Aguia Resources (AGR:ASX) has announced promising initial drill results from its Santa Barbara gold project in Colombia. The company has completed the first drill hole (SB-25-01) and advanced the second (SB-25-02) significantly. SB-25-01 intersected a 0.7m mineralized quartz vein at 107.4m, approximately 40m below the main Santa Barbara level, showing pyrite, sphalerite, and galena, indicative of gold association. SB-25-02 confirmed the predicted vein offset beyond a fault, validating the in-house structural interpretation.
The drilling program, consisting initially of 25 holes, aims to test an estimated Exploration Target of 2-4 Mt at 20-30 gpt. Aguia plans to introduce a second drill rig to accelerate the program and extend drilling to intersect known mineralized vein systems at depth. Executive Chairman Warwick Grigor believes these results position the company for potential share price appreciation, correlating with the ‘Lassonde Curve.’
Both drill holes intersected a >4m zone of sericite alteration with quartz veining, characteristic of epithermal systems. Hole SB-25-01 intersected the target Vein #1, showing mesothermal and epithermal styles of mineralization. Resource definition drilling will focus on understanding vein variations and confirming gold mineralization distribution for grade control and future underground development planning. The geological model suggests that the Santa Barbara vein system is the upper part of the Mariana vein, offset by faulting.
Exploration will expand to trenching along strike to refine drill targets and inventory veins across the property. The project already includes a 30-tonne-per-day pilot plant. Aguia is also advancing other copper and silver projects in Colombia, aiming to transition them into production.
