Filo drills new porphyry copper-gold centre in Argentina
Filo Mining Corp. [FIL-TSXV] says it has discovered a new porphyry copper-gold centre along the Filo trend at its 100%-owned Filo del Sol project, which straddles the border of Region 111, Chile and San Juan Province, Argentina.
Drilling highlights include hole FSDH060, which was drilled to a final depth of 1,070 metres and intersected 738 metres at 0.51% copper equivalent from a depth of 332 metres, including 322 metres at 0.63% copper equivalent (CuEq) from 620 metres.
This drill hole is interpreted to have intersected a new porphyry centre, named the Bonita zone, along the Filo trend, confirming that Filo del Sol hosts a multikilometer, northeast-trending alignment of overlapping porphyry-centred hydrothermal systems, which is open to expansion both to the south and to the north.
“The Bonita zone represents a very high-priority drill target, and follow-up drilling will be prioritized beginning in the South American spring season,” the company said in a press release.
Filo Mining is a member of the Lundin Group of companies. The Filo del Sol project is a high-sulphidation epithermal copper-gold-silver deposit associated with one or more large porphyry gold system.
Filo del Sol is located in the Andes Mountains, 140 kilometres southeast of the Chilean city of Copiapo and was recently the subject of a pre-feasibility study that is based on proven and probable reserves of 259.1 million tonnes, grading 0.39% copper, 0.33 g/t gold, 15.1 g/t silver, or 2.2 billion pounds of copper, 2.7 million ounces of gold and 126 million ounces of silver.
The prefeasibility study envisages annual production of approximately 67,000 tonnes of copper (including copper as a precipitate), 159,000 ounces of gold and 8.6 million ounces of silver at a cost of US$1.23 per pound of copper equivalent.
The pre-production capital cost is estimated at $1.27 billion. Over a 14-year mine life (including pre-stripping) the operation is expected to produce almost 1.75 billion pounds of copper as cathode, and 1.92 million ounces of gold and 104 million ounces of silver as dore over a 13-year leach feed schedule.
“Hole 60 provides yet more evidence to support our interpretation that Filo del Sol is one of the most important copper-gold-silver discoveries in years,” said Filo Mining President and CEO James Beck.
Drill hole FSDH060 was collared almost two kilometres northeast of FSDH041, which returned 163 metres at 5.43% CuEq from 780 depth within a broader interval of 858 metres at 1.80% CuEq.
Hole FSDH041 was described as the first intersection of a long-sought feeder zone for the high-sulphidation mineralization at Filo.
“To step out this far into a completely new area and drill an intersection like this is an incredible result,” said Beck. “I’m reminded of hole 25, our first deep hole into Filo del Sol in 2019, which returned 1,025 metres at 0.47% CuEq,” he said. “As we refined our understanding of the deposit, our drilling trended north, leading to the eventual discovery of the Aurora and Breccia 41 zones. I’m excited to learn more about the Bonita zone with future drilling.”
The company said it will continue with six diamond drill rigs to maximize safety and operational performance during the winter season.
Meanwhile, on June 9, 2022, Filo shares closed at $23.37 and currently trade in a 52-week range of $27.37 and $7.81.