Titan Minerals Advances Resource Growth Drilling at Flagship Dynasty Gold Project

About Titan Minerals

Titan Minerals Limited (ASX: TTM) is a Perth-based exploration and mining company focused on advancing its flagship Dynasty Gold Project in Ecuador. The company is led by CEO Melanie Leighton and has been actively exploring and developing resources in the region since acquiring the project in 2018.

Titan's Dynasty Gold Project covers 139 km2 across five contiguous concessions in the highly prospective Zamora-Chinchipe province. The project contains an existing JORC resource of 3.12 million ounces of gold and 21.98 million ounces of silver. Exploration to date has outlined 9km of epithermal vein strikes with clear potential for significant resource expansion.

In addition to its core focus on the Dynasty Gold Project, Titan holds an extensive portfolio of copper and gold projects in Ecuador. The company employs an experienced team with relevant expertise operating successfully in the country over many years.

With its significant existing resources, exploration upside and strong in-country relationships, Titan Minerals represents an attractive investment opportunity in Ecuador's rapidly emerging gold sector.

Resource Growth Drilling Commences at Cerro Verde

Titan Minerals has announced the start of a new resource growth drilling program at the Cerro Verde prospect within its Dynasty Gold Project.

The drilling aims to expand existing resources by testing extensions to epithermal veins mapped through recent surface exploration campaigns. A total of 17 holes for 2,250 m is planned at Cerro Verde.

This follows the completion of extensive geological mapping and geochemical sampling around Cerro Verde in recent months. The work successfully extended the footprint of high-grade epithermal veins well beyond the limits of current defined resources.

The expanded vein system and continuation of mineralization represents clear potential for resource growth at Cerro Verde. Titan’s drilling program is aimed at converting these exploration targets into JORC-compliant resources.

Drilling at Cerro Verde will focus on areas of visible surface veining, geological structures interpreted to be controlling mineralization, and geochemical anomalies indicative of additional blind mineralized veins.

Advancing Resources at Flagship Dynasty Project

The resource growth drilling at Cerro Verde is part of Titan's accelerated exploration program across its Dynasty Gold Project concessions.

Dynasty represents the company's flagship asset and key focus for ongoing exploration and feasibility studies. The project contains the bulk of Titan's gold resources in Ecuador.

In July 2023, the company published an updated JORC resource estimate for Dynasty totalling 3.12 million ounces of gold and 21.98 million ounces of silver. This resource is contained within epithermal veins over a strike length of 9km and width of up to 1km.

The current Dynasty resource includes four key prospects – Cerro Verde, Iguana, Papayal and Trapichillo. However, Titan has outlined extensive additional vein systems and surface mineralization along trend and at depth.

Recent drilling has also intersected broad zones of gold and silver mineralization associated with previously untested porphyry-style alteration and veining. This points to potential for large-scale bulk mining potential underlying the high-grade epithermal veins.

The existing resources at Dynasty provide a strong foundation for commercial development. Titan is progressing preliminary optimization studies which indicate potential for robust economics via a combination of open pit and underground mining.

However, the company sees considerable upside in expanding the current resource base to underpin a larger-scale, longer-life mining operation. The extensive vein system remains open and sparsely drilled, particularly below 200m depth.

Advancing Resources through Exploration Success

Titan's exploration team has rapidly advanced work programs aimed at growing resources across Dynasty over recent years. Their systematic exploration has consistently extended known veins and discovered new mineralized zones.

Following Titan's acquisition of the project in 2018, few resources had been delineated and the focus was on small-scale mining potential. Since then, Titan has taken a systematic exploration approach aimed at demonstrating scale.

Work has included airborne geophysics, regional soil sampling, geological mapping, trenching campaigns and over 50,000 m of resource definition and exploration drilling. Titan has also focused on QA/QC workstreams to improve confidence in historical drilling data.

This exploration success has been translated into a sixteen-fold increase in JORC resources for the project over three years. The majority of resources remain open, indicating strong potential for further growth.

In addition to drilling, Titan has invested significantly in supporting infrastructure at Dynasty. Recent construction includes new access roads, drilling platforms and camps. This provides the foundation for cost-effective ongoing exploration and future project development.

Systematic Exploration Continuing

Further surface exploration results released by Titan highlight the ongoing potential to expand Dynasty's resources.

Mapping and sampling around the Cerro Verde veins has extended the footprint of mineralization and defined additional drill targets. A similar campaign at the Papayal prospect has extended veins a further 700m to the north.

Drilling at Papayal is scheduled to commence in October to follow up these results. A further 24 drill holes for 2,650 m are planned, in tandem with drilling at Cerro Verde.

Meanwhile, regional exploration across the broader project area continues. Work programs are aimed at identifying new areas of epithermal veining and porphyry-related alteration for drill testing.

Titan's systematic approach to exploration underpins an ongoing pipeline of drill targets supporting resource growth. Further assay results from the current drilling program are expected over coming months.

Targeting a Major Resource Upgrade in 2024

Titan has laid out a clear pathway for advancing the Dynasty Gold Project over the next stages.

The current drilling campaign aims to significantly expand existing resources by mid-2024. Demonstrating scale will be a key catalyst for additional investment and ultimately development decisions.

Collection and interpretation of drilling data will feed into an updated JORC resource estimate for Dynasty scheduled in early 2024.

Based on exploration success over recent years, Titan is targeting a major resource upgrade from this work. Expanded high-grade epithermal resources will provide the basis for supporting project feasibility studies and initial mine planning.

In parallel, the company continues to test the potential for underlying bulk tonnage porphyry mineralization. Demonstrating this mineable scale mineralization could be a game-changer for the Dynasty Project.

Subject to permitting timeframes, Titan aims to progress feasibility studies for development of the Dynasty gold project from 2024. Its strategic location provides ready access to key infrastructure, supporting the potential for low-cost operations.

Ecuador's Emerging Gold Sector

Dynasty is strategically located within Ecuador's emerging gold province. The Zamora Chinchipe and Loja regions have rapidly become a focal point for gold exploration and development in recent years.

Major mining companies including BHP, Fortescue Metals and Hancock Prospecting are active nearby. Lundin Gold has progressed its Fruta del Norte project in southern Ecuador into a multi-million ounce gold mine.

Several ASX-listed players have also been attracted by the region's potential. Titan Minerals itself has delivered exceptional shareholder returns since entering Ecuador in 2018.

As investment pours into the sector, southern Ecuador is cementing itself as one of South America's premier gold jurisdictions. Continued exploration success underpins forecasts for it to become a major gold producing region over the next decade.

Titan is well placed to capitalize on its first-mover advantage and deliver substantial value growth from its strategic foothold in Ecuador. The Dynasty Gold Project provides extensive leverage to the upside being demonstrated across this exploration hotspot.

Conclusion

In summary, Titan Minerals presents a compelling exposure to Ecuador's emerging gold and copper potential.

The company has systematically explored its Dynasty Gold Project over recent years, delivering outstanding resource growth and demonstrating significant upside. Its accelerated drilling program aims to substantially expand resources further in 2023.

Subject to these results, Titan is progressing feasibility studies to develop Dynasty into Ecuador's next major gold mine by 2024-25. Its location provides easy access to infrastructure in an increasingly attractive investment destination.

With a clear pathway to production and extensive leverage to Ecuador's upside, Titan shapes as a strong growth story in the years ahead. Exploration success has been reflected in strong share price gains to date. Further resource expansions at Dynasty have potential to deliver significant additional returns.

For investors seeking leveraged gold exposure with resources, exploration upside and strategic positioning, Titan Minerals ticks all the boxes.