interest in a package of highly prospective IOCG and porphyry copper projects in southwestern Peru within the country's prolific coastal copper belt-source of nearly half of Peru's copper production. The Company also recently acquired an option to purchase a 100% interest in the Mostazal copper project in Chile's Atacama Desert, one of the world's premier copper production jurisdictions.
For further information please contact:
Jason Cubitt, President & CEO
info@westminsterresources.com
Carrie Howes, VP Corporate Communications
carrie@westminsterresources.com
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as the term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.
The qualified person has not verified the information on the adjacent properties and the information disclosed is not necessarily indicative of mineralization on the Westminster projects. Mineralization hosted on adjacent and/or nearby and/or geologically similar properties is not necessarily indicative of mineralization hosted on the Company's properties.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains certain forward-looking statements, which relate to future events or future performance and reflect management's current expectations and assumptions. Such forward-looking statements reflect management's current beliefs and are based on assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company. Readers are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause future results to differ materially from those expected including, but not limited to, market conditions, availability of financing, actual results of the Company's exploration and other activities, environmental risks, future metal prices, operating risks, accidents, labor issues, delays in obtaining governmental approvals and permits, and other risks in the mining industry. All the forward-looking statements made in this news release are qualified by these cautionary statements and those in our continuous disclosure filings available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances save as required by applicable law.
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