What have been the main milestones achieved by Torq Resources in the last 12 months?

Approximately a year ago, Torq Resources acquired the Margarita IOCG and Andrea copper porphyry projects, which were our entry projects into Chile. However, the main reason we entered the country was for the prospect of acquiring the Santa Cecilia gold-copper project, which we were able to do in November 2021. While we expect Santa Cecilia to become Torq’s flagship asset, we also see great potential in Margarita and Andrea, and commenced a drilling program at Margarita project in October 2021.

What potential do you see in the Santa Cecilia gold-copper project in the Maricunga Belt?

Santa Cecilia is located approximately 100 km east of Copiapó, in the southern region of the world-class Maricunga belt, and is immediately adjacent to the Norte Abierto project, which is owned jointly by Newmont and Barrick. Norte Abierto is compromised of the Caspiche and Cerro Casale gold-copper porphyry deposits, collectively containing proven and probable reserves of 23.2 million ounces of gold and 5.8 billion pounds of copper. At Santa Cecilia, results from two historical drill holes and additional surface and geophysical work support the logic that the project has a similar mineral system to Norte Abierto, and we believe we can make a discovery that will be attractive to a major mining company. The real potential we are trying to unearth is – can Santa Cecilia, sandwiched between two major deposits which are currently suspended, tip the economic scale for the entire complex?

There are technical attributes on the project which suggest this could be the case. On top of the porphyry system discovered through the two historical drill holes, there is an oxide gold cap, which was uncovered through a small drill program by a major mining company in the late eighties. Our next steps are to drill off the porphyry to establish economic viability, while also outlining the potential of the gold system on top. We also believe there is another potential porphyry on the boundary between Caspiche and Santa Cecilia, and will identify targets to make this discovery.

How do you intend to advance the Margarita IOCG project and Andrea copper porphyry project?

Through our drill program at Margarita, we have established that oxide copper is prevalent all over the the project. As we are still at the prospecting stage at Margarita, we used RC (Reverse Circulation) drilling as it is much less expensive than core drilling, because the priority is to identify the copper sulphide source of oxide copper before we define further drill targets. We are currently waiting on assay results before deciding how to advance.

We have only done a small amount of work at Torq’s Andrea project, as our plans were somewhat deferred when we acquired Santa Cecilia. We will continue to focus on Santa Cecilia for now, and will explore the potential at Andrea in the future. 

In terms of the longer term exit plan for Torq, what type of company would you expect to see move these projects into production?

Torq Resources is focused on exploration, as this is where we have expertise. Our goal is to make meaningful mineral discoveries and we would like to see an experienced mining company take them into development and production. Being in the industry for many years, I have learned that it is best to know your place in the food chain, letting each company do what they are specialized in and have the skill set for.

How do you view the current market sentiment for investment in copper junior companies?

Looking at current market conditions, although the sentiment is good for copper, gold, and mining in general, investors seems to be taking a ‘hold and see’ approach to investing, which I believe is largely due to the anticipation of monetary policies from some of the major economies and what the impact could be on inflation. However, the electrification of the world is going to continue, and copper will soon run into a serious supply deficit. I believe we will see significant interest and investment into copper moving forward, just in time for Torq to discover the next big porphyry copper-gold deposit in Chile.

What are Torq Resources’ priorities for the rest of 2022?

As Torq only recently acquired the Santa Cecilia project, we are in the process of building relationships with local communities. We are fortunate that the community is familiar with mining as they are already dealing with Barrick and Newmont, and in some ways, they are educating us on how we can work together. We want to establish a working relationship so we can make a discovery that benefits all stakeholders.

Importantly, we aim to put money in the ground as quickly as we can. As a junior, it pays to put money into real exploration work as soon as possible, because all other overhead costs persist, so those who explore slowly get fewer dollars, percentage-wise, into the ground. With this in mind, Torq Resources intends to explore aggressively in 2022.