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- Recent drilling has expanded Tesoro’s (TSO) Ternera mineralisation length by 25 per cent, and it remains open in all directions
- Top 10 gold producer Gold Fields has invested $4.2 million as part of Tesoro’s recent $8 million capital raise
- Raised funds will be used for further drilling, permits and studies to further demonstrate gold mineralisation at El Zorro
- Chile is the number one country for mining investment and development on the South American continent, the world’s largest copper producer for the past five decades, and also the world’s second-largest producer of lithium
Tesoro — aptly named after the Spanish word for ‘treasure’ — has struck gold once again at its ‘foxy’ El Zorro project in northern Chile. And with it, essentially growing the resource area by an additional 25 per cent.
The latest results have spurred Tesoro’s focus to accelerate El Zorro into a world-class gold resource, concentrating on further proving up its more-than-one-kilometre-long Ternera Deposit.
Desert Fox
Nestled in the resource-rich Atacama Desert in northern Chile, El Zorro ‘the fox’ covers over 570 square kilometres and currently has a defined gold resource of 1.1 million ounces (Moz) within the project area.
An extensive drilling program this year recently confirmed a significant gold mineralisation extension within its flagship Ternera Deposit.
The assay highlight — Hole ZDDH0309 — intersected multiple gold strikes 200 metres outside the project’s confirmed mineral resource estimate (MRE) area, boosting the strike length from 800 metres to one kilometre — a whopping 25 per cent increase.
Drill cores showed intercepts of 57 metres at 1.17 grams per tonne (g/t) gold, as well as 13.5 metres at 3.63 g/t gold, categorising the find as a new, shallow, high-grade gold zone with significant potential to increase the already 1.1Moz project resource.
A further increase in the resource estimate would likely make the project viable for development — a massive step for the company and investors alike.
Tesoro Managing Director, Zeff Reeves said the team was thrilled with the drill results, particularly from Hole ZDDH0309, which showcased the huge growth potential for the Ternera Deposit.
“The Tesoro team has successfully found a large, near-surface, high-grade mineralised zone which adds another 200 metres of strike to the already 800-metre-long resource area”, Mr Reeves said.
“Ternera continues to deliver top-class results [and we look forward to] significant growth potential ahead.”
The impact of a strike of this magnitude should not be underestimated, as intercepts such as ZDDH0309 at Ternera often catch the eye of bigger players that look to add their expertise to further prove up resources and help move explorers into development.
And that’s exactly what’s happened…
Just days ago, South African gold mining giant Gold Fields — one of the Top 10 gold producers in the world — threw its hat in the ring with a $4.2 million share purchase through its subsidiary, Corporate International, as part of an $8 million capital raise by Tesoro.
In mining circles, investments like these read more like statements to the market and often materialise into further growth in the gold sector.
Mr Reeves said he was excited to have attracted Gold Fields as a strategic investor in Tesoro’s El Zorro project.
“We believe this investment represents tremendous confidence in El Zorro and our team and recognition of the significant potential of the project,” Mr Reeves said.
Funds are set to be used for multiple drilling targets, further mining studies and permits as they hunt down an expansion of El Zorro’s Ternera Gold Deposit and multiple new deposits.
Chile: A hotbed of mining activity
A nation strewn vertically along South America’s Pacific west coast, Chile is widely known in the resources sector for its remarkable geology, high-grade ore deposits and mature mining industry.
Its elongated western margin contains the Andes — the world’s longest mountain building region on earth — that has, over millions of years of tectonic activity, turned it into a hotbed of subduction zones full of valuable ore deposits; including copper, lithium, iron ore and gold.
The Chilean Government actively supports a sophisticated mining sector within its borders, cementing its position as the region’s number one destination for mining investment according to the US Geological Survey’s latest Mineral Commodity Summaries report.
A miner’s dream, the country also boasts a remarkably qualified labour force, low-cost energy infrastructure, modern transportation networks and modern international compliance and legal standards.
It’s already the world’s largest copper producer, providing almost a third of the world’s consumption, and home to the world’s largest copper mine, Escondida — majority owned by the Big Aussie itself, BHP.
Gold production in Chile amounted to about 34 metric tonnes (mt) in 2021, up from 32mt a year earlier, and there are promising signs that the post-COVID mining industry in the South American country, will only continue to improve as Chilean mining minister Marcela Hernandes recently dispelled concerns about industry tax hikes within the nation.
With all junior exploration miners — especially in the gold sector — timing, expertise and backing are all major forces behind projects getting off the ground.
So, can El Zorro prove to be the next ‘Tesoro’ in northern Chile?
