Argentina Copper-Gold Mine Restarts Drilling, First Phase Plans 12,000 Meters

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On October 13, Canadian mining company Centauri Minerals announced that it is advancing preparations for a new round of drilling at the Rio Grande copper-gold project in Salta Province, Argentina. The first phase plans to carry out 12,000 meters of diamond drilling, with 2 drill rigs to be mobilized in October. The program is expected to last approximately 6 months and be completed in the second quarter of 2027. This will be the project's first renewed drilling since 2013. The company has completed approximately 56 square kilometers of 3D magnetotelluric surveying, identifying targets for near-surface resource expansion and deep porphyry-type mineralization exploration.

The first-phase drilling will be equipped by local drilling service providers. One drill rig will be responsible for infill and peripheral extension drilling in the shallow mineralized zone, collecting core samples for subsequent engineering studies and metallurgical testing, while also testing the expansion potential of the existing mineral resource estimate range and open-pit model. The second drill rig will conduct drilling in deep anomaly zones identified by integrating historical geophysical surveys and the latest 3D magnetotelluric data, focusing on testing the potential porphyry-type copper-gold-silver mineralization system beneath the existing deposit.

The 3D magnetotelluric survey completed in the third quarter of 2026 covered approximately 56 square kilometers. Centauri Minerals reinterpreted the deposit structure by combining historical geophysical, geochemical, and geological mapping data, identifying shallow high-resistivity anomalies on the southwest and northeast sides of the known resource area, as well as a low-resistivity anomaly zone covering an area of more than 1.3 kilometers × 2.0 kilometers beneath the known ring-shaped mineralized belt. The deep anomaly targets will be included in this round of drilling tests.

The project's support facilities are located at the Arita camp on the southern edge of Salar de Arizaro in Salta Province, approximately 9 kilometers from the Rio Grande deposit. The camp was used for geophysical exploration in the third quarter and is currently undergoing renovation of existing facilities, along with the construction of new worker accommodation areas, core logging facilities, power generation systems, fuel and waste storage facilities, sewage treatment systems, and safety and security facilities. The first batch of drill rigs is expected to arrive on site in late October.

Centauri Minerals obtained drilling permits approved by the Salta provincial government in June 2026. After the first-phase drilling is completed, the company plans to evaluate whether to expand the total drilling footage to 24,000 meters or add drill rigs to launch a second-phase exploration program based on the drilling results. The previously completed mineral resource estimate will serve as the basis for this round of shallow infill drilling and resource expansion evaluation.