Vancouver, British Columbia–(Newsfile Corp. – February 8, 2021) – Lara Exploration Ltd. (TSXV: LRA) (“Lara” or the “Company”) is pleased to report drilling results and provide an update on development work on the Osmar-2 target at the Celesta Copper Mine in northern Brazil. Work began to open up a second mining front at Osmar-2 in December 2020, with production in the coming months derived exclusively of sulphide material from this new pit, while a cut-back is being completed to access deeper material in the Osmar-1 pit.
Development of the Osmar-2 pit is based on mineralization indicated by diamond drilling (vertical holes) completed in 2020, with the best intercepts summarised in the table below. The mineralization is dominated by fresh chalcopyrite, present from approximately 6 metres vertical depth below the surface.
| Drill hole ID | From (m) | To (m) | Width (m) | Cu (%) | Au (g/t) |
| DH-NES-12 | 2.00 | 8.52 | 6.52 | 1.09 | 0.05 |
| DH-NES-12 | 13.50 | 23.00 | 9.50 | 3.71 | 0.42 |
| DH-NES-12 | 25.60 | 32.00 | 6.40 | 2.97 | 0.31 |
| DH-NES-14 | 0.00 | 20.58 | 20.58 | 3.04 | 0.30 |
| DH-NES-14 | 22.93 | 35.27 | 12.34 | 1.42 | 0.48 |
| DH-NES-16 | 7.04 | 24.53 | 17.49 | 2.85 | 0.78 |
| DH-NES-16 | 40.38 | 44.70 | 4.32 | 3.45 | 0.46 |
| DH-NES-21 | 55.00 | 60.32 | 5.32 | 1.24 | pending |
| DH-NES-31 | 44.00 | 53.86 | 9.86 | 1.93 | 0.37 |
| DH-NES-31 | 65.23 | 70.80 | 5.57 | 3.22 | 0.44 |
| DH-NES-32 | no significant intercepts | ||||
Intercepts were calculated using a 0.5% copper cut-off and a maximum internal downhole waste thickness of two metres. There is insufficient drill information to determine if the downhole intervals represent the true widths of the mineralized zones.
Lara owns a 2% net smelter returns royalty on the project and has been receiving regular payments from Celesta with each concentrate shipment made to Ocean Partners. Lara also holds a 5% carried (to commercial production) equity interest in Celesta Mineração S.A. (“Celesta”), which is jointly operated by partners Tessarema Resources Inc. (with 40% interest), and North Extração de Minério Ltda. (with 55% interest). Ocean Partners UK Ltd. has provided project finance in exchange for life of mine offtake rights. Lara is also owed a US$1 million late penalty fee, of which US$200,000 has been paid to date.
QAQC and Qualified Person
Drilling was supervised by the technical team at Celesta Mineração, with mineralized core sampled and analysed at the Intertek laboratory located nearby in Parauapebas. QAQC check samples were confined to the blanks, repeats and standards reference materials provided by the laboratory.
Michael Bennell, Lara’s Vice President Exploration and a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM), is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects and has approved the technical disclosure and verified the technical information in this news release.
About Lara
Lara is an exploration company following the Prospect and Royalty Generator business model, which aims to minimize shareholder dilution and financial risk by generating prospects and exploring them in joint ventures funded by partners, retaining a minority interest and or a royalty. The Company currently holds a diverse portfolio of prospects, deposits and royalties in Brazil and Peru. Lara’s common shares trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol “LRA”.
For further information on Lara Exploration Ltd. please consult our website www.laraexploration.com, or contact Chris MacIntyre, VP Corporate Development, at +1 416 703 0010.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
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