VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – TSX-V-listed explorer Altiplano Minerals has shipped the first 100-t sample of ore taken as part of a bulk sample at the Farellon copper/gold mine, in Chile, for toll milling.
The Edmonton, Alberta-based miner said on Tuesday that since the Comet Joint Venture (CJV), in which it has earned a 50% stake, reached the mineralised zone earlier this month, it has stockpiled about 600 t of ore as part of the 2 000 t bulk sample being extracted to evaluate the project’s potential.
Initially, the CJV has arranged to deliver up to 2 000 t/m of this material for processing. If the results of the initial bulk sample programme are positive, then the CJV will increase the bulk sample to 5 000 t/m.
"We are excited to have advanced our Farellon project to the bulk sampling stage and look forward to the results of the sale of the initial copper/gold magnetite mineralised vein material,” stated CEO John Williamson in a news release.
Altiplano advised that it was implementing the exploration recommendations contained in a February technical report. However, it is also relying on past production records, underground sampling and related activities, as well as current diamond drilling, to estimate the grade and widths of the mineralisation. There are no mineral resources or reserves on the property and the current mineral exploration activities are intended to be part of a programme to determine if mineral resources can be identified.