Categories: Base Metals / Precious Metals
Topics: General Base Metals / General Precious Metals

Hannan Metals (TSX-V: HAN)(OTC: HANNF) CEO Michael Hudson on New Copper-Gold Discovery on Basin Scale Land Package

Gerardo Del Real: This is Gerardo Del Real with Resource Stock Digest. Joining me today is the CEO of Hannan Metals, Mr. Michael Hudson. Mike, how are you, sir?

Michael Hudson: Pretty well. Thanks, Gerardo. Always great to talk with you.

Gerardo Del Real: Every time I speak with you, it seems like we're talking about a new discovery. This one, a new copper-gold porphyry discovery that's 100% owned by Hannan Metals. It's called the Valiente copper-gold porphyry project. The news release did an excellent job of outlining why the team is so excited about this project. I'd rather you do it justice, being the geologist and the technician, than I try to explain to everyone why this is another exciting discovery, that again, leads me to believe that before 2022, Hannan will end up with one of the best performances in any market. So I know that's a big crystal ball prognostication, but I got to tell you, every news release seems like it just points in that direction. I'll let you take it away with the details, Mike.

Michael Hudson: Well, as your listeners are aware, we're one of the larger landholders in Peru. We have two very different standalone projects. One, a joint venture with the Japanese government, JOGMEC, on a sediment hosted copper-silver project, which is a few hundred kilometers to the north of what we're going to talk about today.

The other project that we have, which is over a thousand square kilometers is this Valiente project. We used to call it Previsto, but it's grown and become much larger than a local area, so we've renamed it Valiente, which means brave in Spanish. And we're very, very excited. I truly think this could be one of my better discoveries personally, that I've been involved with in my career. It's just got all the right ingredients, all those things you really want to see in a big mineral system.

It's very early stage. We're only a couple of years from when we first staked this area. We've demonstrated something very different geologically, that these fertile intrusions that form these porphyry deposits, the right age intrusions exist out in this high jungle area to the eastern side of the Andes. So that's really important. So, we've demonstrated the thesis or the concept that the same style of mineralization can exist out here. Then we've done all the regional work. We've staked the bejeebers out of the area where we've got stream sediment anomalies. So we've protected our backyard.

And really this is the first time that the market has seen any detailed work because until these were granted, and it took over a year to get these exploration tenure from application to granted mining concessions, which we have now on a large part of the area, we couldn't go and talk with the local people and we like to go in, but we need to talk to the local people before we do any detailed work. Of course, that's a given these days. We used to send geologists in and then social licensing people after them. But that's the other way around without a doubt.

So, the first detailed work came after we got acceptance and agreements with the local people of these different areas to work, and low and behold, the first fairly non-systematic source sampling has come up with a very compelling copper anomaly with handheld XRF in the field. The assay results are waiting. Downstream from this anomaly, gold is being mined by artisanal miners in the creek, so we know it's shedding gold as well. And it's associated with a very large magnetic anomaly, which is important because these copper-gold porphyries are generally magnetic. They have magnetite as a key mineral, and it's one of seven porphyry targets we've got over this 140 kilometers of strike. So, it really is at this stage, just looking very exciting.

The key breakthrough has been literally working with the local people in these areas. These are unexplored areas, and we've been working from the grassroots up, demonstrating our credibility. And I'm extremely excited about this project, which is Belen, but the whole area also.

Gerardo Del Real: This Valiente project, again, because the scale is so enormous, I don't think most people are able to wrap their head around it, just this project alone and correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe it's 1,164 square kilometers. Correct?

Michael Hudson: That's correct. That's the whole Valiente project.

Gerardo Del Real: And you've sampled up to 25.6% copper within this cluster of porphyry intrusive centers?

Michael Hudson: We have, with the mineral chalcocite. So that's also another little clue that these porphyries are going to have enriched blankets above them, before they go into the lower grade hypergene mineralization or the unweathered parts of it. So, that's what you really want to look for in these porphyries also, in environments where those leached or enriched blankets are preserved. And that's just a little indication.

Gerardo Del Real: What comes next, Mike? I know it's a very, very busy 2022, some field work left to do this quarter and next, and then, the main event, right? Which is the drills turning in the second half of this year. I kind of answered a part of my question, but is there anything that you'd like to add to that?

Michael Hudson: No, that's really it. I mean, a lot more systematic sampling. We'll have half a dozen geologists plus support staff down at this Valiente area, taking those consistent samples that are just starting to flow in. So Belen is one of many porphyry centers. I said, we've got seven of them. We've just got to be careful that we start to focus now that we've got the access into these areas to do the detailed work, rather than just spread ourselves too thin. That, and then the other challenge is making sure that we test the best parts of the system and don't become too detailed early. So that's the balancing act that we're facing internally, and we can manage that, and that's what we're paid to do. But that's just the vast riches of this Valiente project.

The drilling you spoke about is a few hundred kilometers to the north at the San Martin project. We're going through some very important social meetings, public participation meetings, over the next few days. And then that will really lock in the timeframe where we hope we'll be drilling. It's been pushed back by a quarter just through timing and COVID and getting people all together. But we're looking at Q3, where we should have a drill rig turning. We're starting to look for quotes for drill rigs, and assessing all the detailed logistics. It's ready to drill geologically, and that will be one key lever.

And then back going back down to Valiente, really, we're going to fly a big airborne survey. I talked about the association of magnetic highs and copper-gold mineralization that is a general association in these systems. So, we're going to go and fly the area. So it will be a half a million dollar aeromag survey, but that will be a key determinant on how to locate the best parts of these systems quickly, and then work to put in a drill permit into one of these Valiente areas very quickly, right? I can see in the next two or three months, we'll be in the position to do that. So we can shortcut that as much as you can in Peru, to drilling next year, as we continue to work up the level of exploration. So you've got to really start your drill permitting earlier than you would normally, because of those timeframes.

Gerardo Del Real: Shares at the current level, for anyone listening, make my capitalist heart smile. I look forward to having a conversation at the end of the year and laughing that we could pick up shares at 30 cents Canadian, in the early part of 2022.

Mike, exciting times. Thank you for your time and the update. I suspect we'll be chatting soon, likely about another discovery sometime in the near future.

Michael Hudson: Thanks, Gerardo.

Gerardo Del Real: Thanks again.

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