TL;DR
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Pecoy Copper’s hole PEC26-072 in southern Peru ranked highest among global copper drill results in The Northern Miner’s Aug. 17-Sept. 15 compilation, based on grade times width. Vizsla Copper and Copper Giant Resources also reported long copper-bearing intervals, while each company continues work to assess its project’s mineralization and next steps.
Pecoy Copper reported an 804-metre copper-gold drill intercept at its South Breccia target in southern Peru that ranked highest among global copper drill results compiled by The Northern Miner for Aug. 17 to Sept. 15. The ranking uses grade multiplied by interval width; Vizsla Copper in British Columbia and Copper Giant Resources in Colombia also featured with long copper-bearing intercepts.
Pecoy said on Sept. 1 that hole PEC26-072 cut 804 metres grading 0.34% copper and 0.08 gram gold per tonne, starting at 24 metres depth. An included interval measured 485.2 metres at 0.4% copper and 0.09 gram gold per tonne. The hole’s reported grade-times-width value was 273, the highest in the period covered by the compilation. This is a ranking metric, not a measure of economic value or a statement about a future mine.
The results came from six holes totaling 5,678 metres, within Pecoy’s planned 35,000-metre drilling program for the year. The company also reported near-surface copper at its Northwest target: hole PEC26-067 returned 209 metres grading 0.4% copper from 15 metres depth, including 42.3 metres at 1.01% and 11.1 metres at 1.9%. A separate interval, from 744 metres depth, ran 296 metres at 0.24% copper and 0.009% molybdenum.
At Vizsla Copper’s Deerhorn deposit, hole DH26-136 cut 266 metres at 0.97% copper, 0.06 gram gold and 4.29 grams silver per tonne from 306 metres depth. The interval included 107.7 metres at 2.01% copper and 48.5 metres at 3.32%. Vizsla reported the result on Aug. 26 and said it represents the longest high-grade copper interval it has recorded at Woodjam, based on its review of historical and recent drilling. Its grade-times-width value was 258.
Copper Giant’s hole MD-070 at Mocoa returned 770.9 metres grading 0.33% copper and 0.039% molybdenum from 211.4 metres depth, including 313.2 metres at 0.46% copper and 0.047% molybdenum. The company said the August result was consistent with, and locally exceeded, grades predicted by its existing resource model. Its grade-times-width value was 254. The hole was drilled within the existing resource footprint to test mineralization continuity and grade at closer spacing.
Three Projects, Different Drilling Questions
The results matter because they show companies testing distinct aspects of large copper projects, rather than reporting a single comparable measure of project value. At Pecoy, broad intervals at South Breccia and the Northwest target are being used to assess whether known mineralization extends across a wider area. The company said drilling from three locations at South Breccia has demonstrated potential to expand mineralization westward; that is an exploration interpretation, not a confirmed resource expansion.
At Deerhorn, Vizsla’s high-grade interval extends about 100 metres below the area covered by the deposit’s historical resource estimate and remains open in several directions, according to the company. At Mocoa, Copper Giant is drilling inside an existing resource to test its model ahead of a planned preliminary economic assessment. These are different stages and objectives, so the grade-times-width ranking alone cannot establish which project has the strongest commercial prospects.
For readers tracking potential copper supply, the drilling adds information about mineralization at projects in Peru, Canada and Colombia. But drill assays do not establish recoverable reserves, mine economics, permitting prospects or a development timeline. Those questions require further technical work and, where applicable, formal studies.
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How the Assay Ranking Was Built
The Northern Miner compiled the results for the period Aug. 17-Sept. 15 and ranked holes by grade times width. That approach combines a reported mineral grade with the length of the drilled interval, making it possible to compare intercepts using one screening measure. It does not account for factors such as geology between holes, mining method, recovery, costs or whether an interval could be mined economically.
The companies’ projects also have different resource status. Vizsla cited a historical inferred estimate for Deerhorn of 32.8 million tonnes grading 0.22% copper and 0.49 gram gold per tonne, but said it does not classify that estimate as a current resource. Copper Giant’s November 2025 update put Mocoa at 1.12 billion inferred tonnes grading 0.31% copper and 0.039% molybdenum. Pecoy’s supplied update describes exploration targets and drilling results rather than a project resource estimate.
These distinctions matter: an assay is a result from a particular drill interval, while a resource estimate uses geological interpretation across a deposit and remains subject to uncertainty. The reported widths are down-hole intervals; the supplied material does not state true widths for these holes.
“Drill holes are ranked by grade times width.”
— The Northern Miner
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Assays Do Not Settle Project Economics
The reported intervals do not establish how much mineralization can ultimately be mined or whether any project would be economically viable. The source material does not provide true widths for the quoted intercepts, nor does the grade-times-width ranking incorporate recovery rates, operating costs, infrastructure, permitting or financing. Results from individual holes also cannot by themselves confirm continuity across an entire deposit.
At Pecoy, the company’s stated potential to expand mineralization westward remains an exploration interpretation. At Deerhorn, the cited estimate is historical and is not classified by Vizsla as a current resource; further modeling and drilling are planned. At Mocoa, Copper Giant’s statement that grades matched or locally exceeded its model is the company’s assessment, while the planned PEA has not yet been reported. The supplied material does not give results for all holes in the programs or confirm whether further assays have been released since the dates cited.
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Drilling and Studies Still Underway
Pecoy’s reported six-hole results form part of a 35,000-metre program planned for the year. The company is testing several areas around the project’s historical pit and evaluating whether the known mineralized footprint can be expanded. The source material does not specify a date for its next assay release.
Vizsla plans to re-examine historical drill core and build a three-dimensional geological model to guide drilling around Deerhorn’s high-grade zone. Its reported Woodjam work was part of an 11-hole, 6,055-metre summer program. The supplied update also said the company was drilling at its Poplar and Palmer projects, with two rigs operating at each when Deerhorn’s results were announced.
Copper Giant is advancing a planned 23,000-metre Mocoa drilling program for 2026, its largest to date, alongside metallurgical and environmental work. The company was targeting an initial PEA for the fourth quarter of the year. Future drilling results and technical studies will clarify how the latest assays affect resource confidence and project evaluation; the stated schedule is a company plan, not a completed milestone.
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Key Questions
Which hole led the period’s copper assay ranking?
Pecoy Copper’s PEC26-072 ranked highest in The Northern Miner’s compilation for Aug. 17-Sept. 15, with a reported grade-times-width value of 273.
What did Pecoy’s South Breccia hole intersect?
The company reported 804 metres grading 0.34% copper and 0.08 gram gold per tonne from 24 metres depth, including 485.2 metres at 0.4% copper and 0.09 gram gold per tonne.
Does the ranking show which project is most profitable?
No. The ranking uses grade multiplied by interval width. It does not account for costs, metal recovery, mine design, permitting or other factors needed to assess economic viability.
What are the companies planning next?
Pecoy plans continued drilling within its 35,000-metre program; Vizsla plans further core review and geological modeling at Deerhorn; and Copper Giant is advancing a 23,000-metre Mocoa program and targeting a PEA in the fourth quarter of the year.
Source: rss
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