VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - June 22, 2017) - Atico Mining Corporation (Atico" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:ATY) (OTC PINK:ATCMF) is pleased to announce the discovery of a surface exposure of a copper-rich massive sulfide, cropping out some 130 meters north of the El Roble mine mineralization.
Fernando E. Ganoza, CEO, commented: "We are very excited about this new discovery as it continues to demonstrate the potential of the El Roble property. In the weeks to come, the explorations team will continue to work in the Archie target area to prepare in preparation for drill testing." Mr. Ganoza added, "We are looking forward to results from our ongoing regional drill program which will continue throughout this year, including testing of the immediate areas below and around the newly discovered outcrop."
The discovery was made while following up on pathfinder element geochemical vectors and the planning of a fence of four drill holes between the El Roble and the Archie target. Three channel samples on the outcrop assayed consistently high copper grades as shown in the table below:
| # Sample | East | North | Elevation | Type | Cu (%) | Au (ppm) |
| AT16-0232 | 374839 | 655664 | 2276 | Chanel 1.2m | 7.168 | 0.21 |
| AT16-0234 | 374839 | 655664 | 2276 | Chanel 1.1m | 12.468 | 0.11 |
| AT16-0234 | 374839 | 655664 | 2276 | Chanel 1.0m | 9.472 | 0.09 |
The massive sulfide outcrop shows both banded and breccia textures Figure 1 similar to those encountered in the mine mineralization. The relatively low gold grades may indicate a slightly more distal position to the gold-rich, central, portion of the El Roble mineralization that has been mined to date. Figure 2 shows a long section of the El Roble mine with the position of the massive sulfide outcrop indicated relative to known mineralization as well as the proposed drill holes.
Figure 1. In situ massive sulfide outcrop showing location of channel samples with very high copper grades
The mineralized outcrop occurs north of an inferred fault which appears to truncate the north end of the El Roble mineralization and thus extends it across the fault into an area having a gap in the previous drilling. It is possible that the mineralization may be a continuation to surface of the northernmost lens of mineralization encountered on the 2000 level of the mine, a vertical distance of about 300 meters.
The nine planned drill holes are designed to test the favorable "black chert" - basalt contact zone underneath the newly discovered massive sulfide outcrop and further to the north to a depth of 300 meters.
This new discovery of massive sulfide opens up the possibility of finding additional mineralization north of mine in the "drill gap" and possibly even further north and at depth.
Figure 2. Longitudinal section view of the El Roble mine vicinity
El Roble Mine
The El Roble mine is a high grade, underground copper and gold mine with nominal processing plant capacity of 800 tonnes per day, located in the Department of Choco in Colombia. Its commercial product is a copper-gold concentrate.
Since obtaining control of the mine on November 22, 2013, Atico has upgraded the operation from a historical nominal capacity of 400 tonnes per day.
El Roble has a measured and indicated resource of 1.87 million tonnes grading 3.46% copper and 2.27 g/t gold, at a cut-off grade of 0.93% copper equivalent. Mineralization is open at depth and along strike and the Company plans to further test the limits of the resource.
On the larger land package, the Company has identified a prospective stratigraphic contact between volcanic rocks and black and grey pelagic sediments and cherts that has been traced by Atico geologists for ten kilometers. This contact has been determined to be an important control on VMS mineralization on which Atico has identified numerous target areas prospective for VMS type mineralization occurrence, which is the focus of the current surface drill program at El Roble.
Qualified Control
Dr. Demetrius Pohl, Ph.D., AIPG Certified Geologist, a qualified person under NI 43-101 standards and independent of the Company, is responsible for ensuring that the information contained in this news release is an accurate summary of the original reports and data provided to or developed by Atico Mining Corporation. Dr. Pohl has approved the scientific and technical content of this news release.
About Atico Mining Corporation
Atico is a growth-oriented Company, focused on exploring, developing and mining copper and gold projects in Latin America. The Company operates the El Roble mine and is pursuing additional acquisition opportunities. For more information, please visit www.aticomining.com.
