Atacama Pacific Gold initiated a $24.5-million Phase III exploration program on its 100%-owned Cerro Maricunga gold project in Chile’s Maricunga mineral belt. The campaign, which will include 42,000 m of drilling, will target the Cerro Maricunga oxide gold deposit, which currently hosts 92.8 million mt grading 0.54 g/mt gold for 1.616 million oz of gold in the indicated category at a 0.3 g/mt cut-off and a further 116.7 million mt grading 0.52 g/mt for 1.949 million oz in the inferred category.
Three drill rigs were being mobilized to site in November and a further three rigs were scheduled to arrive before the end of the month. Approximately two-thirds of the 42,000 m of planned drilling will be infill drilling, with the goal of converting the existing inferred gold ounces to measured and indicated. The remainder of the budgeted drilling will target resource expansion. (www.atacamapacific.com)
