Orvana Minerals (ORV.TO), which saw its shares drop by more than 18% yesterday, provided updates on its deep drilling campaign at the Taguas project in Argentina, including additional assay results, the company said in a Wednesday news release.
The company also provided an update on planned next steps, with laboratory analyses and supporting studies ongoing.
ORV said in a strategic context it has expanded its evaluation of the project beyond the near-surface oxidized gold-silver resource outlined in a 2021 preliminary economic assessment to include the underlying sulfide mineralization and potential porphyry-style copper-gold mineralization. An updated geological model has been completed and a geological survey was conducted to identify potential deeper targets to a depth of 1,500 meters.
Results from the geophysical survey, combined with the recent review of historical exploration data, have been used to prioritize key targets for the initial deep drilling, it added.
Among highlights, complete lab results from drill hole TADD-278 returned 0.25 grams per tonne gold and 0.12% copper over 205 meters. Completion of second drill hole TADD-279 assay results, plus VNIR-SWIR Terraspec measurements, and geochronological studies is expected over the coming months to position Orvana for its October 2026 to April 2027 drilling campaign.
Raul Alvarez, Director of Exploration and Technical Services of Orvana, said: "The latest drilling and ongoing technical studies continue to support our interpretation of a deep porphyry-related system at Taguas. The integration of VNIR-SWIR Terraspec data, geochemistry, and geological interpretation is helping us to vector toward the core of the system and refine targets for the next drilling phase."