Fitzroy Minerals Inc. (TSXV: FTZ, OTCQX: FTZFF, FSE: C3Y) has released an exploration update for its 100%-owned Buen Retiro Copper Project near Copiapo, Chile. The company reported that 21 one-metre channel samples collected from the historical Buen Retiro open pit returned an average grade of 2.96% copper, with a maximum of 10.68% Cu. Additionally, historical drill hole BRT-DDH-013 intersected 7 metres at 2.78% Cu and 30 metres at 3.52% Cu from depths approximately 30-55 metres below the current pit floor.
These results highlight the potential for significant copper mineralization that was not previously exploited. Historical production at Buen Retiro focused only on copper oxide material, leaving behind mixed and transition copper material that Fitzroy plans to recover using a chloride-leach process. The company has three diamond drill rigs on site and will add a reverse circulation rig next week, targeting approximately 5,000 metres of drilling in the pit area for inclusion in a Project Development Plan. This plan will form the basis of an Environmental Permit Application scheduled for October 2026, with a Pre-Feasibility Study on track for completion in Q1 2027.
Drill hole BRT-DDH099, located 70 metres south of the historical pit, intersected 113 metres of tenorite mineralization from 3.5 metres downhole, with an estimated average grade of approximately 1.0% Cu. The intercept has been submitted for over-limit analysis as it exceeds regular exploration assay limits. Merlin Marr-Johnson, President and CEO of Fitzroy, stated that the channel sample results averaging around 3.0% Cu and historical drill results of 30 metres at 3.52% Cu showcase the type of copper mineralization the company is targeting in the pit area.
Fitzroy has drilled 10,048 metres at Buen Retiro so far in 2026, exceeding the original plan of 7,000 metres due to continued intersections of shallow mineralized material. The company is mitigating assay result delays caused by congestion at ALS Global laboratory and border issues between Chile and Peru by sending samples from the pit area to SGS Laboratories in Santiago, Chile, and by using visual grade estimates to expedite over-limit analysis. The company reports that its technical team tends to under-estimate higher-grade copper intercepts by about 20-30%.
Metallurgical test work is underway, with initial mini-column results expected in July, which will be incorporated into the Project Development Plan. The company also completed a passive seismic infill survey using Fleet Space Technologies' Ambient Noise Tomography technique in May, which identified zones of elevated fracturing and host-rock alteration. Fitzroy continues to work with Pucobre S.A. on engineering and commercial aspects of the Heap Leach Development Plan.
The Buen Retiro project benefits from proximity to processing and transport infrastructure, low elevation, no human habitation, and its location in Chile, which has pro-mining legislation. The company expects to take the project through study phases and into production in 2028. Dr. Scott Jobin-Bevans, a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical information in this news release.
