Altiplano Metals Inc has announced that the Exploitation Permit Application for the Maria Luisa historical gold-copper mine has been approved by the Chilean mining authority Servicio Nacional de Geologia y Mineria. The Maria Luisa project is located within the Atacama Region 100 kilometres (km) north of La Serena in Incahuasi, Chile.
The mining company said the approval provides the authorization to begin underground exploration and development work at Maria Luisa. With the approval in place, it plans to establish an underground decline system designed to reach gold-copper mineralized veins through multiple access points on multiple levels.
The initial decline system will enter at the southwest corner of the property and advance in a southeast direction for approximately 350 metres (m) to intersect the mineralized zone beneath the historical workings.
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With the approval process for the Maria Luisa gold-copper project completed, Altiplano said it can now focus on the development phase of the mine.
“Historical work at Maria Luisa has yielded very good results, including areas of past production where approximately 6.89 grams per tonne (g/t) gold and 1.89% copper were recovered,” said CEO Alastair McIntyre.
“In addition, the relatively under-explored area to the NW, where a separate NS vein structure occurs has yielded underground chip samples of 8.73 g/t gold over 5.74m, provides us with an exciting new area to explore and develop,” he added.
Altiplano is a Canadian mining company focused on the acquisition and development of near-term cash flowing assets and exploration projects of significant scale. Its goal is to grow into a mid-tier producer of copper, gold and silver with immediate plans of generating profits from three cash flowing projects in 2021.
Contact the author at stephen.gunnion@proactiveinvestors.com