Andina Copper Corp. (TSX-V:ANDC) has announced a significant drill intercept at its Piuquenes East project in San Juan Province, Argentina, extending the vertical extent of copper-gold-silver mineralization and indicating increasing gold grades at depth. Drill hole PIU09, the third hole at the target, intersected 126 meters grading 0.46% copper, 0.53 g/t gold, and 2.14 g/t silver from 529 meters depth, within a broader 402-meter interval averaging 0.25% copper, 0.21 g/t gold, and 1.19 g/t silver from 253 meters.
The mineralization is hosted in strongly veined dioritic porphyry with intense sericitic alteration overprinting potassic assemblages, a feature known as telescoping that suggests a gold-rich potassic core may exist at deeper levels. The company noted increasing intensity of A- and B-type veinlets downhole, with local stockwork densities reaching 40-60 veins per meter. Bornite mineralization in potassic alteration zones further supports the potential for higher gold grades at depth. These results follow the initial discovery hole PIU06, which returned 208 meters at 0.31% copper, 0.13 g/t gold, and 1.24 g/t silver.
Follow-up drilling is already underway with hole PIU11, designed to test the northern continuity of the mineralized system and to evaluate a geophysical chargeability anomaly identified by induced polarization (IP) surveying, coincident with a conductive feature from magnetotelluric (MT) data. The company considers this spatial relationship a priority target for expanding the Piuquenes East porphyry center.
In parallel, a second drill rig has commenced testing a deep, low-resistivity anomaly at Piuquenes North, immediately adjacent to the Piuquenes Central deposit. The MT anomaly, extending from approximately 600 meters below surface to well below current drilling depths, is interpreted as a potential magmatic-hydrothermal source for the overlying mineralization at Piuquenes East and Central. Hole PIU12 is testing this feature, with a second hole PN02 planned. The company’s corporate presentation is available at Andina Copper Corporate Presentation.
The results from PIU09 confirm that the Piuquenes East system remains open at depth and laterally. The company emphasized that the deeper mineralized interval is chalcopyrite-dominant with minor bornite, indicating continued strengthening of the system. The integration of MT data with IP surveys, drilling results, and structural interpretation has improved the understanding of how deeper conductive features relate to shallower porphyry-style mineralization, suggesting that the known deposits may be upper-level expressions of a larger system at depth.
Qualified Person Gustavo Zulliger, a consultant of Andina Copper, reviewed and approved the technical information. The company implemented a QA/QC program including certified reference materials, blanks, and duplicates, confirming the reliability of the analytical data. Drill hole PIU09 was logged, sampled, and analyzed at ALS Minerals facilities in Mendoza and Lima, with gold analyzed by fire assay and copper by four-acid digestion.
