Fitzroy Minerals Inc. (TSXV: FTZ, OTCQX: FTZFF, FSE: C3Y) has released an exploration update for its 100%-owned Buen Retiro Copper Project near Copiapo, Chile, highlighting channel samples averaging 2.96% copper from the historical open pit and continued drilling success. The results underscore the potential for expanding mineral resources and advancing the project toward a Pre-Feasibility Study targeted for completion in Q1 2027.
The company collected 21 one-metre channel samples from the historical Buen Retiro open pit, with an arithmetic average grade of 2.96% Cu and a maximum of 10.68% Cu. Seventeen of the samples returned above 1.0% Cu, and four exceeded 5.0% Cu. These results are complemented by historical drill data, including hole BRT-DDH-013 which intersected 7 metres at 2.78% Cu from 130 metres and 30 metres at 3.52% Cu from 141 metres, approximately 30-55 metres below the current pit floor. This indicates that high-grade mineralization extends beyond the historical mining limits, which focused only on oxide material.
Drilling continues with three diamond drill rigs on site, and a reverse circulation rig will be added next week. Drill hole BRT-DDH099, located 70 metres south of the pit, intersected 113 metres of tenorite (CuO) mineralization from 3.5 metres downhole, with visual estimates averaging approximately 1.0% Cu. This intercept has been submitted for over-limit analysis as it exceeds standard exploration assay limits. The company has increased its 2026 drilling program from 7,000 to 10,000 metres due to continued shallow mineralization, and an additional 5,000-metre program targeting the Pit Area is underway.
Metallurgical test work is ongoing, with initial mini-column results expected in July. These will be incorporated into the Project Development Plan that will support the Environmental Permit Application scheduled for October 2026. The Pre-Feasibility Study remains on track for Q1 2027. The company is also working with Pucobre S.A. on engineering and commercial aspects of the Heap Leach Development Plan.
Assay results have been delayed due to congestion at ALS Global laboratory and customs issues at the Chile-Peru border. To mitigate delays, Fitzroy is sending samples from the Pit Area to SGS Laboratories in Santiago, which offers shorter turnaround times. Additionally, the company's geologists are using visual grade estimation to request over-limit analysis for samples estimated at 0.9% Cu and above, saving up to two weeks per batch.
Fitzroy President and CEO Merlin Marr-Johnson emphasized the project's advantages: "Not all copper mineralization is equal, and the copper that Fitzroy is delineating at Buen Retiro has extraordinary advantages such as proximity to processing and transport infrastructure, low elevation, no human habitation, and being located at a brownfields site in Chile, which has a pro-mining legislation and a copper industry looking for new production."
The company also completed a passive seismic infill survey using Fleet Space Technologies' Ambient Noise Tomography, which identified zones of elevated fracturing and host-rock alteration. These results will be integrated into ongoing work programs. Fitzroy expects to regain a regular monthly reporting cadence for assay results from July onward.
For more details on the project and company, visit Fitzroy Minerals' website. The original press release is available on NewMediaWire.
