Flagship Minerals managing director Paul Lock said: “The higher grade zones are generally open at depth, providing attractive drill targets for down dip extensions, particularly in the central to eastern portions of the mineralised zone where we are seeing silver in association with higher grade gold. There is potential for the discovery of significant mineral resources in the central to eastern portions of the mineralised zone.”
Flagship’s priority is to convert its existing foreign estimate into a formal JORC-compliant resource. The company also believes it can materially boost the tonnage and grade with minimal new drilling by integrating an additional 21 holes and reinterpreting the extensive historical dataset.
Much of the information acquired in the dataset was generated by heavyweight predecessors such as Anglo American, Kinross Gold and Orosur Mining. In total, the drill hole database consists of 183 holes for 30,370m of drilling and nearly 19,000 assayed samples.
Flagship has also pocketed a hefty 14,000m of diamond drill core, along with pulps and rejects, meticulously stored by Anglo in Copiapó and now ready for fresh assays.
The entire data library cost the company just under $3 million, which is a fraction of the estimated $30 million and five years it would have taken to drill Pantanillo from the ground up and hands the company a significant head start at the project.
Once a JORC-compliant resource has been posted, the company says it will get to work on development scenarios based on open-pit mining.
Metallurgical test work has already shown good recoveries, and the bulk of the mineralisation is oxide or mixed oxide-sulphide. This is perfect feedstock for low-cost heap leaching and could deliver an annual production profile of 100,000 ounces of gold over a 10-year mine life.
On a broader scale, Pantanillo sits smack in the middle of Chile’s Maricunga gold belt – a district already dripping with more than 65 million ounces of the yellow metal. The neighbourhood is stacked with giants, including Newmont-Barrick’s jaw-dropping 27-million-ounce Norte Abierto deposit, just 40 kilometres southwest.
Boosting the region’s credentials, Kinross’ 10.7-million-ounce Maricunga project lies 25km west of Pantanillo, while Hochschild Mining’s 11-million-ounce Volcan deposit is virtually next door at 10km northwest.
With a growing vault of historical data, multiple high-impact drill targets and a clear development vision, Flagship could be on the verge of rewriting the script at Pantanillo by turning a dusty Chilean legacy into the Maricunga belt’s next major gold play.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au
