Fitzroy Minerals Inc. has reported significant copper mineralization intervals from drilling at its Buen Retiro Copper Project in northern Chile, with one drill hole intersecting 384 meters at 0.22% copper from 4 meters depth. The results include a higher-grade zone of 94 meters at 0.33% copper from 30 meters, indicating substantial mineralized volume at the property.
The company is currently conducting an infill drilling program with two diamond drill rigs, anticipated to total approximately 6,000 meters, which should be completed in April. This drilling is designed to allow for a maiden mineral resource estimate ahead of a preliminary feasibility study. A 2,800-kilogram bulk sample has been prepared for heap leach metallurgical test work at SGS Laboratories, with testing scheduled to begin in late March.
Merlin Marr-Johnson, President and CEO of Fitzroy Minerals, stated that drill hole 45 intersected copper in two distinct mineralizing styles on a large scale in the North area of the Buen Retiro property. The hole is located three kilometers north-northeast of high-grade copper oxide mineralization in the Southwest area. Combined with large, coincident geophysical anomalies, there is now compelling evidence that Buen Retiro represents a major copper system.
The strategic importance of the Buen Retiro location cannot be overstated. The project sits at low elevation on a brown-fields site just four kilometers from the Pan-American Highway and associated high-voltage transmission lines. It is close to the coast where a proposed desalination plant has a seawater extraction license and near the established mining center of Copiapo with its mining services and large labor pool. This proximity to existing infrastructure significantly reduces potential development costs and timelines compared to more remote discoveries.
In the North area of the Buen Retiro Project, drilling has identified a copper-sulphide mineralized trend extending for approximately one kilometer north of the historical Manto Negro Mine open pit. The mineralization is hosted within a volcanic sequence dominated by andesitic rocks, interbedded with volcanic breccias and tuffs. Drill hole BRT-DDH045 intersected a zone of stockwork intercalated with minor breccias from the start of fresh rock at four meters, then transitioned into what the company describes as a Candelaria-style stratiform system for a further 284 meters.
Fitzroy Minerals has contracted Fleet Space Technologies to complete an Exosphere Ambient Noise Tomography geophysical survey to assist with litho-structural interpretation and support sulphide drill-targeting at depth. The Phase 1 survey is about to start and aims to image the large-scale subsurface architecture of the project area. Following completion and interpretation of the regional survey, a Phase 2 infill survey may be conducted to refine targets and increase resolution in areas of interest.
At the separate Caballos Copper Project, also in Chile, an airborne Mobile MagnetoTellurics geophysical survey has been completed, with data currently being interpreted. Phase 2 drilling at Caballos is scheduled for later in the year once the geophysical data is integrated into the company's geological model.
The company emphasizes that in an industry with decreasing discovery rates, it aims to leverage potential future cash flow from the proposed Buen Retiro heap leach copper operation to fund continued exploration for major copper deposits in Chile with minimal dilution. This approach represents a strategic method for funding exploration in a capital-intensive industry where new discoveries are becoming increasingly rare and expensive to develop.
Quality assurance and quality control procedures for the Buen Retiro drilling program included inserting a silica blank every 20 samples, with blanks always inserted immediately after sections containing native copper. Pulp duplicates were randomly selected in proportion to the number of samples from each drill hole, along with high-, medium-, and low-grade copper standards. The QA/QC samples prepared by the company represent about 12% of total primary core samples.
Dr. Scott Jobin-Bevans, a qualified person as defined by NI 43-101 and independent geological consultant to the company, has reviewed and approved the technical information provided in the news release and verified the data disclosed. The qualified person specifically verified selected laboratory assay results against reported drill core intervals as well as drill core logs against the geology as supplied by the company. For more information on Fitzroy Minerals, please visit the company's website at https://www.fitzroyminerals.com.
