40,000-Metre Infill Resource Drilling Commences at the San Matias Project
VANCOUVER, CANADA – Sarah Armstrong-Montoya, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cordoba Minerals Corp. (TSXV:CDB; OTCQB:CDBMF; otherwise “Cordoba” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce the start of the Feasibility Study (“FS”) technical work program at San Matias (the “Project”) in Colombia.
Highlights:
- The FS will focus on updating the mine plan and mineral resource estimate at the Alacran deposit. It will also involve numerous trade-off studies that are expected to improve project economics.
- A total 40,000-metre infill diamond drilling campaign is planned and will be the Company’s largest drill program conducted to date.
- The 25,000-metre initial phase drill program has commenced. Six drills are currently turning at the central area of the Alacran deposit, an area shown to hosts multiple high-grade mineralized zones.
- The San Matias 2022 Preliminary Feasibility Study (“PFS”) project generated an after-tax NPV of US$415.1M at an 8% discount rate and an IRR of 25.4%, with a 2.2-year payback period using US$3.60/lb copper, US$1,650/oz gold and US$21.00/oz silver (refer to Cordoba’s press release dated January 11, 2022). A 20% increase in input metal prices, to US$4.32/lb copper, US$1,980/oz gold and US$25.20/oz silver, increased the PFS after-tax NPV to US$713.3M at an 8% discount rate and an IRR of 34.4%, with a 2.3-year payback period1. The current spot price for copper is US$4.31/lb2.
“The Preliminary Feasibility Study result announced in January 2022 confirmed that the San Matias Copper-Gold-Silver Project will generate positive economics,” commented Ms. Armstrong-Montoya, President and CEO of Cordoba. “We are excited to continue advancing the Project, designated as a Project of National Interest by the Government of Colombia, towards the feasibility stage.”
San Matias Copper-Gold-Silver Project Feasibility Study – Resource Estimate Upgrade and Project Optimizations
The FS technical work program will initially focus on infill drilling of the Alacran deposit with the objectives of further upgrading the resource confidence and conducting trade-off studies expected to improve project economics. The Feasibility Study for the San Matias Project will be prepared in compliance with National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (“NI 43-101”).
With the submission of Mining Technical Work Plan (Programa de Trabajo y Obras or “PTO”) in November, 2021 (refer to Cordoba’s news release dated November 18, 2021), Cordoba is working towards the completion of the Environmental Impact Assessment (“EIA”). The PTO and EIA are the two required permits in Colombia to license the Project for building and construction of the mine.
San Matias Copper-Gold Silver Project 40,000-Metre Infill Drill Program
The drill program has been designed in two phases. The initial phase of approximately 25,000 metres of drilling will focus on the central area within the Alacran deposit that hosts multiple high-grade mineralized zones with considerable widths. These higher grade zones are located in the Alacran village area where illegal mining occurs, and were previously inaccessible to the Company. Following Cordoba’s significant and ongoing effort to establish and maintain cooperative relationships with the local communities, these important areas have now become accessible for diamond drill testing. The drill program will have an emphasis on the centre and upper portions of the proposed open pit, that is expected to be mined within the first 5 years of operations.
The second phase of approximately 15,000 metres infill drill program will focus on increasing the drill density, providing material to support the metallurgical testing program and upgrading the resource classification within the deeper parts of the Alacran deposit. The company believes that drilling of these areas will have a positive impact on the current mineral resource and mineral reserve base.
