Mogotes says drilling expands Andes copper-gold target

New drilling by Mogotes Metals (TSXV: MOG) has expanded the company’s Albor target at the Filo Sur copper project in the Vicuña district on the Argentina-Chile border.

Hole FS_DDH_016 cut 180 metres grading 0.51% copper, 0.37 gram gold per tonne, 2.8 grams silver and 119 parts per million (ppm) molybdenum from 108 metres depth, Mogotes said Thursday in a statement. This included 9 metres of 1.32% copper, 1.34 grams gold, 7.5 grams silver and 105 ppm molybdenum from 276 metres downhole.

Located at the southern limit of Filo del Sol, BHP’s (ASX: BHP) polymetallic joint venture with Lundin Mining (TSX: LUN), Filo Sur lies on a belt that also hosts NGEx Minerals’ (TSX: NGEX; US-OTC: NGXXF) Lunahuasi and Los Helados copper-gold projects. Toronto-based Mogotes began exploration work on the 100-sq.-km property, which sits on the eastern flank of the Andes Cordillera, in 2022.

Along with Copper Cliffs in Montana and Beskauga in Kazakhstan, Filo Sur is one of three projects that Mogotes is seeking to develop. The company plans to drill about 7,000 metres this year at Filo Sur, according to a June investor presentation.

Geological characteristics observed in hole 016 resemble those reported from Filo del Sol, Mogotes said. Additional assay results from other targets are pending.

Second discovery

Albor is the second discovery announced by Mogotes during its inaugural drill campaign at Filo Sur, following Cruz del Sur.

“In our first fully funded drill season at Filo Sur, we have now made two significant copper-gold-silver-molybdenum discoveries, at Cruz del Sur and at the Albor target,” CEO Allen Sabet said in the statement.

Final assays for hole 016 “have expanded the Albor intercept to 180 metres of high-grade, near-surface copper-gold-silver-molybdenum mineralization, confirming and extending the discovery we first reported in May,” he added. “We look forward to sharing the results of the final holes in the Luz del Sol system as they are reported.”

The limits of the mineralization intersected in hole 016 haven’t yet been defined by drilling, Mogotes said. They also remain untested to the northwest and southeast along the strike of the Macho Muerto Fault Zone, and at depth.

Mogotes shares fell 1.3% to 37¢ Friday morning in Toronto, valuing the company at about $194 million (US$137 million). The stock has traded between 17¢ and 68¢ in the past year.