Filo Mining shares rise following new drills results from Aurora zone

Filo Mining (TSX: FIL) has provided results for one additional drill hole completed at its Filo del Sol project in San Juan, Argentina. This hole – FSDH067 – was drilled into the Aurora zone, about 100 metres northwest of an earlier hole (FSDH058) that returned 1,251.5 metres at 0.56% copper, 0.41 g/t gold and 6.6 g/t silver from 100 metres down.

Hole 67 has now followed up that result with an intersection of 1,131.6 metres at 0.62% copper, 0.53 g/t gold and 11.9 g/t silver (for 1.11% copper equivalent) from a depth of 132 metres. This includes 4 metres at 1.54% copper, 12.08 g/t gold and 20.5 g/t silver from 202 metres, and 36 metres at 0.76% copper, 0.71 g/t gold and 123.2 g/t silver from 248 metres. The hole ended in strong mineralization at a depth of 1,263.6 metres.

“Hole 67 builds on our successful drilling within the Aurora zone and was another critical hole to enhance our understanding of the geology within this zone,” CEO Jamie Beck said in a news release. “The hole bottomed in strong mineralization and was unable to continue as we reached the depth capacity of the drill rig.”

“We’ve now got rigs on site with the ability to drill much deeper, and one of our near-term goals is to try to find the bottom of this amazing deposit. There are five holes currently underway at the project, including hole 64 at 1,373 metres, while hole 62 has just ended at 1,447 metres,” Beck added.

There are six drill rigs currently working on the project site, and the company said it plans to add additional rigs into the program as the weather moderates.

The winter campaign, which focused on the Aurora and Breccia 41 zones, was planned to keep these drill rigs close together to prioritize safety. As these holes finish up, drilling will begin to spread out to test new exploration targets while also keeping a focus on expanding and defining the known zones.

Some big step-out holes are planned to the north and south (including testing the Gemelos target, located 5 km northeast of the Aurora zone) along with smaller step-outs, as drilling proceeds to the north of hole 61 and south of hole 63.

Shares of Filo Mining rose 4.7% by 11:20 in Toronto after the release of its new drill results. The company’s market capitalization currently stands at C$2.2 billion ($1.6bn).

The 100% owned Filo del Sol project is the company’s main asset and sole focus of exploration and development. The deposit forms part of a large porphyry copper-gold system consisting of alteration zones and several mineralized showings within a prolific mineral district.

The property is situated 140 km southeast of the city of Copiapó, Chile, and straddles along the Argentina-Chile border.