Mining

Culpeo Minerals discovers new copper zone at Lana Corina project

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By Imelda Cotton - 
Culpeo Minerals ASX CPO Las Petacas Project Chile Atacama Desert copper

Culpeo’s 3,200m campaign in Chile will test high-grade copper mineralised zones over a 6km strike length.

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Culpeo Minerals (ASX: CPO) has made multiple high-grade copper hits during maiden drilling at its Lana Corina project in Chile.

Assays for the fifth drillhole showed zones of mineralisation including 49 metres at 0.83% copper and 41 parts per million molybdenum from 216m down to 265m; and 80.87m at 1.06% copper and 145ppm molybdenum down to 383m.

The intercepts demonstrate Lana Corina’s potential to host a significant near-surface copper orebody.

New copper zone

The fifth hole also confirmed the discovery of a new breccia-hosted copper zone which corresponds to a high-priority ground magnetic target known as T3.

The zone was discovered west of the Lana Pipe alongside multiple high priority targets analogous to T3 over a 1km strike.

Culpeo said the discovery had transformed the prospectivity of the northeast sector of the Lana-Corina-Laura mineralised zone.

Copper target scale

The ground magnetic survey highlighted the scale of the copper target footprint at Lana Corina with 13 additional targets identified and appears to be a strong indicator of the district’s potential.

The near surface mineralisation confirmed Culpeo’s exploration model and when coupled with the deeper zone of high-grade copper mineralisation, highlights significant potential to expand the area of known mineralisation.

Near-surface breccia pipes

Diamond drilling continues to focus on testing near-surface breccia pipes with a sixth hole now completed.

A seventh hole is positioned to the southwest of Laura Pipe to target an area south of the first three holes where drilling in May returned 104m at 0.74% copper and 73ppm molybdenum from 155m; 257m at 0.95% copper and 81ppm molybdenum from 170m; and 173m at 1.05% copper and 50ppm molybdenum from 313m.

Culpeo said an increased understanding of copper mineralisation and geometry at Lana Corina would reinforce the view that the project has strong potential to host large-scale, near-surface, high-grade copper and molybdenum mineralisation.

Project acquisition

Culpeo acquired an 80% interest in the Lana Corina project earlier this year and immediately began a maiden drilling program to test high-grade copper which outcrops at surface.

The initial 4,000m diamond drilling program comprises nine holes targeting breccia and porphyry-hosted high-grade copper zones.

Lana Corina is associated with a northeast trending structural zone, which is up to 400m wide in places.