Tesoro results point due north for Chilean gold growth

Tesoro Gold drilling shows potential ounce additions to Chile’s first discovered intrusive-related gold system
Open northern zone has quickly become a top priority
Drilling continues with aim to prove up a large-scale operation

Special Report: Tesoro Gold’s ongoing drilling has intercepted a wide, shallow and open gold zone to the north of its 1.3Moz Ternera deposit in Chile.

The extensional and infill program of Tesoro Gold (ASX:TSO) is directed at adding ounces to its already weighty El Zorro gold project and this batch of assays won’t dissuade with a headline strike of 68.23m at 1.18 g/t gold from 32.77m including 11.65rm at 3.05g/t.

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The northern zone beyond the current resource remains open in that direction and has become a high priority for Tesoro to grow its gold bounty.

Drilling at the southern end of the deposit also returned shallow, high-grade gold with a top 4.7m at 7.95g/t from 59.2m which included a 1.25m stretch at 28.91g/t.

Tesoro managing director Zeff Reeves said the latest near-surface extensions to the Ternera deposit continued to validate the significant near-term growth potential of the existing resource.

“The results from ZDDH0370 are particularly encouraging, as it has intercepted wide, shallow mineralisation and indicates that the deposit remains open to the north,” Reeves said.

“Any resource ounces we can delineate at shallow depths in this area, are a huge positive given their potential to materially change the stripping ratio of a future open pit mining operation.

“This recent phase of drilling has highlighted several new zones of mineralisation which are now our focus to delineate further resources.”

Reeves added there was more drilling to be done to better define the northern area and southern extensions to the deposit.

And drill it shall, with two diamond rigs set to continue over the coming months and more planned to further expand the resource of its starring deposit.

Current program drill locations with new results in gold. Pic: TSO

Chilean commodities

While a lot of eyes are locked on West Aussie gold and Latin American copper, Tesoro at least reckons it’s good times to be operating in a region where it discovered Chile’s first intrusive-related gold system.

What the company doesn’t know is how big that system could prove to be, or how many more like Ternera might be found.

Watch: Targeting 2Moz and counting

A 2023 scoping study showed a 93Kozpa starter pit running for about seven and a half years from the deposit but Tesoro has laid its ambition a bit higher and towards a district-scale mining project.

Recent results have continued to put a spotlight on the growth potential at Ternera (and beyond) and Tesoro seems to be more than happy drilling away to prove it instead of chasing a quick bump off record gold prices.

This article was developed in collaboration with Tesoro Gold, 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.