Great Southern Copper PLC (LSE:GSCU) said it would restart drilling at the Mostaza Mine once permits are granted after it signed the purchase option for the Cerro Negro exploitation concessions in Chile.
The prospect includes the Mostaza copper mine, previously owned by Antofagasta Minerals, that contains seven tabular bodies or lenses of high-grade copper, gold and silver mineralisation identified to date
A non-JORC resource in 1981 just consisting of Lens 1 and 2 reported 190,600t of measured & indicated sulphide with grades of 1.2% copper, 80 g/t silver, and 0.45 g/t gold, plus an additional 63,000t of inferred sulphide resource at depth.
Only 25 holes (1,024m) were drilled at Mostaza previously, with 92m the deepest, but these indicated mineralisation is open at depth and along strike.
GSC will restart drilling at the Mostaza Mine once permits are granted.
Sam Garrett, GSC’s chief executive, said: "The signing of the Cerro Negro option agreement represents an important milestone for Great Southern Copper.
"We now have the option to become 100% owner of the historical Mostaza Mine with an existing mineral inventory that has been drill-tested and remains open for expansion in all directions.
"With the Mostaza deposit now in hand, we aim to commence drilling at the soonest opportunity targeting both extensions to the existing high-grade resource and upscaling the deposit to the south along the MFZ, as well as testing the potential for large-scale porphyry copper type mineralisation.
"Alongside the permitting process for drilling authorisation at Mostaza Mine, we are also progressing the permitting to commence drilling at Victoria and Aurelia."