Pathfinder has met another key milestone as it prepares to begin drilling the historic high-grade King Tut gold-cobalt project in the gold prolific La Rioja Province of Argentina with the appointment of a drilling contractor.

Pathfinder Resources (ASX:PF1) has signed on experienced local contractor ConoSur Drilling S.A. to complete the maiden diamond drilling program at the King Tut project.

ConoSur Drilling was formed following a local management buyout in late 2020 of Energold Argentina S.A, a subsidiary of internationally recognised drilling contractor Energold Group.

The new company retained the existing Energold Argentina management and continuity of its strong local experience and operational base in Argentina.

Pathfinder plans to start a six-hole, 1000m diamond drilling program at its King Tut project this month, which could potentially result in the definition of a maiden high-grade gold-cobalt inferred resource.

“This appointment is a key step in progressing our exploration plans at the King Tut project and we are very pleased to be partnering with an established local company of the calibre of ConoSur Drilling,” managing director Shannon Green said.

“With the first hole on target to commence in late March 2021, I look forward to updating our shareholders on the progress and outcomes of the maiden diamond drilling program in the near future.”

The King Tut project has some big-name neighbours like Barrick Gold, one of the largest gold miners in the world, which operates the nearby Veladero mine that produced 226,000oz last year and has around 3.7 million oz in reserves and resources.

The Gualcamayo mine, which is owned by Colombian company Mineros S.A. and regularly produces more than 100,000oz of gold a year, lies to the south, while across the Chilean border to the north-west lies the Cerro Castle project, which contains 23 million oz of gold in reserves.

The aim of maiden diamond drilling at King Tut will be to define the continuity of known mineralisation at depth and provide additional structural information on the regional setting, targeting the gold and cobalt mineralisation along strike and to the west of the King Tut mine.

Reaffirming the high-grade nature of the historic mine, Pathfinder’s maiden geological mapping and rock chip sampling program earlier this year returned high-grade mineralisation of up to 37g/t gold and 2.57 per cent cobalt outside of the veins mined at King Tut.


This article was developed in collaboration with Pathfinder Resources, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

 

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.