Gigantic Bolivian Opportunity Coming into Focus for Eloro

A real opportunity is finally coming into focus for Eloro Resources. After a slow start out of the gates, their highly prospective flagship project in southern Bolivia is starting to generate some real buzz.  

Iska Iska is a 9-square-kilometre, silver-tin discovery in the southern end of the country with the potential to be one of the country’s biggest finds in the last couple hundred years, as well as one of the largest bulk tonnage operations in the world.

Yet despite being situated in one of the most mineral‑endowed regions in the entire Andes, Iska Iska remained hidden for centuries due to surface leaching that removed all sulphide metals and caused the entire upper portion of the deposit to appear barren - even though there was a bountiful resource just below.

“We took an underexplored, never-been-drilled property, and created one of the most significant greenfield discoveries of the past 25 years,” declared Tom Larsen, Chairman and CEO of Eloro Resources.

After just five years and over 150,000 metres of drilling, the results speak for themselves. Based on a 2023 Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE), Iska Iska boasted an extensive silver-tin polymetallic deposit of close to 670 million metric tonnes.

But the MRE also generated some concern at the time because the grade of the discovery was lower than the market had been anticipating. That led to a sell-off of Eloro stock that drove the share price down from around $3 to $1.80 in the space of a day.  

What investors didn’t understand, is that these results were based on first-pass drilling with 100-metre drill spacings. Later, Eloro started a 50-meter infill drilling campaign around the upper part of this system (part of the open pit model), and the results from the last six to eight months has been quite remarkable. “We're now getting up to 200-gram silver”, Larsen confirmed, “so there are high pockets and lower pockets of silver in this deposit. I think we should have been a little bit clearer as to the objective for the MRE, something that I take responsibility for.”  

But one hiccup hasn’t discouraged Larsen regarding the potential of the Iska Iska project. “I strongly believe that with another 10-20,000 metresof infill drilling, we are going to improve the silver and tin grades.”

In fact, up to 50,000 metres of drilling using 25-meter spacings is scheduled to start in Q1 this year in preparation for a Pre-Feasibility Study slated for the end of the year.  

As exciting as this progress has been, it all seemed improbable only a few years ago.

Even though mining in Bolivia has been one of the key economic pillars of the country dating back to the 16th century, most potential foreign investment has been stifled by restrictive policies implemented by the country’s last socialist government. But in 2025, a center-right government under President Rodrigo Paz gained power, and this change has meant new opportunities and a renewed interest from foreign mining investors.

“I had no intentions of going into Bolivia just because of what I'd heard for so many years,” Larsen said. They said ‘don't go, you're going to lose all your money due to government restrictions’. Today, that couldn't be further from the truth. Things have changed in a big way, and I can tell you that Bolivia is a fantastic place to work…as long as you respect their ways. That’s why 95% of our workforce is Bolivian based. We don’t bring a lot of foreign advisors down there”.  

The highly prospective nature of Bolivia’s resource industry is further substantiated by at least two other Canadian based companies that include Santacruz Silver Mining (TSX.V:SCZ) and New Pacific Metals (TSX: NUAG), which entered  Bolivia as an explorer ahead of Eloro, and manage to build their share cap up to more than $1 billion.

That was all the convincing Larsen needed to reach out to Dr. Osvaldo Arce, formerly the head of the Geological Society of Bolivia, to lead Eloro’s exploration team. Dr. Arce brought the Iska Iska opportunity to Larsen’s attention, and in January 2020, Eloro took the leap.

One of the attractions for Larsen, was the existing infrastructure in and around the project. “We’re very fortunate in regard to infrastructure. We have road access from Iska Iska; we are less than 40km away from a town of 50,000; about 10km from active hydro; and 20km away from a rail line – all of which significantly lowers our cost of operations”.  

While available infrastructure is a key component to a successful outcome for the company, the recent spike in silver prices over the past few months has dramatically elevated prospects for the Iska Iska project, and sent the Eloro stock price soaring.

Even when basing their business model on a relatively conservative silver price, Eloro management is confidently projecting solid profit margins, even without accounting for lead, zinc and tin elements of the project.

“There aren't a lot of large pure silver plays in the world,” Larsen said, “that’s what I like about what we have. Yes, a lot of our silver is mixed with zinc and lead, and we have a large tin deposit, but the western side of our property is mainly silver, and that will go a long way to help remedy the growing need for this in-demand metal”.

These growing shortages are also a prime reason why Iska Iska may soon be recognized as a landmark opportunity.  

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For more information on Eloro Resources Ltd. (TSX.V: ELO, OTCQX: ELRRF)

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_{FULL DISCLOSURE: Eloro Resources Ltd. is a client of BTV-Business Television. This article does not constitute investment advice. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her individual financial professional. Any action taken as a result of reading information here is the reader’s sole responsibility.}

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