Deeper Targets at Touro Pose Challenge as Drilling Advances
Alvo Minerals reports continued success at its Touro Prospect in Central Brazil, with all recent drill holes intersecting significant copper and zinc sulphides along a 750m strike. The discovery reinforces the Palma Project’s potential as a major volcanic massive sulphide district.
- Five diamond drill holes confirm massive, semi-massive, and disseminated Cu-Zn sulphides
- Mineralisation extends over 750m strike with deeper conductors yet to be tested
- Trenching validates surface continuity of mineralised zones
- Palma Project hosts a JORC resource of 7.6Mt at 2.02% copper equivalent
- Drilling ongoing targeting deeper zones ahead of Christmas break
Exploration Momentum at Touro
Alvo Minerals Limited (ASX – ALV) has delivered a promising update from its ongoing drilling campaign at the Touro Prospect, part of the broader Palma Copper-Zinc Project in Central Brazil. The company reports that all five diamond drill holes completed to date have intersected copper and zinc sulphides, including massive and semi-massive zones, confirming mineralisation along a 750-metre strike length within a 2.2-kilometre target area.
Visual logging from holes PDT-119, PDT-120, and PDT-121 reveals significant sulphide mineralisation at relatively shallow depths, with chalcopyrite (copper sulphide) and sphalerite (zinc sulphide) as dominant minerals. Notably, hole PDT-120 intercepted a broad zone with up to 8% chalcopyrite and 12% sphalerite, while PDT-121 encountered multiple mineralised zones with up to 10% chalcopyrite and 5% sphalerite.
Deeper Targets and Surface Continuity
While the shallow mineralised zones have been confirmed, the exploration team is now focused on testing deeper electromagnetic conductors extending up to 750 metres below surface, which remain untested. The drill rig has been repositioned to target these deeper southern conductors, with results expected before the Christmas break.
Complementing the drilling, trenching work has reinforced the continuity of mineralisation at surface. Samples from trenches T4 and T5 returned encouraging zinc, copper, and lead values, supporting the geological model of a continuous hydrothermal alteration zone hosting the sulphides.
Palma Project – A District-Scale VMS Opportunity
The Touro Prospect is part of Alvo’s 100%-owned Palma Project, which already boasts a JORC-compliant Mineral Resource Estimate of 7.6 million tonnes at 2.02% copper equivalent. The project hosts multiple deposits with significant zinc, copper, lead, silver, and gold credits, and remains open for expansion along strike and at depth.
Alvo’s Managing Director, Rob Smakman, highlighted the encouraging nature of the results, noting the southern half of Touro is shaping up well and drawing comparisons to the company’s established C3 deposit. The integrated exploration approach combining geology, geochemistry, and geophysics continues to refine targets across the district, with over 30 prospects identified for further evaluation.
Looking Ahead
With drilling ongoing and assays pending in the coming weeks, Alvo is well positioned to advance its understanding of the Touro mineralisation and the wider Palma district. The company is also pursuing regulatory approvals to access additional areas classified as Legal Reserves, which could unlock further exploration potential.
Beyond Touro, exploration activities including geochemical sampling and geophysical surveys continue across other prospects within Palma, alongside reviews of rare earth element projects Bluebush and Ipora. This multi-pronged strategy underscores Alvo’s commitment to growth through discovery and resource expansion in a prolific Brazilian base metals province.
Bottom Line?
As Alvo drills deeper and assays approach, the Palma Project’s copper-zinc potential could soon translate into a significant resource upgrade.
Questions in the middle?
- What will laboratory assays reveal about the true grades and widths of the sulphide zones?
- How extensive and economically viable are the deeper electromagnetic conductors at Touro?
- When will regulatory approvals enable access to the Legal Reserve area for further exploration?
