Atico Mining Corporation has provided an update on the exploration program and has begun regional exploration drilling at the El Roble property in Colombia.
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High-priority prospects have been identified within the favorable strata that support the currently producing high-grade Cu/Au VMS El Roble mine, following a strategic analysis of previous and recent exploration efforts.
Strong evidence of a second epithermal mineralization event that overprinted the existing VMS mineralization and produced improved copper and gold content was noted in the data evaluation. Alteration and VMS mineralization with enhanced Cu/Au levels that are associated with geophysical anomalies help identify the highest priority targets.
From the evaluation, Anomaly 8 was chosen as the initial target for a subsequent diamond drilling campaign. Within a 900 m × 300 m region of soil and rock copper anomalies, it is characterized by values of up to 11% Cu in outcropping hydrothermal breccia with levels of more than 800 ppm Cu.
It is coincident with magnetic (GMAG) and EM (VTEM) geophysical abnormalities. The drill program is still ongoing; therefore, the anomaly has not been thoroughly tested. Two holes have shown favorable stratigraphy and significant alteration, including large pyrite sulfide shards. A significant fault zone forced the abandonment of a third drill hole. At Anomaly 8, a further 3,050 m of drilling is anticipated in 2023.
The El Roble exploration team’s strategic review of previous and more current data was carried out from January to July 2022 and comprised drilling sessions both inside the mine and target follow-up in the region.
A better understanding of the concept of VMS clusters, together with the identification of these clusters within the property (La Calera Zn-Ag cluster, La Batea Fe Cluster, and Santa Anita Zn-Ag Cluster), were the results of this reinterpretation, which had the support of expert consultants and universities with staff who specialize in mining and exploration. Additionally, new exploration areas were created as a result of this reinterpretation.
Overall, this reinterpretation has led to the identification of high-priority targets for upcoming exploration operations. The ongoing drill program, which started late in the final quarter of 2022 to monitor Anomaly 8, is demonstrating the accuracy of the data review.
Source: http://aticomining.com/