FMR Resources Limited (ASX:FMR) has announced the commencement of its maiden drilling program at the Southern Porphyry target within the Llahuin Project Joint Venture with Southern Hemisphere Mining Limited (ASX:SUH) in Chile. FMR Resources is a diversified explorer with a focus on battery and critical minerals exploration and development. Their current Fairfield and Fintry projects are located in Canada, prospective from copper and REE, while the Llahuin Project is located in Chile, prospective for copper, gold, and molybdenite.
The Phase I program will involve approximately 4,000 metres of diamond drilling over the next three months. This drilling is designed to test a large porphyry copper system. The program will integrate geophysical modelling of magnetics, magnetoterllurics, and induced polarisation, along with surface geological mapping and re-logging of historic drillholes, to explore for both shallow epithermal mineralisation and a deeper porphyry copper system.
The first drillhole at Target A is planned to reach a depth of 1,600 metres and is expected to take approximately five weeks to complete. This hole will test relatively shallow IP and MT features interpreted to relate to the Santa Maria epithermal vein system, before continuing to test a large, high-amplitude MT anomaly at depth. Directional drilling capability allows for multiple daughter holes from the same platform.
Downhole geophysics will be conducted on all drillholes to refine existing 3D geophysical models and identify new targets. Assay results are anticipated approximately 4–6 weeks after the completion of each drillhole, with results from subsequent holes to be reported progressively. Managing Director Oliver Kiddie stated that the commencement of drilling marks a significant milestone for FMR and that data from Target A will be critical in refining the understanding of the system and guiding the next stages of drilling.
