Aguia Resources Limited (ASX:AGR) is one of the metals and mining players listed on ASX that focuses on the advancement of its copper exploration assets. The Company is also focussed on advancement of its phosphate assets located in Southern parts of Brazil.
The Company first introduced its initial copper discoveries in March 2018 and now has a significant standing in what is known as the Rio Grande Copper Belt. The large tenement position of AGR was enhanced by the acquisition in February 2019 of the Andrade Copper Project and associated and nearby tenement packages including the Primavera Target.
Till date, the Company has uncovered numerous copper targets showing that copper is indeed widespread across the region and have therefore advanced efforts on several targets including:
- Andrade
- Canhada
- Passo Feio
- Carlota
- Primavera
- Seival
AGR further looks forward to carrying out drilling activities at Andrade, Canhada, Passo Feio and Primavera in the upcoming near term.
AGR is fortunate enough to find copper in areas near to its phosphate operations since copper is worth approximately 40 times the price of phosphate. AGR believes that the planned development of Três Estradas Phosphate Project (TEPP) and Mata Grande shall provide cash flow to fund significant copper drilling over time.
Copper Operations at a Glance:
Aguia’s copper exploration activities kicked off when the Company discovered a fresh zone of copper mineralisation on ground staked within the Rio Grande Copper Belt in the year 2018 as a result of regional exploration activities carried out in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
Subsequently,
- the Company successfully secured a strategic land package along the Rio Grande Copper Belt, totalling 77,500 hectares across 53 tenements, and
- and identified six mineralised targets, Canhada, Big Ranch, Carlota, Passo Feio, Seival and Lagoa Parada, within the belt.
Further, AGR received promising results from the soil sampling and ground geophysics at Big Ranch, which was followed by an initial scout drilling program of 11 holes for 2,224 metres. The initial scout drilling program helped in defining a large system of hydrothermal alteration with mineralisation in 7 of 11 holes.
The results from the drilling assisted in better understanding the mineralization under the surface as well as help the management in devising the best ways to deliver value to shareholders.
During the fiscal year 2019, Aguia had completed an intensive 60-day due diligence of the Primavera Project including the Andrade copper deposit and received satisfactory results which increased the prospects of the project.
The Company later executed an Option Agreement to acquire 8 permits called the Primavera Project from Referencial Geologia Ltda during the March 2019 Quarter. The acquired area is located to the west and southwest of the city of Caçapava within the Rio Grande Copper Belt and includes the Andrade copper deposit.
Post-acquisition, the holdings of Aguia in the Rio Grande Copper Belt increased by 9,282 hectares for total area of 86,782 hectares
Latest Operations Update
Lately, during March 2020, AGR announced the completion of a diamond drilling program in the Rio Grande Copper Belt and received highly encouraging results as they intercepted mineralization but also validated AGR’s 3D modelling of a plunging high-grade zone.
The drilling program confirmed the north and south extensions of the high-grade copper zone within the existing Andrade Mineral Resource area, where:
Hole AND-20-004 returned:
- 6.65 metres at 1.63% copper and 6.47 g/t silver from 60.05 metres including a higher-grade zone of 3.75 metres at 2.07% copper and 8.24 g/t silver from 60.85 metres
Hole AND-20-005 returned:
- 41 metres at 0.56% copper and
- 5.57 g/t silver from surface including
- higher-grade zones of 8 metres at 1.02% copper and 8.06 g/t silver from 4 metres depth
- 3.05 metres at 1.00% copper and 22.22 g/t silver from 37 metres
In the upcoming quarter, AGR looks forward to taking up initial metallurgical test work to investigate the behaviour of the copper mineralization and to see if they are amenable to leaching; however, AGR is optimistic that Andrade is likely to be a relatively low-cap, fast start-up heap leaching operation
The geological environment at the Rio Grande Copper Belt is highly prospective, and the Andrade Copper Project has the potential to become a core regional project acting as a central point for regional copper discoveries.
The AGR stock closed at a price of $0.081 on 29 April 2020 with a market capitalisation of $ 17.89 million.
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