Phase II Program At The Guayabales Project
TORONTO - Collective Mining Ltd. reported on drill holes completed from Pad 6 as part of the Phase II program at the Guayabales project located in Caldas, Colombia. The aim of the Phase II program is to test and define through drilling the shallow portion of the Apollo porphyry system as well as continue expanding the system through step-out drilling. The Apollo porphyry deposit is a high-grade, bulk tonnage copper-silver-gold system, which owes its excellent metal endowment to an older copper-silver and gold porphyry system being overprinted by younger precious metal rich, carbonate base metal vein systems (low and intermediate sulphidation porphyry veins) within a magmatic, hydrothermal intermineral breccia body currently measuring 395 meters x 385 meters x 915 meters and open for expansion.
The Phase II drilling program of 2023 is advancing on schedule with seven holes completed and a further three in progress. The aim of this program is to define the high-grade mineralization and dimensions of the Apollo porphyry system near surface while continuing to expand the size of the system through step-out drilling. To date, a total of 34 drill holes (approximately 16,000 meters) have been completed and assayed at the Apollo target with the majority of the holes testing the Apollo porphyry system.
Assay results for the first drill hole (APC-31) from the 2023 Phase II program intersected 384.7 Meters at 2.46 g/t Gold Equivalent from surface which included high-grade oxide mineralization of 42.35 meters averaging 5.08 g/t gold equivalent. A further two holes, APC-33 and APC-35 have now been completed from Pad 6. APC-35 was drilled steeply to the northwest from Pad 6 to a maximum depth of 366.15 meters (350 meters vertical). The hole was designed to test the potential for shallow, high-grade mineralization located 50 meters west of APC-31. The hole intersected continuous mineralization from surface down to its final depth where it was terminated while still in strong mineralization (final 3.45m averaging 1.11 g/t gold equivalent). APC-35 is the highest-grade mineralization (grams X meters) reported from drilling to date as follows: 359.15 meters @ 3.32 g/t gold equivalent (consisting of 1.84 g/t gold, 48 g/t silver and 0.48% copper) including: 35.30 meters @ 8.06 g/t gold equivalent from surface (in oxides), and 47.85 meters @ 5.58 g/t gold equivalent from 318.30 meters.
The mineralized interval starts directly below overburden at 7 meters and into saprolite and oxide material until 42.30 meters before transitioning into fresh mineralized angular breccia rock consisting of chalcopyrite (0.2% to 1.5%), pyrite (1% to 2%) and some pyrrhotite (~1%). The mineralization is overprinted by carbonate-base metal veins containing sphalerite and galena and high grades of gold particularly from 318.30 meters downhole. Gold grades are significantly higher in the oxidized portion of the intercept while copper and silver grades are consistently high throughout the whole intercept below the oxidized zone.
APC-33 was drilled steeply to the north from Pad 6 to a maximum depth of 381.35 meters (360 meters vertical). The hole was also designed to test the potential for shallow, high grade mineralization located 50 meters east of APC-31. The hole intersected continuous mineralization from surface down to its final depth where it was terminated while still in strong mineralization (last 4.44 meters grade 1.7 g/t gold equivalent) and averaged: 374.70 meters @ 2.22 g/t gold equivalent (consisting of 0.85 g/t gold, 53 g/t silver and 0.34% copper) including: 42.85 meters @ 4.50 g/t gold equivalent from surface (in oxides).
The mineralized interval starts directly below overburden at 6.65 meters and into saprolite and oxide material until 49.50 meters before transitioning into fresh mineralized angular breccia rock consisting of chalcopyrite (0.2% to 1.2%), pyrite (1% to 2.5%) and some pyrrhotite (~1%). The sulphides fill the breccia matrix and are surrounded by clasts of quartz diorite and diorite. The mineralization is overprinted by carbonate-base metal veins containing sphalerite and galena. Gold grades are significantly higher in the oxidized portion of the intercept where copper grades are depleted.
Outcrop mapping and sampling in the south and central portions of the system has outlined a 130 meter-by-130 meter area of known surface mineralization, which is open in all directions. Pads 6 and 7 have been designed with the objective of understanding the styles and tenor of the shallow, high-grade mineralization from surface down to depths of up to 400 meters. Visual observations from another four completed holes indicate continuous intercepts from surface over core lengths ranging from more than 100 meters to more than 275 meters. The Company presently has three diamond drill rigs operating at the Apollo project and additional assay results are expected in the near term.
Two new drill pads, numbered 9 and 10, are under construction to provide further drilling options to test and expand upon the area which the Apollo porphyry system outcrops at surface.
The Apollo target area, as defined to date by surface mapping, rock sampling and copper and molybdenum soil geochemistry, covers a 1,000 meters X 1,200 meters area, and represents a large and unusually high-grade Cu-Ag-Au porphyry system. Mineralization styles include early-stage porphyry veins, inter-mineral breccia mineralization and multiple zones of porphyry related late stage, sheeted, carbonate-base metal veins with high gold and silver grades. The Apollo target area is still expanding as the Company's geologists find more outcrop areas with porphyry veining, breccia, and late stage, sheeted, carbonate base metal veins.