AusQuest Ltd (ASX:AQD) has completed seven drill holes of the ongoing diamond drilling program at its Chololo Copper Project in southern Peru.
Initial results from the first two holes support the potential for a buried porphyry copper system within the prospect area.
Around 3,400 metres have been drilled so far and assays from the remaining three holes, for around 1,600 metres of drilling, should help to locate the main mineralised core of the inferred buried porphyry.
Potential for mineralisation enhanced
AusQuest managing director Grame Drew said the company was encouraged by the early results and believed the potential for porphyry copper mineralisation at Chololo had been enhanced.
He said: “While porphyry copper targets are large they can still be hard to find, especially when they are under cover.
“However, as our understanding grows with each drill hole, we are beginning to zero-in on areas that should host the potentially mineralised core of the porphyry.”
Assay data from the first holes supports the presence of a nearby porphyry system with broad zones of highly anomalous pathfinder elements overprinting the host volcaniclastics.
Varying grades of lead, zinc, arsenic, molybdenum, manganese, tin and selenium make up the identified pathfinders.
Final assays expected in September
The drilling program is expected to be complete around the end of August, with final assay data to be available around four weeks after completion.
The Chololo project is around 30 kilometres from the port of Ilo and is subject to an earn-in agreement with South32 Ltd (ASX:S32).
South32 can earn a 70% interest by spending US$4 million, with the right to earn an additional 10% interest by completing a pre-feasibility study.
AusQuest is the operator during this first phase of drilling.