Los Andes Copper Ltd (TSX-V:LA) said it has begun further drilling at its wholly-owned Vizcachitas project in Chile.
The company noted the current drill program will explore the deeper parts of the classic porphyry copper deposit at Vizcachitas, where earlier drilling demonstrated higher copper grades at depth. It will also explore the open part of the deposit to the north and northeast, and fill in areas of drilling in advance of finalization of the resources for the upcoming Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS).
“It is a great pleasure to join the company at a time where a clear world class copper system is being explored by a professional team with decades of local domain experience,” Los Andes Copper CEO Michael Jones said in a statement.
READ: Los Andes Copper advancing flagship Vizcachitas project, which is set to be Chile's next copper mine
The occurrence of the high copper content mineral bornite at depth is an important indicator of potential in many porphyry copper systems, including Vizcachitas, according to the company, which also said geological mapping and geophysics suggest the deposit extends to the north of the previous drilling and current preliminary economic assessment resource estimates.
Los Andes Copper is planning to drill 13,000 meters initially in 18 holes, which will continue into the first quarter of 2022.
The company expects the initial drill results to be available in early 1Q 2022, while the PFS is expected to be completed at the end of 1Q 2022.
Los Andes Copper' s Vizcachitas property was the subject of a preliminary economic assessment (PEA), delivered in June 2019, which showed a post-tax net present value (NPV) of US$1.8 billion and an internal rate of return (IRR) of 20.77%, based on a US$3 per pound copper price. The project has a measured resource of 254.4 million tonnes at a grade of 0.439% copper and an Indicated resource of about 1.03 billion tonnes at a grade of 0.385% copper.
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