Fitzroy drills 1.7% copper, expands Chile program

Fitzroy Minerals (TSXV: FTZ; US-OTC: FTZFF) has intersected strong copper grades at its Buen Retiro project in northern Chile and expanded its drill program as it continues to define a near-surface resource and test the broader mineralized system.

The best result came from hole BRT-DDH064, which cut 59 metres grading 1.73% copper from 92 metres depth, including 12 metres at 5.39% copper from 136 metres, Fitzroy said Monday. Another highlight, hole BRT-DDH063, returned 39 metres grading 1.17% copper from 87 metres downhole, including 17 metres at 2.16% copper from 96 metres.

“We see a route to near-term copper cathode production with reduced capital requirements and reduced permitting timelines,” President and CEO Merlin Marr-Johnson said in the release. “One plan currently being evaluated is to produce a soluble copper sulphate concentrate at site which could then be trucked and processed into copper cathode at any of the three electro-winning plants within a 90-km radius.”

The results highlight the project’s potential for near-surface leachable material that could be processed through a nearby solvent extraction-electrowinning plant held by Sociedad Punta del Cobre, known as Pucobre. It’s a privately controlled Chilean miner that operated the past-producing Manto Negro mine at the site, which produced 34.4 million lb. copper from 2005 to 2009. Fitzroy and Pucuobre are considering a development partnership for Buen Retiro.

Copper belt

The holes were drilled in the southwest area of Buen Retiro, about 850 km north of Santiago by road in the Atacama desert. Fitzroy is advancing an initial resource estimate and prefeasibility study at the project, which covers 132.4 sq. km in the Punta del Cobre copper belt. It’s a prolific iron oxide copper-gold district that hosts several major copper mines, including Lundin Mining’s (TSX: LUN) Candelaria copper-gold mine which produced 145,000 tonnes of copper last year.

The drill program, expanded by 7,000 metres to 22,000 metres this year, will also test new targets generated by recent geophysical surveys beyond the current resource area. About 10,000 metres of drilling have now been completed at Buen Retiro this year, with assays pending from several holes, the company said.

Hole BRT-DDH064 also intersected a deeper interval of 23 metres grading 0.65% copper from 207 metres, while hole BRT-DDH062 returned 46 metres grading 0.47% copper from 63 metres depth. According to the company, mineralization remains open along strike and at depth.

Shares in Fitzroy Minerals have gained 21% over the last 12 months and were at 41¢ apiece on Monday morning in Toronto, valuing the company at about $135 million. They’ve traded in a 52-week range of 24¢ to 73¢.