High Grade Copper Intercepts From The Cinabrio Mine At Punitaqui Copper Complex
VANCOUVER - Battery Mineral Resources Corp. reported encouraging drill core assay results from the new 2024 underground exploration and in-fill drill program at the Punitaqui mine complex in Chile. Assay results from drillholes have returned with encouraging results as follows: 1) Drillhole CM-24-11: 18.3 meters (m) grading 2.6 percent (%) copper total (CuT) and 11 grams per tonne (g/t) silver (Ag) including 14.9m at 3.1% CuT & 13g/t Ag drilled as an infill hole delineated the extent of the mineralization intercepted in historic drillholes CM-0-19-05 and CM-0-19-07. 2) CM-24-12: 6.4m grading 0.9% CuT and 5g/t Ag drilled as an extensional hole defined the northern strike extent of the planned extraction area. 3) CM-24-13: 23.1m at 2.0% CuT & 14g/t Ag drilled as an infill hole confirmed the extent of the mineralization intercepted in historic drillholes CM-0-19-05 and CM-0-19-07. 4) CM-24-14: 1.5m at 0.6% CuT & 1g/t Ag and 2.9m at 0.5% CuT & 14g/t Ag drilled as an extensional hole confirmed the southern strike extent of the planned extraction area.
The 2024 Cinabrio drill program is designed to confirm resources identified by previous drilling programs and expand these resources along strike and at depth. All holes reached target depth and have intersected the targeted shale-mudstone horizon that hosts the copper mineralization. This phase of Cinabrio underground drilling targeted the Level 160 scheduled production area where 4 drillholes totaling 173.6 meters of diamond core drilling were completed. The four holes were designed to confirm the modelled geology, mineralization and probe the contact zone between the lower mineralized shale unit and the underlying andesites within and adjacent to the planned extraction area (CM-24-11, CM-24-12. CM-24-13 and CM-24-14).
Drilling confirmed copper grades and better delineated the extent of the mineralization in the lower shale unit and footwall andesite within and adjacent to the planned extraction area. The results have been added to the three-dimensional geology and resource models which BMR's mining engineers will use to update the current mine designs and optimize mining schedules.
As of now the Cinabrio-San Andres underground drill program had resulted in the completion of 31 drillholes / 1,300.4m including 18 holes / 770.2m at Cinabrio. Drilling is ongoing and assay results for the remaining 11 Cinabrio drillholes are pending.
Vice President of Exploration, Peter Doyle, said, “These new, high-grade copper infill drill results not only confirm the copper grades predicted by our current geological model but also provide a more detailed understanding of the Level 160 target mineralization. The ongoing underground drilling continues to demonstrate encouraging results that highlight the potential of the Cinabrio mine."