Emerging European metal producer Altamin (ASX:AZI) has been granted an exploration licence for the Corchia Copper-Cobalt Project in northern Italy.
The licence approval also covers an exploration work program targeting copper, cobalt, and associated metals through a historical data assessment, geological mapping, sampling, and geophysics.
The company reports it has lodged all the necessary documentation required to start its work program, and notes these programs have been designed for minimal impact at all stages. Altamin also says they will be conducted in consultation with the local municipalities and other stakeholders in the project area.
“The Corchia mining district was an important source of metal for the Italian market up to their forced closure some 80 years ago”
This initial work will focus on extracting the maximum possible value from inserting the ‘extensive’ historical production and geological data available into a modern exploration GIS system to understand the inter-relationships.
Commenting on the approval, Altamin Managing Director Geraint Harris said: “We are delighted to see our Corchia copper-cobalt project granted. The Corchia mining district was an important source of metal for the Italian market up to their forced closure some 80 years ago.
So far, our initial research indicates that the mineralisation remains open down-dip and along strike at several of the larger historical mines. I am very encouraged that our cost effective low environmental impact modern exploration techniques will generate valuable results for follow-up work.
Corchia and our other metal projects clearly show the dormant mining potential of Italy, and our projects are clearly of relevance to the Italian and European mission of exploring and developing domestic resources of critical metals.”
Altamin reports the exploration licence covers 2,675 hectares and extends over historical mining sites, including near-mine and step-out strike extensions of the host rocks. The company says the exploration licence offers ‘significant’ potential for further mineral discoveries.
The Corchia mineral field contains several historical copper-cobalt production sites with the last being closed in 1943 due to World War II. Available records indicate that 2 of the ‘significant’ mines, Donnini and Speranza, exploited only the surface gossan material and immediate down-dip massive sulphide extensions to depths no greater than about 40m.
Altamin says most of the historic copper production occurred between 1865 and 1943 from the Speranza, Donnini, and Pozzo mines. Historical reports from 1925 state analysis of a 500kg mass sample cut from 2 mining faces on the upper level of Speranza returned 7.8% Cu, and 8.7% Cu each.
The mineralisation was described as massive, consisting of chalcopyrite, copper-bearing pyrite, and sphalerite. The company says descriptive information on ore thickness is rare and varies between the mines, ranging from 0.4m to 5m, however it is unclear whether these descriptions refer to the thickness of the ore zone of the massive sulphide part only.
Altamin is an emerging European metal producer focused on exploring for battery and base metals in Italy. Currently the company holds the Gorno Zinc-Lead and Punta Corna Cobalt projects in northern Italy.
A Scoping Study completed at Gorno in November 2021 estimated an approximate total production target of 6 million tonnes, containing 77% indicated and 23% inferred mineral resources at an annual mining rate of 800,000 tonnes of the 9-year Life of Mine (LOM).
Images: Altamin Ltd
