FenixOro CEO John Carlesso: Discovering New Exciting Buritica-style Gold Potential in Colombia

FenixOro Gold (CSE:FENX,OTCQB:FDVXF,FWB:8FD) is a resource exploration company focused on developing its flagship Abriaqui gold project on the Middle Cauca Belt of Colombia, known for many large and high-grade gold deposits. Abriaqui is the closest project to arguably the most well-known deposit on this trend, the Buritica mine developed by Continental Gold (TSX:CNL,OTCQX:CGOOF) and sold to Zijin Mining (OTC Pink:ZIJMF,SHA:601899) for C$1.4 billion in January 2020.

FenixOro CEO John Carlesso sat down to share exciting updates on the Abriaqui gold project including results from its recent drilling program.

In September, the company had just obtained its drilling licenses with the intent of releasing preliminary drill results in early December. “We’re very early in the program still, but we’re pretty pleased with the results,” Carlesso said. “We’re hitting all the targets we’re aiming for.”

Much of the drilling campaign results point directly to characteristic “Buritica style” mineralization, which the company hoped to find.

The highly valuable Buritica style mineralization found on the property is a combination of very high-grade gold with additional or interstitial zones of wider spanning, lower-grade mineralization. At present, the company is discovering high interval grades at 71 g/t gold and additional mine workings and soil sample anomalies that have led to the discovery of more vein structures underground than known prior to drilling.

When asked about objectives for the next phase of drilling, Carlesso discussed plans to connect major mineralized zones along its main vein structure. The project’s first drill hole is situated near the southern end of this vein, the Santa Teresa, which has been traced over 1,200 meters on surface and hosts 20 known historic artisanal mines. With FenixOro primed to drill its fifth hole near the northern end of the Santa Teresa Vein, the company sees the potential to outline a possible ore body given the extremely high gold grades intercepted in Hole 1 (up to 71 g/t gold).

The company announced that visual indicators of high-grade mineralization in Hole 5 look very similar to intervals seen in Hole 1 that assayed high grade gold.

Short-term plans also include filling in areas between holes 1 and 5 along many of the nine veins surrounding the Santa Teresa that recent drilling has discovered, as well as testing some of the many prospective targets in other areas that have not yet been drilled. The first half of the drill program will consist of 10 holes. The highest sample discovered so far is in the southern block of the project and measured 146 g/t gold.

In the last 10 years alone, the Middle Cauca Belt of Colombia produced close to 100 million ounces of new discoveries, which Carlesso rightfully asserts is prolific on a world standard. The Abriaqui project’s position in the belt strategically places the asset just under 15 kilometers from Continental Gold’s (TSX:CNL,OTCQX:CGOOF) famous Buritica mine, which sold for US$1.4 billion a year prior. FenixOro could see similar high-grade gold discoveries and success as its geographic neighbors.

The property’s mesothermal vein structures show very similar depth characteristics to Buritica. The presence of nearly 100 historic mines has been extremely useful in understanding known vein structures, while a soil sampling program has shed light on many newly found veins that were previously unknown. The confirmed depth continuity of these veins over 800 to 1,000 vertical meters points to similar potential as has been found at Continental Gold’s Buritica mine.

“There is a lot of work to do and many exciting things ahead of us,” Carlesso concluded.

The company stands energized and ready for the next phases of exploration and growth as an emerging player in the exciting Colombian mining space.