Fitzroy Minerals Inc. has provided an exploration update for its Buen Retiro and Caballos copper projects in northern Chile, reporting significant drill results and outlining ongoing work programs. At the Buen Retiro project, drill hole BRT-DDH045 intersected 384 meters at 0.22% copper from 4 meters depth, including a higher-grade interval of 94 meters at 0.33% copper from 30 meters. This hole intersected copper in two distinct mineralizing styles on a large scale in the North area of the property, located three kilometers north-northeast of high-grade copper oxide mineralization in the Southwest area.
According to Merlin Marr-Johnson, President and CEO of Fitzroy Minerals, combined with large, coincident geophysical anomalies, there is now compelling evidence that Buen Retiro is a major copper system. The company notes that Buen Retiro is strategically positioned at low elevation on a brown-fields site four kilometers from the Pan-American Highway and associated high voltage transmission lines, close to the coast where a proposed desalination plant has a seawater extraction licence, and near the mining center of Copiapo with its mining services and labor pool.
Infill drilling with two diamond drill rigs began in February, with approximately 160 meters of HQ diamond core being drilled daily. Drill holes 46 through 60 have been completed and are being logged and cut, with samples sent for assay on an ongoing basis. The infill drilling program, anticipated to be approximately 6,000 meters of drilling, should be completed in April. After completion, one rig will focus on exploration drilling while the other will be released.
A 2,800-kilogram bulk sample has been prepared for heap leach metallurgical test work at SGS Laboratories, with tests scheduled to begin in late March. The company has also contracted Fleet Space Technologies to complete an Exosphere Ambient Noise Tomography geophysical survey, with Phase 1 about to start. This survey aims to image the large-scale subsurface architecture of the project area, including basement geometry, major structural corridors, and velocity contrasts potentially associated with IOCG mineral systems.
Drilling in the North area of the Buen Retiro Project has identified a copper-sulphide mineralized trend extending for approximately one kilometer north of the historical Manto Negro Mine open pit. Drill hole BRT-DDH045 is particularly significant as the first 100 meters intersected a zone of stockwork intercalated with minor breccias from the start of fresh rock at four meters, then transitioned into a Candelaria-style stratiform system for a further 284 meters. Detailed results from drill holes 44 and 45 are available in the company's technical table at https://ibb.co/tT50fszT.
At the Caballos Copper Project, an airborne Mobile MagnetoTellurics geophysical survey has been completed and interpretation is ongoing. Phase 2 drilling 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.
Quality assurance and quality control procedures for the Buen Retiro project include inserting a silica blank every 20 samples, with pulp duplicates randomly selected in proportion to the number of samples from each drill hole. Certified copper standards acquired from Chilean company Instituto Nacional de Tecnologia Estandarizacion y Metrología Ltda. are used to evaluate laboratory analysis accuracy. The company reports that a visual review of QA/QC results identified no significant issues.
