Tinka focusing on zinc find at Ayawilca polymetallic project

Vancouver-based Tinka Resources has found half a dozen metals including tin and indium at its Ayawilca-Colquipucro project in the central Peruvian Andes, a senior company executive said.

The recovery in zinc prices and the lack of new mines coming onstream have spurred investor interest in zinc exploration companies such as Tinka, its exploration VP Alvaro Fernández-Baca told BNamericas. Zinc prices jumped 66% on the Comex through the first quarter from a year earlier.

A polymetallic tin mine "is a bit of an unknown entity. I don't know if the market knows how to value it," Fernández-Baca said in an interview on the sidelines of the ProExplo conference in Lima. "At this point we're focusing on the zinc. In later days, if we manage to increase that resource, I think the market should pay attention as well to the tin."

The company, which wrapped up an Cdn$11mn (US$8mn) private placement in late 2016, is working on a US$5.5mn, 12,000m drilling program this year at targets including South Ayawilca.

Financing "was a bit of a struggle back then, but it has paid off. We've been a little bit lucky hitting the right intercepts at the right time," Fernández-Baca said. "Tinka has become a little bit of story to follow, certainly in the zinc world, where there are very few projects around."

Highlights of drilling results included 18.6m of 10.4% zinc and 52g/t silver, the company reported May 3.

Tinka is focusing on gauging the size of the orebody before moving onto resource definition, said Fernández-Baca.

The 11,740ha property, which also includes the Colquipucro silver orebody, has seen steady work progress due to good community relations in Pasco region, a traditional mining area, he said.

Ayawilca has inferred resources totaling 18.8Mt of 8.2% zinc equivalent containing 2.45Blb (1.11Mt) zinc, 82Mlb lead, 8.8Moz silver and 1.39Mkg indium, in addition to the tin zone's resources totaling 5.4Mt of 0.89% tin equivalent, containing 90Mlb tin, 37Mlb copper and 3.1Moz silver. Colquipucro has resources of 15.9Mt containing 27.5Moz silver, according to the company's website.

Peru is the world's third largest zinc and tin producer, No. 2 in silver and fourth ranked in lead.