Canada’s Centauri Minerals has begun preparations for the first drilling campaign in more than ten years at the Rio Grande gold-copper project in Argentina’s Salta province. Geophysical surveys have identified new targets both near the surface and at depth. The first phase of the program is designed for 12,000 meters of diamond drilling with two rigs.
Surveys and targets. In the third quarter of 2026, the company completed a 3D magnetotelluric survey covering about 56 square kilometers. The data was combined with reprocessed historical geophysics, geochemistry, and geological mapping. The model showed that beneath the known ring-shaped mineralization at Rio Grande there may be a large low-resistivity zone measuring more than 1.3 by 2 kilometers. Such an anomaly is consistent with the ore core of a porphyry system. The survey made it possible to image to depths of three to four kilometers.
Drilling program. The first rig will work on near-surface zones to expand understanding of the known resources and collect samples for future engineering and metallurgical testing. The second rig will target deep objects identified by combining historical and new geophysical data. The program will take about six months and run through the second quarter of 2027. The company has already reserved the option to expand it to 24,000 meters under a second phase.
Three key areas. The first is the ring-shaped deposit itself, where drilling will confirm and expand the current resource estimate. The second is Zone A beneath the ring, where a magnetic low coincides with low resistivity, which may indicate intense vein and sulfide mineralization. The third is Zone B in the northeast, which includes both the near-surface Cerro Cori target and a deep anomaly that may be an extension of the ore system.
Infrastructure. Centauri is upgrading the Arita camp on the southern shore of the Salar de Arizaro, about nine kilometers east of the deposit. Fortuna Mining’s Lindero gold mine operates nearby. A year-round road leads to the camp, which has its own airstrip. A new dormitory, a core logging complex, a power supply system, fuel and waste storage, and treatment facilities are under construction. Hiring priority is given to residents of the Tolar Grande and San Antonio de los Cobres communities.
Background
Centauri Minerals holds 100% of a portfolio of exploration projects covering about 40,000 hectares in the provinces of Salta, Jujuy, and Catamarca. The company was spun out of Aldebaran Resources. Its most advanced asset remains Rio Grande, which has an independent resource estimate under the NI 43-101 standard.
Resuming drilling after a long pause could confirm Rio Grande’s potential as a large porphyry system. If the deep targets live up to expectations, the project could become one of the notable gold-copper assets of northern Argentina.
Source: GlobeNewswire
Image: Centauri Minerals
