Orvana Minerals has expanded its land holdings at the Taguas Project in San Juan Province, Argentina, following the acquisition of the Evelina claims from a subsidiary of Pan American Silver for $1.2m (C$1.7m).
Orvana Argentina, a wholly owned subsidiary of Orvana Minerals, currently holds a 100% interest in the Evelina property on an as-is, where-is basis.
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The Evelina property consists of four mining claims – Evelina I, Gabriela 1, Gabriela 2 and Gabriela 3 – covering a total area of 4,015 hectares (ha) in San Juan’s Iglesia Department.
With the new addition, the Taguas Project’s total footprint has grown by approximately 123% and now spans 7,289ha, up from 3,274ha.
The newly acquired claims lie within the same Oligocene–Miocene metallogenic belt as the existing project and may represent an extension of its epithermal gold and silver systems.
Evelina East is interpreted as a possible southern continuation of the Cerros Taguas mineralised corridor and has seen the most historical exploration among the new claims.
Satellite imagery has identified features indicative of an epithermal system in this area.
Alternatively, Evelina West remains largely unexplored but shows signs of hydrothermal activity, with alteration patterns consistent with high-sulphidation environments.
Recent work at the Taguas Project has included an updated geological model, a geophysical survey targeting depths up to 1,500m and a drilling campaign for fiscal year 2026 comprising two drill-holes totalling 2,173.7m.
The first hole, TADD-278, reached 1,331.7m and petrographic studies indicate the presence of a dacitic porphyry system exhibiting quartz-sericite-pyrite alteration and pyrite-associated ore minerals such as enargite and chalcopyrite.
Results from the second hole, TADD-279, are pending, with more information expected as data is processed.
Orvana CEO Juan Gavidia said: “As we advance our understanding of the porphyry system at depth at Taguas, we are expanding our land position and strengthening our presence in the district.
“The Evelina property acquisition consolidates a continuous land package alongside Taguas, enhancing our geological optionality and increasing flexibility for potential future development.”
In November last year, Orvana Argentina initiated a geophysical survey at the Taguas Project. Ridgeback Geofísica Argentina, an affiliate of Southernrock Geophysics, was assigned to conduct the programme.
