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Pan Global Resources (TSXV:PGZ) - Advances Next Big Copper Discovery in Spain's Famed Iberian Pyrite Belt

Pan Global makes two Cu discoveries in prolific Spanish pyrite belt. La Romana stands out with simpler metallurgy implying lower costs & carbon footprint.

  • Pan Global Resources holds two significant copper discoveries, La Romana and Cañada Honda, in the Iberian Pyrite Belt of southern Spain.
  • La Romana stands out with its coarse-grained, lower pyrite mineralization compared to typical VMS deposits in the region, indicating potential for simpler metallurgy and higher-grade concentrate production.
  • The company has planned 3,000-4,000 meters of drilling in 2024 to expand the La Romana discovery and further test the new Cañada Honda zone.
  • Spain is emerging as an attractive mining jurisdiction with government support to streamline permitting and advance new projects.
  • Pan Global is well-funded through 2025 and expects to release a maiden resource estimate for La Romana.

Pan Global Advances High-Grade Copper Project in Mining-Friendly Spain

Pan Global Resources (TSXV:PGZ) is rapidly advancing its flagship Escacena Project in the heart of the Iberian Pyrite Belt, one of the world's most prolific volcanic-hosted massive sulfide (VMS) districts. The company has made two significant copper discoveries, La Romana and Cañada Honda, which are shaping up as a potential new mining camp in a region with a rich history of mining and strong government support.

High-Grade Discovery at La Romana

The La Romana discovery has emerged as Pan Global's core asset, with drilling defining a large zone of shallow, high-grade copper mineralization. Highlight intercepts from the 180 holes drilled so far include:

  • 20m at 1.09g/t Au, 0.6g/t Ag -including 2m at 5.83g/t Au, 2.7g/t Ag
  • 13m at 0.51% Cu, 0.36g/t Au, 2.7g/t Ag - including 3.1m at 1.01% Cu, 0.45g/t Au, 4.8g/t Ag
  • 13m at 0.59% Cu, 0.34g/t Au, 2.0g/t Ag - including 5.6m at 1.15% Cu, 0.67g/t Au, 3.8g/t Ag
What sets La Romana apart is the coarse-grained nature of the copper mineralization and lower pyrite content compared to typical deposits in the Iberian Pyrite Belt. "La Romana is different," explains Pan Global President & CEO Tim Moody. "It's coarser grained, it's lower in pyrite than your typical massive sulfide type deposits. So that's  a big advantage."

Interview with President & CEO Tim Moody

Simpler Metallurgy for Higher Quality Concentrate

The unique style of mineralization at La Romana has important implications for metallurgy and ore processing. Preliminary test work indicates the ore is amenable to conventional flotation at a coarse primary grind size of 106 microns, much coarser than the 10-40 micron grind required at other mines in the region.

"Relative to all the mines currently producing, we can see something that's amenable to simple flotation at 106 microns, which is quite coarse," notes Moody. "That's a big energy saving. The low pyrite content is a big advantage - we're not having to deal with that. So that means we can produce a higher grade, higher quality concentrate because it's low in deleterious minerals."

The presence of tin in the form of cassiterite, the preferred tin mineral for extraction, offers further upside. Tin is a valuable critical metal with limited supply and strong demand fundamentals. La Romana hosts the highest tin grades of any known deposit in the Spanish portion of the Iberian Pyrite Belt.

Testing the Scale Potential

To date, drilling at La Romana has focused on the western half of a large gravity anomaly, with the mineralization remaining open in all directions. The company plans to drill a further 3,000-4,000 meters in 2024 to expand the deposit and test the full extent of the anomaly.

"We want to see how big it could be before we come out with a resource," explains Moody. "Why is that important? Because if you come out with a number, that's what sticks in people's heads. And then forever you're trying to say it's going to be bigger. So we'd rather get an idea of how big it is first."

New Discovery at Cañada Honda

Just 3 km north of La Romana, Pan Global made a second grassroots discovery in 2023 at the Cañada Honda target. Cañada Honda was identified through geophysics and geological modeling and represents a potential analogue to La Romana. If confirmed, it could form part of a larger mining complex centered on La Romana.

Pan Global plans to allocate a portion of its 2024 drill budget to further testing Cañada Honda and vectoring towards the heart of the mineralized system. Any success here would represent a major price catalyst for the company.

The Investment Thesis for Pan Global Resources

  • Pan Global offers exposure to two significant copper discoveries in a world-class mining jurisdiction. La Romana is shaping up as a large, shallow, high-grade deposit with a favorable metallurgical profile.
  • The company is well-funded through 2025 with ~C$3-5 million in the treasury and a major shareholder in Eric Sprott. The strong balance sheet allows Pan Global to weather market volatility and focus on systematically advancing and expanding its discoveries.
  • Upcoming catalysts include drill results from La Romana and Cañada Honda, metallurgical test work on the copper and tin mineralization, and a potential maiden resource at La Romana.
  • Spain is rapidly emerging as a top mining jurisdiction with a streamlined permitting process and strong government support. The recent approval of Atalaya Mining's Proyecto Masa Valverde after just a 2-year process underscores the opportunity for responsible mine development.
  • The company is led by a proven management team with a track record of discovery and value creation. The recent addition of Neil Maedel as Executive Chairman bolsters the capital markets profile.
  • With a tight share structure (~215 M shares out) and a modest C$40 million market capitalization, Pan Global is well leveraged to continued exploration success and copper price strength.

Pan Global Resources offers a compelling investment opportunity anchored by the La Romana copper discovery in southern Spain. The company's strong financial position, world-class technical team, and pipeline of exploration targets provide multiple avenues to grow the resource base and realize shareholder value. The unique metallurgical characteristics of La Romana suggest the potential for a premium concentrate product with a reduced carbon footprint. As the copper supply deficit grows, high-quality development projects like La Romana in stable jurisdictions will command a premium with major miners and investors.

The Bullish Case for Copper Explorers

The long-term fundamentals for copper remain extremely bullish, driven by a structural supply deficit and growing demand from electrification and decarbonization. Copper is a critical metal for the global energy transition, with limited substitution in key applications like electric vehicles, renewable energy, and electrical infrastructure.

Industry experts forecast that copper demand could double by 2035, while mine supply growth is challenged by declining grades, resource exhaustion, and a limited project pipeline. This is expected to generate a growing supply gap later this decade, putting upward pressure on copper prices.

As Tim Moody sums it up: "It's hard to find someone who doesn't believe the outlook for copper is really strong. Copper explorers that can make significant new high-grade discoveries will be well positioned to help fill the supply gap and meet the growing demand from decarbonization."

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