Vancouver, April 11, 2023 – Camino Minerals Corporation (TSXV: COR) (OTC: CAMZF) (WKN: A116E1) (“Camino” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce exploration results from step-out drilling at its Los Chapitos copper property (“Los Chapitos” or the “Project”) near the coastal city of Chala in the department of Arequipa in Peru. New exploration targets at Diana, Lourdes, Koji Norte, and Koji Sur; were tested for the first time where the Company is targeting large-scale disseminated manto-type copper mineralization to support resource delineation studies at Los Chapitos and to identify new open-pit copper oxide deposits that could potentially be aggregated into a mine plan. The recently completed drill campaign aimed to expand beyond the previously identified Adriana zone, the main zone of mineralization at Los Chapitos with over 20,000 meters of drilling that is summarized in the Company’s corporate presentation. Camino and its partner Nittetsu Mining Co., Ltd. (“Nittetsu”) plan to commence the next phase of drilling in the second half of 2024.
Highlights of the First Phase of Drilling:
Diana Mineralized Zone:
- 25m @ 1.34 % Cu, 13.1 g/t Ag from surface in DCH-112
Lourdes Mineralized Zone:
- 7m @ 0.79% Cu from 20.2m depth, including 4.5m @ 1.37% Cu, 6.24 g/t Ag in DCH-100
- The intercept in DCH-100 potentially extends copper oxide mineralization 120 meters along strike connecting to intercepts in the 2022 drill program at Lourdes of:
- 5m @ 0.93% Cu from surface, including 7.5m @ 2.58% Cu in DCH-97 and
- 1m @ 1.32% Cu from 29m depth in DCH-92
Jay Chmelauskas, CEO of Camino said “we are committed to expanding the boundaries of exploration at Los Chapitos to unlock the potential of our significant land package. The recent success of our step-out drilling campaign has revealed high-grade copper mineralization across significant intervals, underscoring the potential of the copper mineralizing system at Los Chapitos. The discovery of the Diana zone and the extension of the Lourdes zone reaffirm our strategic focus of identifying new deposits that could significantly contribute to our resource delineation studies and ultimately form our mine planning strategies.”
The objective of the step-out drilling campaign that was completed in March 2024 at Los Chapitos was to explore for new zones of oxide copper mineralization. Drillholes targeted new areas more than 2 km from the known copper mineralization in the Adriana copper zone (Figure 6). The program was designed to test for buried copper stratabound mantos located near the copper-controlling structures like the Diva Fault Trend. In this first drilling phase, a total of 15 drillholes were completed to depths of ~150 metres (to a maximum of depth 256 metres) for a total of 2,225.7 metres drilled. Drilling results are summarized in Table 1.
The program was successful at identifying or extending two new high-grade copper areas at the Diana and Lourdes zones (Figure 1). At other tested targets, such as Olguita, Melissa Norte, or Koji Sur, low-grade strata bound copper intercepts were encountered, or leaching zones were identified where copper zones had been previously leached, leaving trace remnants of copper. In addition to the planned follow-up drilling program in the Fall of 2024, Camino and Nittetsu plan to continue to expand exploration at Los Chapitos to the major mineralized trend at Atajo and surface mapping along the La Estancia trend.
Figure 1 . Oxide copper “manto” is hosted in a favorable vesicular andesitic flow, copper wad (black patches), chrysocolla, and malachite mineralization up to 1.37% Cu over 4.5 meters and 0.79% Cu over 12.7 m in DCH-100.
Diana Zone Drillhole Intercepts
Drillhole DCH-112 was collared approximately 15 metres west of a trench that graded 56m of 1.05% Cu, therefore, it is possible that up to 10 metres of additional copper mineralization was missed in the wall of the drilling platform.
DCH-112 intercepted (Figure 4):
- 25.0m @ 1.34 % Cu, 13.10 g/t Ag from surface; and
- 5.9m @ 0.17 % Cu, 5.35 g/t Ag at 34.2 meters.
Three drillholes at Diana tested targets based on geological mapping work and geochemical sampling of rocks and soils that showed both soil and trench copper and silver anomalies. It is interpreted that stratabound copper extends to drillhole DCH-098, located 100 metres from DCH-112, where stratabound intercepts of 5.5m @ 0.17 % Cu , 4.62 g/t Ag at 105.8 meters depth, and 7.3 m of 0.16% Cu in sulphide at 155.5 m. The high-grade intercept in DCH-112 of 1.34% Cu over 25 metres outcrops at surface, is open to the north and south, and at depth, to explore for a copper feeder zone. Diana is located over 2km north of the copper mineralized Adriana zone, and 1.5 kilometers northeast of the Lourdes copper intercepts.
Figure 2. Cross section of high-grade copper intercept at the Diana zone.
Lourdes Drillhole Intercepts and Zone Extension
During the 2022 exploration campaign (see news release dated September 7, 2022), Camino achieved its exploration objective of discovering a new copper satellite at the Lourdes target. The results of this exploration campaign can be summarized as:
- 5m @ 0.93% Cu from surface, including 7.5m @ 2.58% Cu in DCH-97
- 2m @ 0.70% Cu from surface, including 31m @ 1.23% Cu in DCH-80
- 5m @ 1.34% Cu from 55m depth, including 7.4m @ 2.32% Cu in DCH-89
- 1m @ 1.32% Cu from 29m depth in DCH-92
- 6m @ 0.64% Cu from 73m depth in DCH-96
The second phase of exploration at the Lourdes target was carried out with five diamond drillholes, in which copper and silver stratiform bodies were intercepted and evaluated by Camino. The program successfully extended the corridor of mineralization by over 120 metres along a new north-south corridor from the Lourdes drill intercepts in 2022, to the new Lourdes intercepts in March 2024 (Figure 3).
DCH-100 intercepted:
- 7m @ 0.79 % Cu, 3.45 g/t Ag in copper oxides at depth 20.2 meters
- Surface evidence and geological mapping indicate that this oxide copper mineralization may continue to extend towards the north and the south of current drilling (Figure 4)
Figure 3. Southern extent of the Lourdes “manto” type copper oxide mineralization.
(A) position of DCH-100 next to mapped outcrops of copper mineralization (red polygons), inferred boundary of copper mineralization (red dashed). (B) Oxide copper “manto” outcrop is hosted in a favorable vesicular andesitic flow.
The next phase of exploration and drilling plans to focus on structural controls and proximity to intrusive bodies that act as conduits for hydrothermal fluids to create mineralized copper mantos. In addition, primary permeable and secondary permeable (fractures) lithological controls add to the supergene oxidation processes and generate zoning, along with the historical water table that existed in the area.
The DCH drillholes 101, 102, 103, 81, and 97 at Lourdes demonstrate leaching zones, the enrichment of copper oxides and mineralized mantos for further follow up and vectoring, including Melissa Norte that projects to the northwest of the area based on soil studies carried out during geological mapping campaigns in October 2023.
Figure 4. Cross section at Lourdes zone of copper oxide manto intercept in drillhole DCH-100.
Table 1. Table of all drill hole assay results.
Figure 5. Location map at Los Chapitos with the yellow box indicating area of recent drilling to March 2024.
Figure 6. Location map of new step-out drillholes completed to March 2024.
Sampling and Assay Procedures
During this campaign, 15 drillholes were completed. Core has been logged and sampled at the Company’s facilities in the town of Chala, 15km from the Project. Industry standard chain of custody and QA/QC practices are followed with samples sent to Lima where they are analyzed by ICP-MS at ALS Chemex Labs’ facility. The Camino geological team complied with the written internal QA/QC procedures, where the insertion of blank samples, certified international standards (pulps) and duplicates met the objectives and acceptable results. Although the results of the QA/QC controls are acceptable, the traceability analysis processes continue mainly for Silver values in hole DCH-105, not only in the sampling process but also in the geochemical analysis laboratory.
About Camino
Camino is a discovery and development stage copper exploration company. Camino is focused on advancing its high-grade Los Chapitos copper project located in Peru through to resource delineation and to add new discoveries. Camino has also permitted the Maria Cecilia copper porphyry project for a planned exploration drilling program. In addition, Camino has increased its land position at its copper and silver Plata Dorada project. Camino seeks to acquire a portfolio of advanced copper assets that have the potential to deliver copper into an electrifying copper intensive global economy. For more information, please refer to Camino’s website at www.caminocorp.com.
Jose A. Bassan, FAusIMM (CP) 227922, MSc. Geologist, an independent geologist and a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, has reviewed and approved the technical contents of this document. Mr. Bassan has reviewed and verified relevant data supporting the technical disclosure, including sampling and analytical test data.
| ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD | For further information, please contact: |
| /S/ “Jay Chmelauskas” | Camino Investor Relations |
| President and CEO | info@caminocorp.com |
| Tel: (604) 493-2058 |
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements: Certain disclosures in this release constitute forward-looking information. In making the forward-looking disclosures in this release, the Company has applied certain factors and assumptions that are based on the Company’s current beliefs as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company. Forward-looking information in the release includes the prospectivity of future exploration work at Los Chapitos and the receipt of necessary authorizations and approvals. Although the Company considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available to it, they may prove to be incorrect, and the forward-looking information in this release is subject to numerous risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause future results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking information. Such risk factors include, among others, that actual results of the Company’s exploration activities may be different than those expected by management, that the Company may be unable to obtain or will experience delays in obtaining any required authorizations and approvals and the state of equity and commodity markets. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company does not intend, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to, update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
