Pan Asia Metals (PAM) has sealed an exclusivity agreement to carry out due diligence on the Rosario Copper Project in Chile, marking a strategic move to diversify its portfolio with high-grade copper assets.

This move comes prior to PAM’s decision to proceed with entering an option agreement to acquire the Rosario project.

The project, located near the El Salvador copper mine and infrastructure such as Enami's processing plant and Codelco's smelter, offers exploration prospects with identified trends over a 10km strike length and mineralised zones up to 200m wide.

It has shown potential, with 73 out of 89 samples yielding more than 0.1% copper, averaging 2.13% and reaching more than 5% in some instances, PAM said.

PAM's acquisition of Rosario aligns with its strategy to secure battery metals projects that can position the company as a low-cost producer.

The company plans to initiate additional geochemical sampling, mapping, trenching and induced polarisation geophysics to identify drill targets.

PAM managing director Paul Lock said: “We have entered into this transaction as the Rosario Copper Project ticks all PAM’s boxes: the project is located in an infrastructure-rich setting, with all processing needs nearby; it demonstrates peer group-leading copper grades from a large suite of rock chips’ and it is located in a premier copper producing region, which is known for its cost advantages.

“The project has what is needed to gain a position in the lower third of the cost curve. Rosario represents a tremendous opportunity to position PAM with a high-grade, low-cost copper project.

“We view copper as an equally important metal with lithium in the global electrification transition, the supply-demand dynamics are compelling with deficits projected due to declining production and grades, and a lack of new discoveries. Importantly, Rosario is not a pivot, the project is strategic, has the right fundamentals and offers PAM strategic options.”