Drilling At The Apollo Porphyry System
TORONTO - Collective Mining Ltd.reported on drilling at the Apollo system. Two reconnaissance holes tested Target 1 to the southwest of the Apollo porphyry system, while the remaining three holes were drilled into Apollo, which are all part of the Guayabales project located in Caldas, Colombia. The Apollo target area already hosts a high-grade, bulk tonnage copper-silver-gold porphyry system and six newly generated targets surrounding it. The porphyry system in the Apollo target area owes its excellent metal endowment to an older copper-silver and gold porphyry system being overprinted by younger precious metal rich, carbonate base metal vein systems (intermediate sulphidation porphyry veins) within a magmatic, hydrothermal inter-mineral breccia and diorite porphyry bodies currently measuring 455 metres x 395 metres x 915 metres and open for expansion.
Ari Sussman, Executive Chairman commented: "Our hardworking team continues to outline exciting new targets and concepts at the Guayabales project. As our knowledge of the project expands, so too does the scale of the system. We are exploring in a truly remarkable geologically endowed area of Colombia that has already yielded multiple discoveries and we are confident that we have only scratched the surface of potential for the project.
It is also particularly gratifying that our neighbor, Aris Mining, was recently granted the required licenses by the Colombian government to construct a large-scale gold mine immediately next door to our Guayabales project, which further validates that Colombia is open for business for mining companies that operate with transparency and high standards. I wish them success in constructing the Marmato mine and look forward to being part of the modernization of this historic mining camp."
APC-54 was the first reconnaissance hole to test Target 1 and was drilled to the southwest from Pad 9 to a downhole depth of 629.75 metres (665 metres vertical due to topography). The hole is interpreted to have cut the edge of a potential new porphyry body with two zones of mineralization intersected along the hole. The upper zone of 51.50 metres was intercepted from 358.10 metres down hole and contained mineralized quartz diorite porphyry with B and C veins of chalcopyrite, quartz and molybdenite followed by angular breccia with a sulphide matrix consisting of chalcopyrite (up to 0.7%), pyrite (up to 0.8%) and pyrrhotite (up to 0.6%) with some overprinting carbonate-base metal veins hosting sphalerite and galena. A second mineralized zone of 92.20 metres commenced at 490.05 metres downhole and was again related to porphyry mineralization with chalcopyrite veins hosted within quartz diorite porphyry and within a block of schist country rock. Finally, the hole passed out of the schist block and bottomed in mineralized porphyry breccia with the final 1.85 metres grading 0.82 g/t gold equivalent. Target 1 remains open along strike to the southeast for at least 350 metres, which is the limit of surface geochemistry at this point. Assay results for APC-54 are as follows: 51.15 metres @ 1.79 g/t gold equivalent from 358.10 metres downhole (consisting of 1.46 g/t gold, 13 g/t silver and 0.10% copper) including: 18.60 metres @ 2.00 g/t gold equivalent from 390.65 metres downhole in mineralized breccia; 93.20 metres @ 0.69 g/t gold equivalent from 490.05 metres downhole (consisting of 0.33 g/t gold, 10 g/t silver and 0.12% copper) including 27.40 metres @ 1.12 g/t gold equivalent from 541.80 metres downhole in a mineralized contact zone.
The Company's exploration team has undertaken reconnaissance mapping in the vicinity of APC-54 and has mapped a favorable unit sporadically over at least 350 metres of strike in a northwest to southeast direction. Earlier reconnaissance drill hole APC-32, which was drilled northwards from Pad 8 intercepted favorable porphyry mineralization at the end of the hole with the final 26.9 metres returning 0.7 g/t gold equivalent (consisting of 0.31 g/t gold, 14 g/t silver, 300 ppm copper and 200 ppm molybdenum) in quartz diorite. The intercept in APC-32 is the current southwestern boundary limit for Target 1 as the Company has yet to explore past this location in this area. Further surface work is planned to test the target further along strike where it remains open for expansion.
A rig has been mobilized to Pad 3 with drilling expected to commence in August 2023. Hole APC-57 was drilled due west from Pad 9 but did not intersect significant mineralization.
APC-56 was drilled to the northeast from Pad 10 to a maximum downhole depth of 453.00 metres (403 metres vertical due to topography) and was designed to test the upper hanging wall portion of the system to the west of the Contact Zone.
Mineralization commenced from surface with the initial 30.25 metres intersected combined oxide and transition zone material before transitioning to mineralized porphyry until 116.30 metres depth and consisted of vein and disseminated sulphides and some carbonate base metal (CBM) vein mineralization (at 88.95 metres) hosted within quartz diorite porphyry. A second zone of porphyry mineralization with a downhole length of 88.80 metres commenced at 144.35 metres and consisted of quartz diorite porphyry rock with a sulphide composition of pyrite (up to 0.7%), pyrrhotite (up to 0.5%), and quartz plus molybdenite veinlets as well as some overprinting carbonate-base metal veins hosting 0.3% of sphalerite and 0.5% of galena. Angular mineralized breccia was encountered at 311.50 metres downhole with a sulphide matrix cement which included pyrite and pyrrhotite interfingering with mineralized quartz diorite porphyry. Occasional CBM veins and veinlets, with sphalerite and galena sulphides of up to 0.4% overprint the breccia and porphyry zones with assay results as follows: 116.30 metres @ 0.89 g/t gold equivalent from surface (consisting of 0.71 g/t gold, 11 g/t silver and 0.02% copper) including: 30.25 metres @ 1.23 g/t gold equivalent from surface in mineralized oxidation and transition zone; 11.50 metres @ 2.11 g/t gold equivalent from 88.95 metres downhole in mineralized quartz diorite porphyry with overprinting CBM vein material; 88.80 metres @ 0.52 g/t gold equivalent from 144.35 metres downhole (consisting of 0.41 g/t gold, 6 g/t silver and 0.02% copper) in mineralized quartz diorite porphyry; and 77.50 metres @ 0.62 g/t gold equivalent from 311.50 metres downhole (consisting of 0.52 g/t gold, 6 g/t silver and 0.01% copper) including 18.90 metres @ 1.25 g/t gold equivalent from 365.45 metres downhole in mineralized quartz diorite with overprinting CBM veins.
APC-58 was drilled to the southwest from Pad 10 to a final downhole depth of 314.70 metres (284 metres vertical due to topography) and was designed to test for the presence of continuous shallow gold-silver-copper mineralization in a gap within the current block model.
The intercept commences from surface in the oxidation and transition zones within mineralized porphyry host rock for 51 metres downhole before transitioning to fresh rock until 270.75 metres. Mineralization encountered in this hole consisted of high-grade copper-silver-gold mineralization relating to a sulphide cement of chalcopyrite (0.5%), pyrite (up to 2%), pyrrhotite (up to 1%) and sphalerite traces. At 271 metres the hole entered a post mineral dyke with assay results as follows: 270.75 metres @ 2.11 g/t gold equivalent from surface (consisting of 1.08 g/t gold, 34 g/t silver and 0.35% copper) including the following high-grade intervals: 51.00 metres @ 2.16 g/t gold equivalent from surface in the oxide and transition zone; 54.00 metres @ 2.83 g/t gold equivalent from 117.80 metres downhole; and 14.20 metres @ 2.68 g/t gold equivalent from 220.70 metres downhole.
APC-59 was drilled steeply to the south from Pad 6 to a maximum downhole depth of 325.75 metres (289 metres vertical due to topography). The hole was designed to test for high-grade copper-silver-gold mineralization at the Contact Zone in the southeast portion of the Apollo system.
Beginning at surface, the hole cut 24.75 metres of high grade, oxide and transition zone mineralization before entering fresh rock until 163.25 metres downhole. The hole was drilled into the Contact Zone between the Apollo porphyry system and surrounding country rock and includes several high-grade zones from 46.20 metres to 72.60 metres and from 83.30 metres until 102.30 metres downhole. The second zone consists of 19.00 metres of very high-grade mineralized angular breccia hosting chalcopyrite, pyrite and pyrrhotite sulphide. Finally, at 146.60 metres downhole, the hole entered into porphyry with some schist country blocks with mineralization related to disseminations and veinlets of pyrite and pyrrhotite. The Contact Zone in APC-59 contained an abundance of CBM vein sulphide mineralization with measurements of sphalerite and galena up to 2% and 4% respectively with assay results as follows: 163.25 metres @ 2.66 g/t gold equivalent from surface (consisting of 1.76 g/t gold, 38 g/t silver and 0.23% copper) including: 24.75 metres @ 3.16 g/t gold equivalent from surface in the oxide plus transition zone; 26.40 metres @ 3.04 g/t gold equivalent from 46.20 metres downhole; and 19.00 metres @ 9.10 g/t gold equivalent from 83.30 metres downhole (Contact Zone).
Apollo Drill Program and Assay Update
The 2023 Phase II drilling program is advancing on schedule with 28 holes completed and results announced with an additional nine holes awaiting assay results from the lab. Since the announcement of the discovery hole at Apollo in June 2022, a total of 60 drill holes (approximately 26,520 metres) have been completed and assayed. With four diamond drill rigs now operating at site, the Company is focused on: 1) Expanding the Apollo porphyry system and the recently discovered high-grade Contact Zone. 2) Stepping out along the newly discovered high-grade Vein Zone situated above the Apollo porphyry system along a northwest to southeast corridor (where it does not come to surface). 3) Testing the six newly generated targets surrounding the Apollo porphyry system. 4) Testing Plutus, a new large-scale porphyry target located approximately 500 metres east of Apollo.
The Apollo target area, as defined to date by surface mapping, rock sampling and copper and molybdenum soil geochemistry covers a 1,000 metres X 1,200 metres area and represents a large and unusually high-grade copper-silver-gold porphyry system. Mineralization styles include early-stage porphyry veins, inter-mineral breccia mineralization and multiple zones of porphyry related late stage, sheeted, carbonate-base metal veins with high gold and silver grades. The Apollo target area is still expanding as the Company's geologists have found multiple additional outcrop areas with porphyry veining, breccia, and late stage, sheeted, carbonate base metal veins.