Prismo Metals Inc. has announced a significant update to its exploration model for the Hot Breccia project in Southern Arizona, revealing a promising porphyry copper target. The company's refined interpretation, integrating recent geophysical surveys, historical data, and AI-driven analysis, points to a large-scale mineralized system with characteristics typical of major porphyry copper deposits.

Porphyry copper deposits are large, low-grade ore deposits of copper, gold, molybdenum, and silver.

Historical drilling results reveal the project's potential, with significant intercepts including 23 meters with 0.54% Cu at 640 meters depth, 18 meters with 1.4% Cu and 4.65% Zn at 830 meters depth, and multiple high-grade zones in other holes. These mineralized zones occur within a thick altered zone hosted in Paleozoic carbonate rocks, the same rocks that host high-grade copper at Freeport’s nearby Christmas mine. The historical drilling also intersected a blind mineralized intrusion, now considered a primary drill target.

The Hot Breccia project is situated in the heart of the Arizona Copper Belt, a region renowned for its globally significant porphyry copper deposits. The project's proximity to major mines such as Freeport McMoRan's Miami-Inspiration complex, BHP's San Manuel mine, and Rio Tinto and BHP's Resolution deposit underscores its strategic location. Notably, the geological setting of Hot Breccia shares similarities with the Resolution deposit, one of North America's most significant copper discoveries.

Steve Robertson, President of Prismo Metals, expressed enthusiasm about the updated model, stating, "The results of the geophysical survey, when combined with historical exploration data and the AI study, provide a compelling exploration model for the Hot Breccia project. The data sets complement each other nicely and combine to form a model that is typical of porphyry copper deposits. The additional supportive context of the similarity of Hot Breccia’s geologic setting, with the geologic setting at the Resolution deposit, culminates in this being an exciting and high priority exploration target.”

The updated model is built upon a comprehensive analysis of several key data sets. Firstly, the 2023 airborne geophysical survey, utilizing the ZTEM (Z-axis Tipper Electromagnetic) System, revealed a significant conductive body coinciding with a magnetic low, surrounded by multiple magnetic highs. Prismo interprets these features as indicative of alteration and metal deposition from hydrothermal fluids associated with multiphase intrusives, a hallmark of porphyry copper systems. The magnetic highs, aligned in a northeastern orientation, appear to correspond with the trend of surface dike swarms, further reinforcing the model.

Secondly, the integration of historical exploration data, including drilling results from the 1970s, has been crucial. These historical drill holes intersected high-grade copper mineralization at depths of 640 to 830 meters, targeting magnetic highs associated with magnetite skarn. Prismo believes these intercepts represent the periphery of a larger mineralized system, as suggested by their current exploration program.