Orosur Mining reports progress at Anza Project

Orosur Mining updated the market on the Anzá Project in Colombia on Tuesday, reporting that assay results for five additional diamond drill holes had been received from the ALS laboratory in Lima, Peru.

The AIM-traded firm said the results from the MAP-093 hole included 14.85 metres at 1.6 grams of gold per tonne, 1.08 grams of silver per tonne and 0.79% zinc.

At the MAP-094 hole, it highlighted 8.55 metres at 0.96 grams of gold per tonne, 5.88 grams of silver per tonne and 0.34% zinc, as well as 5.35 metres at 1.17 grams of gold per tonne, 2.18 grams of silver per tonne and 0.79% zinc, and 10.7 metres at 1.08 grams of gold per tonne, 0.24 grams of silver per tonne and 0.03% zinc.

Finally, on hole MAP-096, it reported 2.7 metres at 2.84 grams of gold per tonne, 1.12 grams of silver per tonne and 0.07% zinc, as well as 51.55 metres at 1.32 grams of gold per tonne, 1.34 grams of silver per tonne and 0.35% zinc.

Holes MAP-092 and MAP-095 were collared “well away” from the known mineralisation at APTA, and were drilled in the opposite direction to current drilling, from west to east.

Both of the holes were designed to assess the regional geology, and to test the idea that the target stratigraphy identified at APTA represented the eastern limb of an anticline and would be repeated to the west.

Those holes were “purely stratigraphic”, the board said, and were not expected to intersect mineralisation.

Hole MAP-093 was targeted to test the down-dip continuity of the stratigraphic section related to the historical La Pastorera gypsum mine.

The footwall breccia was identified, and was mineralised to a moderate degree.

Hole MAP-094 was targeted to test the southern extension of a high-grade pod defined in previous drilling, with a “substantial thickness” of “moderately-mineralised breccia” identified.

Finally, hole MAP-096 was drilled from the west to test a geological hypothesis related to possible anticlinal folding of the mineralised stratigraphy.

That hole confirmed the existence of such folding, and thus opened the potential for folded repetition of higher grades further down the western limb, with that potential to be tested with later drilling.

Orosur said most drilling to date had been concentrated at the central APTA deposit in the central granted licence of its 200 square kilometre tenement package.

However, with reduction to one drill rig in June, exploration teams were deployed to field mapping and sampling activities in other licences, albeit subject to limitations related to Covid-19 which was still proliferating through the region at the time.

The board said most of that activity focused on the north east integrated tenement around the Pepas and Pupino working areas.

“Extensive” programmes of soil and rock sampling, bulk leach extractable gold (BLEG) sampling, geological mapping and geophysics had commenced, and would continue after handover of operational control of the project to partner Monte Águila.

Terrain in the region was described as “extremely rugged”, and thus progress was slow, but “substantial coverage” had been achieved.

Complete geochemical results were still pending, but the board described preliminary results as “encouraging”, suggesting the northern extent of the Aragon fault was prospective.

Of the company's land package, two major areas remained at the application stage and were thus not accessible for exploration involving any form of ground disturbance, containing the La Cejita and Jesuitas prospects.

With the acceleration of work under the exploration agreement, the company said it hoped to advance those into granted status rapidly, however it added that the process required “substantial” public hearings, which had only recently restarted after a long pandemic-related abeyance.

Orosur said it was currently seeking to accelerate that process now that Covid-19 was beginning to abate in the region.

As it announced in September, the firm’s joint venture partner Monte Águila had chosen to exercise its right to assume operatorship of the Anzá Project.

The handover was now substantially complete, with Monte Águila now exercising effective control of the project.

Monte Águila - a 50-50 venture between Newmont and Agnico Eagle Mines - is the vehicle through which those two companies were jointly exercising their rights and obligations around the exploration agreement.

As per that agreement, Orosur remained the 100% owner of the licences and applications until Monte Águila earned its initial 51% interest in the project prior to 6 September 2022.

As such, the company said it remained responsible for most government-related functions, and would retain a core team in Medellin to work alongside Monte Águila in the management of the process.

“The decision by our partners to take over operatorship of Anzá was both positive and welcome, being testament to how two of the world's largest gold miners see the region,” said chief executive officer Brad George.

“The handover process is substantially complete.

“The financial and technical resources that can now be brought to bear are without parallel and we look forward to them substantially ramping up activity.”

At 1233 GMT, shares in Orosur Mining were down 8.12% at 13.69p.