Rio2 Expands Exploration at Key Projects
News related to:Rio2 Limited · 4 min read
Rio2 Limited, a diversified mining company based in Vancouver, British Columbia, announced significant updates on its exploration activities at its key projects in Peru, Chile, and Canada. The company's latest exploration efforts at the Condestable Copper Mine in Peru, the Fenix Gold Mine in Chile, and the Kalzas Tungsten Project in Canada have been bolstered by substantial advancements in geological mapping and drilling programs.
The Condestable Copper Mine, located in Peru, has initiated a first-phase surface drilling program and district-scale exploration activities. These programs follow the completion of a comprehensive geological mapping campaign covering a 3-km by 1.2-km NE-trending corridor between Condestable, Raúl, and Vinchos. The geological mapping has strengthened the correlation between surface geology and underground mine geology, refining the understanding of the principal controls on Cu-Au-Ag sulphide mineralization.
At the Condestable Mine, mineralization occurs within brecciated mantos ranging from 1 to 10 metres in thickness, exhibiting strong lithological controls associated with volcanic breccias parallel to stratification. Vein-hosted mineralization is also present, with widths from centimetres to more than 3 metres. The dominant vein orientation is NW, with a secondary NE-trending set, defining a clear structural control. Drill holes have been designed to intercept both mineralization styles at high angles to maximize geological information and resource conversion potential.
Based on this updated geological model, Rio2 has established initial 80-metre spacings for drill sections and structured the drilling program into two phases. Phase 1 includes 69 platforms and 85 drill holes, totalling 16,750 metres, scheduled to commence during the week commencing September 21. Phase 2 comprises 62 platforms and 72 drill holes, totalling 17,120 metres, with construction requirements including 8,622 metres of access roads and 62 drill platforms. The Company anticipates a permitting timeline of approximately six months prior to commencement of the Phase 2 drilling program.
In addition, Rio2 has completed a 57,740-hectare GeoMagDrone survey at the Condestable Mine, covering 40,694 hectares of mining properties within the 46,290 hectares of mineral rights controlled by Condestable S.A. The survey, with lines spaced 200 metres apart, generated 3,522 line-kilometres of magnetic data. The analytical signal defines two principal magnetometric domains within the project area, with the western sector characterized by a high magnetic response associated with intrusive rocks of the Coastal Batholith, and the eastern sector exhibiting a low magnetic response corresponding to sedimentary rock sequences.
The intersections of NW-SE and NE-SW structural trends constitute favourable target zones for potential mineralization, as these structures exhibit a fractal-type spatial distribution with approximate spacings of 5 km for NW-trending features and 3 km for NE-trending features. These structures suggest a recurrent structural framework conducive to fluid flow, deformation, and potential mineral deposition.
At the Fenix Gold Mine in Chile, the Company advised that drilling has been suspended due to adverse weather conditions, worker safety considerations, and contractor standby costs. The remaining drill program will resume in January 2027 to take advantage of Chile's summer season. The 2026 surface drilling program, originally planned for 21,880 metres, was suspended with 43 drill holes totalling 14,669 metres, comprising 3,905 metres of diamond drilling and 10,764 metres of reverse-circulation (RC) drilling. The program is designed to increase geological confidence in mineral resources located beneath the reserve pit, within the current resource pit shell, and up to 100 metres below the resource shell.
The Kalzas Tungsten Project in Canada, controlled by 100% by Rio2 Limited, is located on the Kalzas Plateau in central Yukon Territory, approximately 70 km southeast of the town of Mayo and 290 km north of the city of Whitehorse. During 2026, Rio2 advanced the project through technical studies, fieldwork, permitting, reclamation planning, and community engagement. Field work included a May 2026 field visit by Rio2 geologists, and an independent NI 43-101 technical report was completed using available historical data.
Detailed geological mapping at a 1:5,000 scale was completed, confirming that the Kalzas Project represents an intrusion-related tungsten system developed within a structurally prepared corridor. The mineralization is likely spatially associated with a granitic intrusive body that generated a broad thermal aureole and promoted the formation of quartz-rich vein and stockwork zones. Within these zones, wolframite ((Fe,Mn)WO₄) and scheelite (CaWO₄) have been identified as the principal tungsten minerals, occurring as disseminations and vein-hosted aggregates within quartz stockworks emplaced in quartzite.
Rio2 plans to carry out an initial 2,000-metre scout core drilling program at the commencement of the summer field season in 2027, with an estimated all-inclusive budget of US$1.5 million. Upon review of the initial drilling results planned for 2027, a decision will be made about the future of the project with regard to whether it remains within Rio2 as a core project or whether it should be potentially spun out into a separate company and source future exploration funding independently of Rio2.