Los Andes Copper Ltd (TSX-V: LA) announced that it has started further drilling on its wholly-owned Vizcachitas project in Chile.

The company noted that the current drill program will explore the deeper portions of the classic Vizcachitas porphyry copper deposit, where previous drilling has shown higher copper grades at depth. It will also explore the open portion of the deposit to the north and northeast, and fill in the drilling areas before the resources are finalized for the next pre-feasibility study (PFS).

“It is a great pleasure to join the company at a time when a clear world-class copper system is being explored by a professional team with decades of local experience,” said Michael Jones, CEO of Los Andes Copper, in a press release.

READ: Los Andes Copper advances flagship Vizcachitas project, slated to be Chile’s next copper mine

The occurrence of the high-grade copper mineral bornite at depth is an important indicator of potential in many porphyry copper systems, including Vizcachitas, according to the company, which also said geological mapping and geophysics suggest the deposit extends north of previous drilling and resource estimates from current preliminary economic assessment.

Los Andes Copper plans to drill 13,000 meters initially in 18 holes, which will continue in the first quarter of 2022.

The company expects the first drilling results to be available at the start of Q1 2022, while the PFS is expected to be completed by the end of Q1 2022.

Los Andes Copper’s Vizcachitas property underwent a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA), delivered in June 2019, which showed an after-tax net present value (NPV) of US $ 1.8 billion and a rate of internal yield (IRR) of 20.77%, based on a copper price of US $ 3 per pound. The Project has a measured resource of 254.4 million tonnes grading 0.439% copper and an indicated resource of approximately 1.03 billion tonnes grading 0.385% copper.

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