The work will focus on near-mine extensional drilling targets and greenfields opportunities, defined by the company’s activities during the June quarter, as well as compiling the district deposits into the updated JORC MRE planned for release in September 2024.
Chief executive officer Tim Laneyrie said the company believes in “boots on the ground” geology work and is actively exploring the over 300 square kilometres of granted tenure to generate a robust project pipeline.
“Andean has had a strong and exciting start to its ownership of the Cerro Bayo project in Chile,” Mr Laneyrie said in announcing the company’s June 2024 quarterly report.
“In such a short period, we have not only doubled the existing resource but have had remarkable success with new discoveries across the tenure.”
“We also strengthened our management team to drive the growth strategy, which centres on rapid and substantial increases to the Cerro Bayo mineral resource.”
“Our team on the ground is working toward a September mineral resource update, marking one of many key catalysts that will define the project over the coming year,” he said.
Andean’s confidence in Cerro Bayo’s potential was boosted by the success of its maiden drilling program at the silver-gold project during the quarter.
The company has unveiled a large area of high-grade mineralisation that sits well outside the current MRE.
Initial assays from the Pegaso 7 prospect, located 2km from the existing mineral resource and processing plant, have outlined a mineralised area of 600m along strike to a depth of 300m, remaining open in all directions.
Strong veining structures identical to those hosting the mineralisation in these assays continue 1km along strike.
Andean has utilised the latest drilling and a relogging campaign of the historic drilling from the Pegaso 7 mineralised zone to refine a target model, with plans in place for an expanded drilling campaign.
Andean’s active exploration work during the quarter also defined new walk-up drill targets through the broader Cerro Bayo district including the discovery of another swarm of silver-gold veins, with rock chips returning high-grade assays.
These veins form part of the Guanaco prospect, located around 7km east of the processing facility at Laguna Verde.
The new veins sit near the existing underground and open-pit mining area, which has seen limited systematic exploration during the last 20 years.
Mr Laneyrie said Andean’s continued exploration success across the project demonstrates the potential of the district to yield a significant number of prospective targets for the commencement of the broader regional drilling campaign scheduled for the current financial year.
