Advanced Large Scale Oxide Gold Project - Maricunga Gold Belt, Chile Binding Option Agreement to Purchase 100%
Pantanillo Advanced Large Scale Oxide Gold Project - Maricunga Gold Belt
Sydney, April 14, 2025 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Flagship Minerals Limited (
ASX:FLG) is pleased to advise that it has entered into a binding Option Agreement to Purchase 100% of the Pantanillo Gold Project. Pantanillo is an advanced gold exploration project located in the Maricunga Gold Belt in Northern Chile (see Figures 1 and 2*), it hosts a 47.4Mt @ 0.69g/t Au for 1.05Moz Au qualifying foreign estimate (QFE), with approximately 98% of the QFE amenable to heap leach processing.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Flagship Minerals secures the Pantanillo Gold Project in northern Chile
- Pantanillo hosts 47.4Mt @ 0.69g/t Au for 1.05Moz Au - QFE of mineralisation
- QFE is supported by NI 43-101 and 20,531m of DDH and RC drilling
- Pantanillo is located in Chile's prolific Maricunga Gold Belt, one of Chile's leading gold provinces
- Gold majors Barrick, Newmont, Kinross, Goldfields and others active in the region
- Gold production in the Belt is derived from open cut mines and heap leach processing
- Pantanillo is at the centre of the Belt, which is ~200km long and hosts >65Moz Au QFE1
- Pantanillo mineralisation open down dip and along strike, QFE1 is 0.5km2 of 110km2 concession area
- Hochschild's Volcan Au project with >11Moz Au QFE1 is situated ~10km to the northwest
- Rio2's Fenix Au project with >5.7Moz Au QFE1 ~40km to the north under construction
Flagship Minerals' Managing Director, Paul Lock, commented:
"Securing the Pantanillo Gold Project marks an important milestone, hosting a qualifying foreign estimate of 47.4Mt @ 0.69g/t Au for 1.05Moz Au that is amenable to open cut mining and heap leach processing, the project provides Flagship a material gold inventory and leapfrogs the company several steps closer to feasibility and production.
Pantanillo is well situated, in the centre of the prolific Maricunga Gold Belt (MGB) and sitting adjacent to several substantial projects, including Newmont-Barrick's 27Moz Au Norte Abierto gold project ~40km to the southwest, Kinross' 10.7Moz Au Maricunga gold project ~25km to the west, Hochschild's 11Moz Au Volcan gold project ~10km to the northwest, and Rio2's 5.7Moz Au Fenix gold project ~40km to the north.
What attracts Flagship to Pantanillo? It is the advanced stage of the project, the production history of the MGB, the presence of multiple tier 1 gold producers nearby, and the demonstrated low production costs of oxide gold projects in the MGB, the most recent example with a market capitalisation of ~CAD325 million being TSX listed RIO2's Fenix Gold Project (CVE:RIO) currently under construction, with a 0.48g/t Au head grade, an AISC of $1,237/oz Au, and an initial capital requirement of ~US$117m. Pantanillo is de-risked from an exploration perspective, it has all the merits of a strategically well situated project, it has the potential to be low cost from a capital intensity and opex perspective, and it positions Flagship very well in the current gold price environment.
Pantanillo's 1.05Moz Au mineralisation is classed as a qualifying foreign estimate (QFE) as it has not been prepared in accordance with the JORC Code (2012) guidelines but instead has been prepared in accordance with Canadian Institute of Mining Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) standards and the National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"), the latter being a Canadian securities regulatory instrument that governs the manner that TSX listed companies can disclose mining-related information in Canada."
Overview
The Pantanillo Gold Project (Pantanillo) is located approximately 125 km due east of the city of Copiapo, Chile, in the prolific Maricunga Gold Belt (MGB). The MGB is characterized by epithermal gold +/- silver and porphyry gold +/- copper deposits that are Oligocene - Miocene in age and often associated with extinct strata-volcanoes.
The MGB hosts over 65Moz of gold resources including several world-class multi-million-ounce gold deposits such as the Salares Norte, La Coipa, Fenix, Marte-Lobo, La Pepa, and Abierto Norte deposits. Major gold companies Newmont, Barrick, Kinross and GoldFields are active in the region along with a host of other companies, small and large, private and public (See Figures 1 and 2, and Appendix 2*).
The Exploitation Concessions for the Pantanillo project cover an area of approximately 110km2. The project is devoid of vegetation and occurs at elevations of 4000-4600m. Access to, and throughout the project area is considered excellent. The nearest major centre is the mining city of Copiapo which has a population of roughly 175,000. The city is located approximately 215km by road to the west of the project. Copiapo has excellent services and infrastructure with multiple daily flights to and from Santiago.
The Pantanillo Gold Project marks an important milestone for Flagship, being situated in a prolific gold belt and surrounded by tier 1 gold producers, and hosting a qualifying foreign estimate of 47.4Mt @ 0.69g/t Au for 1.05Moz Au that is amenable to open cut mining and heap leach processing, the project positions Flagship to advance rapidly through to feasibility and thereafter production in a strong gold price market environment.
*To view the full announcement, please visit:
https://abnnewswire.net/lnk/8LF3MA1C
About Flagship Minerals Ltd
Flagship Minerals Ltd's (ASX:FLG) strategy is to secure and develop projects which it believes will position the Company as a low-cost producer of Copper and Lithium, metals that matter. Specifically, Flagship Minerals seeks to secure low capital intensity projects in low-cost jurisdictions and infrastructure rich settings, projects which are positioned for high margin outcomes, and projects which are proximal to industry, chemical processing, and manufacturing.
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