Fitzroy Minerals Inc. has provided an exploration update for its Buen Retiro and Caballos copper projects in northern Chile, reporting significant copper mineralization intervals from recent drilling. At the Buen Retiro project, diamond 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. These results provide compelling evidence that Buen Retiro represents a major copper system, according to company leadership.
The company has initiated infill drilling with two diamond drill rigs to support a maiden mineral resource estimate ahead of a preliminary feasibility study. Approximately 160 meters of HQ diamond core is being drilled daily, with holes 46 through 60 completed and samples being processed for assay. The infill program, anticipated to total approximately 6,000 meters, should be completed in April. Following this, one rig will focus on exploration drilling of at least 8,000 meters, with flexibility to increase to 15,000 meters.
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. The company has also contracted Fleet Space Technologies to conduct an Exosphere Ambient Noise Tomography geophysical survey to assist with litho-structural interpretation and support sulphide drill-targeting at depth. This survey aims to image the large-scale subsurface architecture of the project area, including basement geometry and major structural corridors potentially associated with IOCG mineral systems.
Merlin Marr-Johnson, President and CEO of Fitzroy Minerals, noted 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, this provides evidence of a major copper system. The executive emphasized the project's strategic advantages, including its low elevation, brown-fields location four kilometers from the Pan-American Highway and associated high voltage transmission lines, proximity to the coast where a proposed desalination plant has a seawater extraction licence, and access to the mining services and labor pool in Copiapo.
At the Caballos Copper Project, an airborne Mobile MagnetoTellurics geophysical survey has been completed, with data currently being interpreted. Phase 2 drilling is scheduled for later in the year once the geophysical data is integrated into the company's geological model. The company maintains rigorous quality assurance and quality control procedures, with approximately 12% of samples comprising QA/QC materials. Certified copper standards from Chilean company Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Estandarizacion y Metrología Ltda. are used to evaluate analytical accuracy.
The technical information in the release was reviewed and approved by Dr. Scott Jobin-Bevans, a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101. The qualified person verified selected laboratory assay results against reported drill core intervals and drill core logs against the geology as supplied by the company. Dr. Jobin-Bevans noted that he has not been able to independently verify the Candelaria mineralization, and as such the mineralization described is not necessarily indicative of the mineralization on the Buen Retiro Copper Project.
For investors seeking additional information, company filings are available at www.sedarplus.ca. The exploration progress at Buen Retiro comes at a time when the copper industry faces decreasing discovery rates, making significant new finds increasingly valuable. Fitzroy Minerals aims to leverage potential future cash flow from a proposed Buen Retiro heap leach copper operation to fund continued exploration for major copper deposits in Chile with minimal dilution to shareholders.
