Fitzroy Minerals Reports Significant Exploration Progress at Chilean Copper Projects
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Fitzroy Minerals Inc. has reported substantial exploration progress at its Buen Retiro and Caballos copper projects in northern Chile, with significant extensions to known mineralization and accelerated drilling programs that could have important implications for copper supply in a critical mining region. Recent diamond drilling at Buen Retiro has extended the zone of continuous mineralization in the Southwest Area to 1.4 kilometers, representing a 40% increase from the previously reported 985 meters. This expansion demonstrates both scale and continuity of the copper system, with mineralization remaining open along strike.
The company reported particularly strong results from hole BRT-DDH-028, which intersected 133 meters at 0.46% copper in oxides from the top of bedrock at 22 meters downhole to 155 meters, including higher-grade intervals of 40 meters at 0.53% copper and 35 meters at 0.77% copper. These results contribute to extending the known mineralized zone while maintaining consistent widths and grades along the entire trend. The company has planned an additional 2,250 meters of diamond drilling for 2026 to further test the open extensions.
Reverse-circulation drilling at Buen Retiro has completed 1,050 meters in four holes, with preliminary logging identifying intrusive rocks bearing chalcopyrite and pyrite mineralization several kilometers east of the main Southwest Area. This suggests potential for a broader mineralized footprint than previously recognized. Initial assay results from this regional drilling are expected in October 2025, which could further expand the project's potential.
Fitzroy is investigating the potential for fast-track production at Buen Retiro, leveraging significant infrastructure advantages including proximity to the Pan-American highway, high voltage transmission lines crossing the concession area, and access to coastal infrastructure approximately 35 kilometers away. The company aims to complete a maiden mineral resource estimate and Preliminary Economic Assessment on a heap leach project in 2026, with environmental baseline monitoring already underway as part of the permitting process.
At the Caballos project, the company is expanding its drilling program to three rigs following several technical breakthroughs. Recent age-dating work has identified a long-lived hydrothermal system spanning from 44 to 25 million years, matching the ages of well-known Eocene-Oligocene copper belts in Chile that host world-class deposits including Chuquicamata, Escondida, Quebrada Blanca, and Collahuasi. This geological similarity suggests Caballos may represent a similarly fertile copper system.
The expanded drilling program at Caballos aims to complete at least 3,000 meters of diamond drilling in 2025, comprising approximately 2,000 meters at the Chincolco Prospect and 1,000 meters at the Mule Hill Prospect. Recent mapping has identified expansion potential to the east under post-mineral cover, while re-logging of existing drill core confirmed hydrothermal breccias containing mineralized porphyry clasts, a feature consistent with other breccia-dominated porphyry systems such as El Teniente.
The company's acquisition of a 291-hectare land parcel in the Chincolco Valley provides additional access rights and strengthens its position in the area. These collective developments support the interpretation of Caballos as a large, fertile copper system with both depth and lateral scale potential. The progress at both projects comes at a time of growing global copper demand driven by electrification and renewable energy transitions, positioning Fitzroy's Chilean assets in a strategically important mining jurisdiction known for producing approximately one-third of the world's copper.

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