Los Andes Copper (TSXV: LA / OTCQX: LSANF) has reported further excellent results from drilling completed at the Vizcachitas Copper Project in Chile. The company has a 100% interest in the Chile-based project.
Vizcachitas is a copper-molybdenum porphyry deposit, located 120 kilometres north of Santiago, in an area of very good infrastructure. Los Andes’ Preliminary Economic Assessment, delivered in June 2019, highlights that Vizcachitas has a post tax NPV of $1.8 billion and an IRR of 20.77%, based on a $3 per pound copper price. It also has a Measured Resources Estimate of 254.4 million tonnes having a grade of 0.439% copper and Indicated Resource of approximately 1.03 billion tonnes having a grade of 0.385% copper.
The size of this mineral resource is already attracting investor attention. Technical reports have indicated continuous mineralisation occurring near the surface which could be mined open pit. According to mining analyst Roger Breuer, writing on this site, Los Andes Copper is “an ideal target for a major mining company looking for copper acquisitions. After all, there aren’t that many junior mining companies with this much inventory already.”
What has Los Andes Copper discovered?
Hole CMV-009 located near the southern edge of the current resources has returned results from 93.2 meters to 480.35 meters with a copper equivalent grade of 0.56 %, including 0.53 % copper, 62 parts per million (“ppm”) molybdenum and 1.5 grammes per tonne (“g/t”) silver. Included in this intercept is an interval from 108 meters to 260 meters, of 152 meters grading 1.00% copper equivalent. Further drilling is planned to outline this area in detail.
Hole CMV-010 located near the western edge of the previous resource model returned assay results from 430.0 meters to 807.3 meters, with 377.3 meters of 0.31 % copper equivalent. This result will be incorporated into the new resource assessment for the company’s pre-feasibility study targeted for the fourth quarter 2022.
“The shallow mineralisation in Hole CMV-009 is impressive,” said R. Michael Jones, CEO of Los Andes. “The higher-grade areas of the deposit will be targeted for early mining where accessible in the developing PFS mine plan.”
Hole CMV-010 illustrates that the deposit is still open to the northwest and assays are pending for Hole CMV-011 that is further west. Jones said holes CMV-010 and CMV-011 will allow the western area to be reconsidered in the resource model. The opportunity to convert tonnes assumed to be waste in the Preliminary Economic Assessment to resources in the mine plan for the PFS, and to target high grade areas are considered good opportunities to optimise the project.
Copper project looks even bigger and better
The drilling results indicate that the limits and the centre of the Vizcachitas Porphyry Copper deposit are not yet known. A further 3,300 meters of sampled core are awaiting assay results at this time.
Milestones for Los Andes Coppedr include further drilling assay results in the weeks ahead and completion of the PFS in the fourth quarter of 2022. Vizcachitas represents one of the truly Tier One copper assets with no major company holdings or offtake agreements.
Los Andes also confirmed that it is preparing to file detailed reports with the environmental court in Chile on the issues raised in a recent court injunction to suspend drilling. The company pronounced that it is confident that the drilling project can continue, in accordance with its permits, with no significant effects to the environment and it welcomed “continued dialogue with all stakeholders in a climate of mutual respect.”
