VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 25, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Regulus Resources Inc. ("Regulus"), (TSX.V:REG) is very pleased to announce that diamond drilling has commenced at its AntaKori copper-gold project in northern Peru. This initial drilling program will total 15,000-18,000 m of diamond core from 20-25 holes averaging 700-800 m in depth. Drilling has commenced with one drill rig, with plans to increase to a total of four drill rigs by mid-year to allow completion of the program by approximately October. The objective of the program will be to better characterize and increase the size of the existing resource at AntaKori, culminating in an updated NI 43-101 resource estimate with a target date for completion of January 2018.
The AntaKori project currently hosts an inferred resource of 294.8 million tonnes with a grade of 0.48% Cu, 0.36 g/t Au and 10.2 g/t Ag based upon 17,950 m of drilling by previous operators (see Southern Legacy Minerals press release of July 3, 2012) (Southern Legacy Minerals and the Company entered into a business arrangement in 2014 and kept the name Regulus Resources Inc.) Mineralization remains open in most directions and the current drilling program will approximately double the total drill meterage at the project.
Copper-gold sulfide mineralization at AntaKori occurs within skarn and breccias within Cretaceous sedimentary rocks and also as younger epithermal high-sulphidation mineralization in overlying Miocene volcanic rocks that host the adjacent Tantahuatay heap-leach gold mine to the south. The younger high-sulphidation mineralization locally overprints the earlier skarn mineralization, particularly along the southern extent of the AntaKori system. The skarn and breccia hosted mineralization is likely related to a porphyry copper-gold intrusive center, that is yet to be intersected by drilling, although there are fragments of well-mineralized porphyry locally within some of the breccias. The current drilling program will be completed as per the collaborative agreement previously announced (see Regulus news release of January 23, 2017). Due to timing of the permitting process, drilling will commence along the southern extent of the Regulus AntaKori property and gradually move northward into the center of the known mineralized system. The initial holes will encounter the overlying Miocene volcanic rocks and high-sulphidation style mineralization prior to entering into the Cretaceous sedimentary sequence at depth. As the drilling progresses to the north, the volcanic rocks terminate and drill holes will enter directly into the porphyry/skarn environment within the Cretaceous sedimentary sequence.
John Black, Chief Executive Officer of Regulus, commented as follows: “There is a great amount of satisfaction and excitement to see a drill rig turning at AntaKori after several years of patient and diligent work to get everything set up for this moment. Despite a setback of a few weeks due to unusually heavy rains that wreaked havoc with roads and bridges in northern Peru and delayed the arrival of drilling equipment, we now have the first rig operating and are well-positioned to ramp up the program in the following months. This initial drilling campaign will total 15,000-18,000 m leading to an updated resource estimate by a target date of January 2018. Upon completion of this phase of drilling, we will likely move directly to the next phase with continuous drilling anticipated for the next several years as we define the full extent of the AntaKori mineralization.”
About Regulus Resources Inc.
Regulus Resources Inc. is an international mineral exploration company run by an experienced technical and management team, with a portfolio of precious and base metal exploration properties located in North and South America. For further information on Regulus Resources Inc., please consult our website at www.regulusresources.com.
Qualified Persons
The scientific and technical data contained in this news release pertaining to the AntaKori project has been reviewed and approved by John E. Black, (Member AusIMM), Regulus’ CEO, who serves as the qualified person (QP) under the definitions of National Instrument 43-101.
