Canadian miner Filo Mining announced in May that the ongoing 2021/22 campaign for the miner’s 100%-owned Filo del Sol copper/gold/silver deposit – located in Chile’s Region III and the adjacent San Juan province in Argentina – continues to deliver exploration success.

The campaign extends one of the high-grade breccias and defines continuity of strong mineralisation in the Aurora zone.

“To date, the 2021/2022 drilling programme at Filo del Sol has already returned the best silver intersection ever at the project, extended the high-grade Breccia 41 zone, and demonstrated continuity of strong mineralisation within the Aurora zone. “Several holes are currently under way, and four holes have now been completed with assays pending.

“The completed holes include holes 55C, 57 and 59 which will look to extend the high-grade Breccia 41 mineralisation to the north by up to 200 m, while Hole 60 tests the sparsely drilled area north of Hole 37, potentially expanding the north-south expanse of the deposit significantly. With the closing of the $100-million nonbrokered private placement to resources company BHP earlier this year, the company is well funded to ramp up our exploration efforts, and we are excited to embark on our first ever drill programme throughout the upcoming South American winter months,” Filo Mining president and CEO Jamie Beck commented.

On March 11 this year, the company closed the sale of 6 270 000 common shares to BHP Western Mining Resources International, a wholly owned subsidiary of BHP Group, by way of a nonbrokered private placement, at a price of $15.95 a common share for total gross proceeds of $100-million (the private placement).

Share issuance costs related to the private placement totalled $300 000 and comprised professional fees and regulatory fees. No finder's fee or commissions were payable in connection with the private placement.

The close of the private placement has provided Filo Mining with valuable operational flexibility as it seeks to expediently and efficiently define the Filo del Sol deposit, which has the potential to be a “generational discovery” and significant asset in an emerging copper/gold/silver district.

At the time of the announcement, the company’s 2021/22 drill campaign had been expanded to seven diamond rigs, with an additional reverse circulation (RC) rig.

The RC rig is being used to pre-collar holes in the “challenging, intensely altered rock” overlying Breccia 41 in order to improve drill productivity and hole completion rates. The company intends to have these rigs turning through the winter season in South America, thereby operating year-round for the first time in the history of Filo del Sol.

In addition, the company is also reviewing the possibility of adding additional rigs to the programme following the South American winter to further expedite advancement of the Filo del Sol project.

To date, assays results have been received for five completed holes from the ongoing programme, which has already extended the high-grade mineralisation of Breccia 41, confirmed the continuity of strong mineralisation within the broader Aurora zone, and served as a reminder of the “remarkable” metal content of the deposit, which provides optionality for future development and project financing scenarios.

There are several select highlights from the drilling programme.

Firstly, FSDH054 intersecting 172 m at 3.22% copper equivalent grade (CuEq) comprising 1.51% copper (Cu); 1.42 g/t gold; 75.9 g/t silver (Ag) from a depth of 830 m within a broader interval of 1.22 m at 1.26% CuEq containing 0.71% Cu; 0.54 g/t Au; 18 g/t Ag from a depth of 146 m. This hole was collared 60 m east of, and drilled parallel to, FSDH041 and the mineralisation intersected is completely outside the current mineral resource, successfully extending Breccia 41.

FSDH055A returned the best precious metal intersections on the project to date, with 64 m at 1 21.8 g/t Ag and 0.49 g.t Au from a depth of 362 m.

FSDHO56 intersected 502 m at 0.89% CuEq (0.5% Cu; 0.4 g/t Au; 11.4 g/t Ag) from a depth of 168 m, ending in over 1% CuEq mineralisation at a depth of 670 m, where it was abandoned owing to poor ground conditions.

Lastly, FSDO58 returned 1.25 m at 0.91% CuEq (0.56% Cu; 0.41 g/t Au; 6.6 g/t Ag) from a depth of 100 m, including 310 m at 1.4% CuEq (0.87% Cu; 0.62 g/t Au; 8.2 g/t Ag) from a depth of 600 m.

This hole confirmed continuity of strong mineralisation within the Aurora zone, particularly connecting to hole FSDH048 which is 160 m to the south-east. This hole was drilled to a final depth of 1 352 m and is outside the resource shell below a depth of 380 m.