Patriot Resources (ASX: PAT) has substantially upgraded the JORC 2012 compliant Exploration Target at its 100% owned Tassa silver & gold project in southern Peru.
Tassa's conceptual target has been increased to 774-559 Moz AgEq, comprising 422-359 Mt at 57-48 g/t AgEq.
The mineralisation is now defined from surface to approximately 550m depth, with an extensive strike length of about 2.9 km and a width of approximately 1.0 km.
The robust Exploration Target is underpinned by a comprehensive integrated model that combines more than 20 years of geological, geochemical, and geophysical data.
This dataset includes 1,832 surface samples, approximately 36 km of IP geophysics, roughly 70 km of magnetics lines, and 8,500m of diamond drilling.
Next Steps: Focused Drill Program
With this expanded Exploration Target, Patriot Resources is now moving forward with a focused 4,000m drill program planned for 2026.
The program's primary objective is to target "bridge zones" between the currently drilled Mineral Resource Estimate clusters.
This drilling is designed to convert the high-confidence Exploration Target material into JORC Mineral Resources, providing a near-term catalyst for the project.
Permitting for this upcoming program is currently underway in Southern Peru.
Resource Growth and Funding
The upgraded Exploration Target builds on Patriot's recent milestones.
Its March 2026 investor presentation highlighted a maiden JORC Inferred Resource for Tassa of 31.4 Moz AgEq, encompassing 18.53 Mt at 52.68 g/t AgEq, establishing it as a high-grade silver-gold project.
To support its ongoing exploration and development, the company successfully raised $500,000 through a placement in April 2026 at a 28% premium to the last bid price.
Concurrently, Patriot established a 24-month investor relations and marketing agreement aimed at broadening its exposure to targeted small-cap ASX investors.
Metallurgy and Leadership
Further de-risking the Tassa Project, historical metallurgical tests, reported in March 2026, indicated high average silver recoveries.
Cyanidation test-work returned an average silver recovery of 85.05% from six surface rock samples.
Patriot has since engaged Northern Metallurgy to conduct an independent desktop review to validate and optimise these recovery assumptions ahead of future Mineral Resource updates.
In March 2026, Patriot also appointed Dominic Duggan as its new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer.
Mr Duggan brings over a decade of experience across various metals, including iron ore, gold, and base metals, and has a strong background in stakeholder engagement and project development, particularly in an international context like Peru.
Tassa Target Expansion Fuels Resource Conversion
Patriot Resources' significant upgrade to the Tassa Exploration Target to 774-559 Moz AgEq highlights the project's district-scale potential.
The planned 4,000m drill program is the key catalyst to convert this target into JORC Mineral Resources, with prior work on metallurgy and leadership providing a foundation for advancement.
