New Pacific Metals Corp. has officially signed 30-year fixed-term Administrative Mining Contracts covering the approximately 39-square-kilometre Carangas Project in Bolivia’s Oruro Department, transitioning the asset away from its former Prospecting and Exploration Licences following administrative conversion.

The formal contract execution follows the completion of a prior consultation process in July that secured the consent of the Carangas community and regional stakeholders. The signed agreements have now been submitted to the Plurinational Legislative Assembly of Bolivia for official ratification and approval, representing the next mandatory step toward securing formal mining tenure. Once legislative approval is granted, New Pacific plans to advance the project’s remaining permitting and technical work, including environmental categorization and the subsequent Environmental Impact Assessment process.

Operating alongside the permitting progress, the 2026 drilling campaign at the silver-gold asset is scheduled to begin the week of September 8. Site preparation and the mobilization of drilling equipment and contractors are already underway for the 30,000-metre program.

The campaign dedicates approximately 25,000 metres to upgrading mineral resources within both the silver and gold zones. The remaining metreage will focus on step-out drilling to test potential extensions, alongside examining standalone chargeability anomalies identified by induced polarization surveys completed in 2023 beyond the known resource area. Data gathered throughout the drilling schedule will support a planned feasibility study, including the collection of samples for metallurgical test work alongside geotechnical and hydrological holes.

New Pacific initially identified the Carangas deposit in 2020 following exploration success at its flagship Silver Sand Silver Project in the Potosí Department. The company’s broader Bolivian portfolio also includes the Silverstrike Silver-Gold Project in the La Paz Department.

Read the full announcement: New Pacific Metals Reports Signing of Administrative Mining Contracts and Commencement of the 2026 Drill Program at the Carangas Project