AbraSilver’s copper-gold results suggest district scale potential at La Coipita

AbraSilver Resource (TSX: ABRA) has drilled its best hole yet at La Coipita in Argentina, honing a Teck Resources (TSX: TECK.A, TECK.B; NYSE: TECK)-funded copper growth story beside its main Diablillos silver-gold project.

Hole DDH-LC26-010 cut 747.5 metres grading 0.69% copper, 0.06 gram gold per tonne and 142 parts per million (ppm) molybdenum from 396 metres downhole, including 108 metres at 1.06% copper from the same depth. La Coipita is about 1,170 km northwest of the capital Buenos Aires.

“The 2026 drill program delivered several important milestones at La Coipita,” CEO John Miniotis said in a Monday release. “Equally encouraging was the new, shallower discovery at Yaretas Sur, located nearly 2 km south of the main drilling area, which further demonstrates the district-scale potential of this project.”

The Teck-backed project is emerging as a potentially large copper-gold porphyry project in Argentina’s prolific San Juan mining district, beside the Chilean border. The property lies in the Miocene porphyry-epithermal belt, which hosts world-class deposits such as Filo del Sol, Los Azules, El Indio, Veladero, Pascua Lama and El Pachon.

AbraSilver shares have gained 250% over the past 12 months, adding another 5% Monday to C$15.79 per share. It has a market capitalization of C$2.5 billion ($1.8 billion).

Major funded

The seven-hole, 5,248-metre program also hit 42 metres grading 1.03% copper, 0.63 gram gold and 41 grams silver per tonne from 264 metres in hole DDH-LC26-012 at Yaretas Sur, 1.9 km south of the main Yaretas drilling area.

Teck has already spent about $23 million at La Coipita, more than the $20 million exploration threshold in the earn-in agreement. AbraSilver retains full exposure to a large copper-gold-molybdenum system at Diablillos, while Teck funds the heavy lifting toward an 80-20 joint venture, pending the remaining scheduled cash payments.

Teck has drilled 11,270 metres in 19 holes at La Coipita since the earn-in began in 2024. The project sits at elevations of 3,500 to 4,500 metres.

The second-best Yaretas hole, DDH-LC26-011, returned 250.6 metres grading 0.39% copper, 0.07 gram gold and 119 ppm molybdenum from 550 metres. AbraSilver said the hole linked mineralization between earlier drilling and tightened the core of the target.

Growth potential

AbraSilver said the first magnetotelluric survey across the property helped outline the mineralized system and pointed to possible southern extensions. The Yaretas Sur hit gives Teck and AbraSilver a second centre to test.

The program still left gaps. Holes DDH-LC26-013 and DDH-LC26-015 cut indicative copper mineralization at Yaretas, while DDH-LC26-014 and DDH-LC26-016 failed to reach their planned depths. The true widths remain unknown.

Diablillos remains AbraSilver’s main asset. The project straddling Salta and Catamarca provinces hosts a measured and indicated tank-leach resource of 102 million tonnes grading 65 grams silver and 0.62 gram gold per tonne, containing about 213 million oz. silver and 2 million oz. gold.

The company says it is fully funded to a construction decision, expected later this year.