The Rosario Copper Project is located in the commune of Diego de Almagro, Chanaral Province in the Atacama region of northern Chile. The Project is situated at ~2,500m altitude and about 10km north of the El Salvador mine (owned by CODELCO) and the town of El Salvador with a population of about 7,000. Access to the Project is via well-formed paved roads and then well formed dirt roads for the last 10km.
Flagship Minerals has an option to purchase 100% of the Project.
The Project is interpreted as highly prospective yet significantly under explored Manto style copper-silver project. This style of mineralisation occurs throughout the northern parts of Chile and is responsible for significant historical and current copper production. The largest examples of this deposit style have historic production and Mineral Resources of plus 200Mt at grades of 1% Cu or better along with by-product silver. These include the Mantos Blancos, El Solado and Michilla mines, along with a host of ‘smaller’ but significant high grade copper deposits.
A program of geochemical exploration was completed in late 2024, with 316 samples collected comprising 193 soil samples, 100 rock-chip samples and 23 stream sediment samples.
The objective of the rock chip sampling program was to verify, and follow-up work conducted by previous explorers, and develop a better understanding of mineralisation potential more broadly.
Rock chip assay results of up to 8.9% copper (Cu) with silver (Ag) to 50ppm were received. The results generally enhanced previous exploration results with many samples containing Cu and silver (Ag) mineralisation:
· Greater than 50% of Rock Chips have Cu values in excess of 0.10% Cu, with an average grade of 2.06% Cu and 12ppm Ag.
· 33% of Rock Chips have Cu values in excess of 0.75% Cu, with an average grade of 3.15% Cu and 18ppm Ag.
The results are compelling and demonstrate the large scale nature of highly elevated copper across much of the Rosario project area.
Rosario Copper Project relative to Codelco’s El Salvador Copper Projects
The Project is approximately 120 kilometres east of the port city of Chanaral and 160km north of the mining city of Copiapo. ENAMI’s El Salado Oxide and Sulphide copper ore processing plant is located 100km from the Project.
Rosario Copper Project and its regional setting
The RK Lithium Project (‘RKLP’) includes the RK Lithium Prospect (RK), the BT Lithium Prospect (RK), KT East Lithium Prospect (KT East) and the KT West Lithium Prospect under application.
The Tama Atacama Lithium Project distinguishes itself as one of South America’s largest and most strategically positioned lithium brine projects. The project is set at an altitude of 800-1100m, and sits within the 12,500km2 Pampa del Tamarugal Basin, in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile, which is a hyper-arid environment with very high evaporation rates. The total project area is ~1,535km2, of which ~1,234km2 comprises granted exploration concessions and ~1,036km2 is subject to binding Option Agreements to purchase 100%.