King Copper Discovery has appointed Kluane Drilling Perú as the contractor for its upcoming exploration campaign at the Colquemayo Copper Project in southern Peru.
The appointment follows approval of the project’s Declaración de Impacto Ambiental (DIA), authorising more than 36,000m of diamond drilling across multiple priority target areas.
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King Copper’s local subsidiary, Aurora Copper Peru, will oversee the work.
The initial phase features 15,000m of diamond drilling, forming part of a wider fully funded programme that aims to test five key targets identified in the Colquemayo mineralised system.
This broader campaign is designed to evaluate the porphyry copper potential at depth and the overall discovery potential of the 12km × 4km project area.
The Colquemayo site contains several high-priority exploration targets, marked by geological and mineralogical indicators consistent with porphyry-epithermal systems.
Notable features include high-grade copper mineralisation, B-type quartz veins and phreatic breccias with porphyry-related clasts.
Regions to be drilled are Amata, Coripuquio, Cairani, Palcamayo and Yanarico, each offering signatures that suggest deeper copper-gold porphyry mineralisation.
Kluane Drilling Perú, part of the Canadian group Kluane Drilling, brings more than 35 years of international drilling experience.
The company’s modular equipment is considered suitable for Colquemayo’s terrain and logistical needs.
Kluane operates from a regional base in Arequipa, which is approximately 120km by road from the project.
With the drill contract finalised, King Copper is working on the remaining pre-mobilisation requirements before on-site work begins.
The company has indicated that further information on drill mobilisation and the official commencement of drilling will be provided as planning progresses.
King Copper Discovery CEO Jonathan Richards said: “The high-grade potential of the Colquemayo mineralised system is illustrated by prior drilling that returned up to 15.15m of 27% copper, within a broader intercept of 237.3m of 2.4% copper, starting at a downhole depth of 306.25m in hole COQ-10-36.
“Our technical work at Colquemayo has now defined a robust pipeline of five initial priority porphyry targets that we plan to systematically test through diamond drilling.”
