Vizsla Copper has commenced diamond drilling at its Palmer volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) project in southeast Alaska, launching the first phase of a multi-year exploration and technical development programme.
The fully funded 2026 campaign will utilise two drill rigs and is expected to complete approximately 10,000m of drilling during the field season. Initial work is focused on the South Wall Zone of the Palmer Deposit, where previous drilling identified a high-grade copper-rich core within Zone 1.
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A VMS deposit is a type of mineral deposit formed by hydrothermal fluids associated with ancient submarine volcanic activity, typically containing copper, zinc, lead, silver and gold mineralisation.
According to the company, the first phase of drilling aims to expand and further define this copper-rich mineralisation while improving confidence in existing Zones 2 and 3 through infill drilling.
Executive chairman and CEO Craig Parry said the programme would build on recent exploration successes at Palmer, with drilling designed to expand high-grade mineralisation and assess priority targets across the wider district. He said the project was demonstrating significant scale, exploration potential and a substantial critical minerals endowment.
Later in the season, drilling is planned at the HG Prospect, located west of the Palmer Deposit, and the Waterfall Prospect, situated between the Palmer and AG deposits. Vizsla Copper said both targets show geological characteristics consistent with additional mineralisation potential.
The company will also continue evaluating regional prospects including Mount Henry Clay and Christmas Creek through geological mapping, photogrammetry, target refinement and further drilling.
Senior vice-president for Alaska Peter Mercer said the programme balanced resource expansion and discovery while advancing environmental and technical studies. He noted that current drilling is targeting areas that previously returned some of the highest copper grades on the property.
Alongside exploration activities, Vizsla Copper is conducting geological modelling, geophysical reinterpretation, critical minerals assessments and environmental baseline studies intended to support future technical, economic and engineering evaluations.
According to the company’s 2025 NI 43-101 technical report, Palmer hosts an indicated mineral resource of 4.77mt grading 1.69% copper and 5.17% zinc, alongside an inferred resource of 12mt grading 0.57% copper and 3.92% zinc. The project also contains silver, gold and barite mineralisation.
Vizsla Copper said the existing resource remains open for expansion across more than 15km of prospective stratigraphy within the Palmer district.
