Collective Mining (TSX, Nasdaq: CNL) has hit high-grade gold and tungsten in schist outside the southern edge of its Apollo breccia in Colombia, opening a new drilling target beyond the current resource model.
Hole APC150-D4 cut 8.15 metres grading 8.47 grams gold per tonne, 4 grams silver and 0.40% tungsten trioxide (WO₃) from 927 metres below surface, Collective said Thursday.
“We view this as positive for Collective shares,” Scotiabank Global Equity Research mining analyst Ovais Habib said in a note on Thursday. ”The discovery of a new tungsten-gold zone expands the exploration potential of the deposit, while new vein discoveries outside and inside the current block model suggest upside possibilities for the company’s planned first quarter 2028 resource update.”.
The intersection lies about 680 metres vertically below the shallow tungsten zone in Apollo’s block model. It is the first high-grade tungsten hit Collective has reported in schist outside the southern breccia margin, with follow-up drilling planned to test its extent.
More testing
The results also show how much remains to be tested at Apollo, Collective’s Executive Chairman Ari Sussman said in a release.
“The new high-grade veins and visually-identified mineralization in drill testing extensions of the Ramp Zone in multiple directions give us compelling targets to test for potential growth beyond the current mineral resource,” he said.
Beyond the breccia
The assays reinforce the polymetallic potential of Apollo, already demonstrated by its initial resource released two weeks ago. Apollo is Collective’s main target at its Guayabales project, located inside the Middle Cauca mineral belt and historic Marmato-Supía gold district of Caldas, where gold and silver mining dates back centuries. Ten permitted mines operate within about 3 km of Guayabales, which lies next to Aris Mining’s (TSX: ARIS; NYSE-A: ARMN) Marmato gold mine.
Canaccord Genuity called the intercept a new style of mineralization outside the breccia and current resource model. It highlighted a dedicated tungsten recovery circuit in Collective’s Sept. 21 metallurgical update, though the firm assigns no value to tungsten in its model.
More veins outside the model
Other noteworthy holes that pierced areas outside the block model include APC171-D1, which returned 9.7 metres grading 4.28 grams gold, 11 grams silver and 0.05% copper from 145.3 metres depth; and hole APC171-D2 that cut 5.3 metres at 5.56 grams gold, 53 grams silver and 0.15% copper from 43.7 metres depth.
APC171-D1 also cut into the Ramp Zone – the deepest part of the Apollo deposit – and returned 13.8 metres grading 2.24 grams gold and 3 grams silver from 188 metres depth, including 8.6 metres at 2.69 grams gold and 1 gram silver.
Apollo resource
Apollo’s initial resource, released Sept. 8 comprises 37 million indicated tonnes grading 1.38 grams gold per tonne, 24.4 grams silver per tonne, 0.14% copper and 0.011% WO₃. They contain 1.64 million oz. gold, 29 million oz. silver, 115 million lb. copper and 3,887 tonnes of WO₃.
The 48.2 million inferred tonnes grade 1.6 grams gold, 8.39 grams silver, 0.03% copper and 0.002% WO₃, containing 2.47 million oz. gold, 13 million oz. silver, 32 million lb. copper and 1,081 tonnes of WO₃.
The resource is based on 114,520 metres of drilling in 265 holes through March 31. Collective plans another resource in the first quarter of 2028, followed by a preliminary economic assessment in the second half of that year.
Shares in Collective Mining fell 2% to $18.14 apiece in Toronto on Thursday morning, valuing the company at $1.68 billion (US$1.18 billion). They’ve traded between $13.76 and $30.12 over the last 12 months.
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