AusQuest wins national-interest status for Cangallo copper-gold project

AusQuest Limited (ASX:AQD) has won a significant permitting and tenure milestone in Peru, with the government declaring its Cangallo porphyry copper-gold discovery a Project of National Interest. The company says the designation provides stronger protection for surface rights and a secure pathway for project development over the next four years.

Cangallo receives Peru’s first advanced exploration PIN

AusQuest said Cangallo is the first advanced exploration project in Peru to receive the status, which was presented by the Peruvian Vice Minister for Mines at the IMARC Conference in Sydney. Managing Director Graeme Drew described the approval as a major milestone and said it represented government support for exploration and new mining ventures in the country.

The announcement does not include a mineral resource estimate, economic study or development decision. Its significance is regulatory: the company now has what it describes as a protected and more secure framework for advancing evaluation work at the southern Peru project.

Stage 4 drilling targets the southern extension

The designation comes as AusQuest moves towards Stage 4 drilling at Cangallo. Government approval is already in place for 20 drill pads, designed to test whether copper mineralisation extends up to one kilometre south of the current drill coverage.

The southern targets are supported by surface rock-chip samples and recent CSAMT geophysical surveying. AusQuest says the results suggest copper mineralisation, potentially with gold, could continue south and expand the defined footprint to more than 1.5 kilometres of strike. Earlier, the company reported an interpreted Cangallo porphyry footprint in its recent CSAMT survey, although the additional mineralisation described in today’s announcement remains to be confirmed by drilling.

A further 20 drill pads remain unapproved

AusQuest is also pursuing a second tranche of up to 20 drill pads under a new Peruvian government initiative. The company said additional survey work is still required, but expects approvals to move faster under the same conditions as the current permit, potentially allowing more drilling in the first half of 2027.

That timing is prospective rather than locked in. The extra pads have not yet been approved, and the size and continuity of any southern extension will depend on the upcoming work. The next useful evidence for investors will therefore be the commencement and results of Stage 4 drilling, followed by any decision on the additional permits.