Aguia Resources’ latest NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Atocha Property in Colombia reveals significant high-grade gold and silver mineralization, supported by extensive drilling and sampling. The company proposes a CAD$600,000 exploration budget to advance this promising project.
- Atocha Property covers 2,584 hectares in Tolima, Colombia
- High-grade gold and silver veins confirmed by 43 diamond drill holes totaling 5,083m
- Mineralization linked to orogenic and epithermal systems in Paleozoic schists
- Proposed CAD$600,000 budget for detailed mapping, sampling, and 2,500m drilling
- Strategic adjacency to Outcrop Gold and Silver’s Santa Ana project
Overview of the Atocha Property
Aguia Resources Ltd. has released a comprehensive NI 43-101 Technical Report on its wholly owned Atocha Property (HFL-151C1), located in the Tolima Department of Colombia. Spanning over 2,584 hectares, the project lies approximately 15 km southwest of Mariquita and 190 km west of Bogotá. The report, prepared by qualified geologists A. David V. Heyl and Raul Sanabria, synthesizes a decade of exploration data, including recent drilling campaigns and surface sampling.
Geological and Structural Context
The Atocha Property is situated within the Cajamarca-Valdivia terrane, characterized by highly deformed Paleozoic schists intruded by Paleocene-Eocene plutons. The mineralization is structurally controlled, hosted primarily in quartz veins containing significant amounts of pyrite, sphalerite, galena, and silver sulfosalts. These veins are associated with major regional fault systems, including the Romeral Fault System and the Palestina Fault, which have influenced vein orientation and mineralization patterns.
The deposit type is interpreted as a polymetallic orogenic gold-silver system overprinted by a low-sulphidation epithermal event. This two-stage mineralization process has produced high-grade gold and silver values, with notable lead and zinc credits, hosted within competent green and black schists of the Cajamarca Formation.
Exploration Highlights and Drilling Results
Historical and recent exploration has identified multiple high-grade veins, including La Ye, La Ye West, Veta Grande East, Veta Grande West, Veta NW, and Tavera. Surface sampling returned exceptional grades, such as 14.65 g/t gold and up to 3,480 g/t silver in the Veta Grande East vein. Drilling by Baroyeca Gold & Silver Inc. from 2021 to 2023 included 43 diamond drill holes totaling 5,083 meters, confirming thick and high-grade vein intersections. For example, hole AT-21-02 intersected 0.80 meters grading 2,233.5 g/t silver equivalent, and hole AT-22-10 intersected over 5 meters of true vein thickness with significant silver-gold values despite weathering effects.
Phase 2 drilling at La Ye West delineated a mineralized shoot extending approximately 200 meters along strike, with assays up to 986.58 g/t silver equivalent over 0.40 meters. Although some wide vein intervals lacked sulfides and precious metals, the overall drilling results demonstrate robust mineralization continuity and potential for resource expansion.
Legal, Environmental, and Community Framework
The property is fully owned by Aguia Resources through its Colombian subsidiary Minera La Fortuna SAS and operates under a valid exploration license. The report details Colombia’s mining legal framework, including title application procedures, financial compensations such as royalties and surface fees, and environmental permitting requirements. While no formal environmental impact studies have been completed yet, the company maintains active community engagement and plans further social and environmental assessments as exploration advances.
Next Steps and Recommendations
The report recommends a focused exploration program with a CAD$600,000 budget, including detailed geological mapping, surface sampling, trenching, and a 2,500-meter diamond drilling campaign. Emphasis will be placed on refining structural models, targeting fold-thrust hinge mineralization, and advancing high-grade shoots at La Ye, Tavera, and Veta Grande East. The company also plans to leverage geophysical tools such as Lidar to identify additional targets across the largely unexplored property.
Strategically, the Atocha Project benefits from its proximity to Outcrop Gold and Silver Corp.’s Santa Ana project, which shares similar geology and mineralization styles, underscoring the district’s potential as a significant precious metals province.
Bottom Line?
Aguia’s Atocha Project stands at a pivotal stage, with robust drilling results and a clear exploration roadmap poised to unlock its high-grade gold-silver potential.
Questions in the middle?
- Will Aguia advance to a maiden resource estimate following the proposed drilling program?
- How will surface rights and environmental permitting progress impact exploration timelines?
- Can the company leverage regional structural controls to expand mineralized zones beyond current targets?