The IBW Project is hosted within the renowned Iberian Pyrite Belt, one of the most productive volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) terranes in the world. The IBW Project encompasses three polymetallic deposits. From east to west: Infanta, El Cura, and Romanera. The area has a long history of mining activity that dates back as far as Roman times. Previous exploration of the deposits was conducted by major companies including Asturiana, RTZ and Phelps Dodge in the 1970’s and 1980’s. The IBW Project is located in the western part of the belt, adjacent to the border with Portugal, approximately 144km west of Seville and 50km from the port city of Huelva. The Project extends along a strike length of approximately 12km. Access to the IBW Project is excellent via paved and all-weather gravel roads.
The Romanera deposit was drilled primarily by Minera Rio Tinto in the 1990’s and is reported to contain 34 million tonnes grading 0.42% copper, 2.20% lead, 2.3% zinc, 44.4 g/t silver and 0.8 g/t gold, within which there is a higher-grade resource of 11.21 million tonnes grading 0.40% copper, 2.47% lead, 5.50% zinc, 64.0 g/t silver and 1.0 g/t gold (The Volcanic Hosted Massive Sulphide Deposits of the Iberian Pyrite Belt, Garcia-Cortes ed., 2011). A qualified person, as defined by NI 43-101, has not done sufficient work on behalf of Emerita to classify the historical estimate reported above as current mineral resources or mineral reserves, and Emerita is not treating the historical estimate as such. The historical estimate should not be relied upon. The deposit extends from surface to approximately 550 metres depth on historical drilling. The mineralization remains open for further expansion down dip beyond the limits of the existing drilling.
The La Infanta mineralized zone has been drilled from surface where it outcrops to a depth of approximately 400 metres. Numerous high-grade intercepts occur within the zone, and it remains open for expansion at shallow depths. La Infanta is located approximately 8km to the east of the La Romanera deposit.
Emerita released a maiden NI 43-101 compliant mineral resource estimate for La Romanera and La Infanta deposits that contains a combined 18.8 Mt including a 14.07 Mt indicated resource at 7.63% ZnEq and a 4.71 Mt inferred resource at 9.29% ZnEq.