Marimaca shares rise on new drill results from flagship project in Chile

Marimaca Copper (TSX: MARI) shares were up Monday after the company announced the completion of the infrastructure condemnation drilling program at its namesake project in the Antofagasta region of Chile.

Highlights include 30 metres at 0.99% copper from 62 metres downhole within a broader zone of 68 metres at 0.51% total copper from the same depth in drill hole SLR-08, located south of the planned plant facilities in the San Lorenzo district.

The program was designed to test and confirm the planned site layout to be incorporated into the company’s ongoing permitting and feasibility study workstreams.

“The discovery of a new mineralized trend identified in the San Lorenzo area will be evaluated further to determine next steps, but it appears the core zone extends to the south away from the project’s infrastructure and offers an interesting target for shallow oxide mineralization,” Marimaca CEO Hayden Locke said.

“Further afield, we have completed a review of our broader exploration package and have identified several areas with exciting potential. We are finalizing 2024 exploration plans particularly for the Sierra de Medina project and will update as new developments occur.”

The Marimaca oxide project feasibility study is on schedule for later this year, with permit submissions targeting the middle of 2024, the company said.

Since its discovery in 2016, Marimaca has more than doubled the deposit’s resource, most recently estimated at 200 million tonnes grading 0.45% copper for 900,000 measured and indicated tonnes. It also 37 million inferred tonnes grading 0.38% copper for 141,000 tonnes.

During the first six years of mining, the open-pit, heap-leach project is expected to deliver 40,000 tonnes of copper cathodes annually. Total recovered copper over the entire 12-year mine life is estimated at about 430,000 tonnes.

Marimaca shares rose 7.3% to $3.23 apiece by mid-day Monday in Toronto, valuing the company at $301.1 million. Its shares traded in a 52-week range of $2.77 and $4.50.