The Peruvian Ministry of Energy and Mines has granted Canada’s Camino Corp. (TSXV: COR) authorization to start drilling and other exploration activities at its Los Chapitos project, located in the southern Arequipa province.
The miner plans to begin mapping, sampling and refining targets next week for a drilling program scheduled for September.
At the same time, the General Directorate of Mining (DGM) of the Ministry of Energy and Mines granted Camino authorization to start the activities defined in its environmental impact assessment, which has been approved by the General Direction of Mining Environmental Affairs.
The approval allows the miner to test copper mineralization and develop drilling platforms along a 5-kilometre mineralized trend.
Due to the covid-19 pandemic, the Edmonton-based firm also had to request approval for a Surveillance, Prevention and Control Plan that allows it to have up to 10 workers at the project in July and August.
“I believe that we are one of the first junior exploration companies to commence exploration activities in Peru since the onset of covid-19 restrictions,” Jay Chmelauskas, Camino’s president and CEO, said in a media statement.
“With our Peruvian based team, we will proceed in a cautious and measured way following our covid-19 policies to continue our copper discovery efforts at Los Chapitos in a safe manner,” Chmelauskas said.
“Our geologists will be mapping drill targets, particularly new copper mineralization identified along trend to the south of the maiden drill program in 2017/18 to drill this September. Our vision is to expand the known areas of copper mineralization, target new areas of mineralization, and begin to determine the size of the copper system at Los Chapitos.”