Australian Critical Minerals (ASX:ACM) has identified potential for both epithermal and porphyry mineralisation at its Flint Gold Project in Peru following results from phase-one drilling.
Assay results from drill hole FL_DDH002 confirmed advanced argillic alteration with elevated antimony, arsenic, tellurium, and silver from surface to 54m. ACM says the hole was extended to 656.7m after geologists noted encouraging alteration vectors.
Executive Chairman Dean de Largie says the phase-one drilling program has materially improved ACM’s understanding of the Flint hydrothermal system.
“[The program] has strengthened the epithermal model and generated a credible deeper porphyry-related target concept,” de Largie says.
“These results are consistent with the high-sulphidation epithermal exploration model being evaluated at Flint.”
At depth, FL_DDH002 intersected increasingly intense phyllic alteration with substantial pyrite and low-level copper and molybdenum anomalism from 190–656m. Peak molybdenum reached 23 parts per million (ppm), while copper ranged from 75ppm to 131ppm with localised gold.
The phase-one program totalled 1,773.3m across four diamond holes designed to test resistivity anomalies in the northern project area.
Following an integrated review with Global Ore Discovery, the company identified two large conductive targets — Lithocap Target 1 (1,000m by 500m) and Lithocap Target 2 (800m by 400m) — that could conceal significant porphyry mineralisation at depth.
“These results provide encouraging geological and geochemical vectors supporting the potential for a concealed porphyry-related system within the broader Flint alteration footprint,” de Largie says.
ACM is designing a follow-up program incorporating WorldView-3 satellite alteration mapping, drone magnetic surveys, systematic soil and rock chip geochemistry, and induced polarisation geophysics.
Flint is located within an epithermal-porphyry metallogenic belt in northern Peru, roughly 60km from the La Arena epithermal gold-silver and porphyry copper-gold system.
According to ACM, the project’s geophysical and geochemical signature is comparable to Andean porphyry-epithermal systems, including Filo del Sol — jointly owned by BHP Group (ASX:BHP) and Lundin Mining (TSX:LUN) — Atex Resources’ (TSX-V:ATX) Valeriano, and Mogotes Metals’ (TSX-V:MOG) Filo Sur.
Australian Critical Minerals is a resource explorer developing a portfolio of gold, silver, copper, and critical mineral projects.
Write to Paula Fabe at Mining.com.au
Images: Australian Critical Minerals
