04:10 PM EDT, 05/27/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Collective Mining Ltd. ( CNLMF ) , which gained near 3% today, announced after trade Monday assay results for three drill holes into the Apollo Porphyry System at the Guayabales Project in Caldas, Colombia.

Among highlights, CNL in a statement said it is expanding Apollo by up to 150 metres to the Northwest by drilling 513.70 metres at 2.20 g/t AuEq and 825.70 metres at 1.11 g/t AuEq

Monday's statement noted the company presently has five drill rigs operating at the project as part of its fully funded 40,000 metres drill program for 2024. Presently, it said, drill rigs are operating at the Apollo, Box, Olympus and Trap targets. Drill cores from multiple holes are currently being assayed at ALS Laboratory in Lima, Peru with further results expected in short order, the statement added.

Ari Sussman, Executive Chairman, in the statement said: "Our 2024 exploration program continues to yield positive surprises with Apollo now materially expanding and widening to the northwest. Drilling over the balance of the year at Apollo will remain aggressive as we continue to push the limits of the system while simultaneously targeting high-grade sub-zones within the known mineralization envelope. Elsewhere on the Guayabales Project, we have completed the first two shallow drill holes at the Box target with core logging indicating there is a very large hydrothermal fluid system in place with deeper drilling required from the next set of holes (now underway). At the Trap target, we have refined the geological model and now interpret that mineralization is related to a wide deformation zone on the west side of a northwest trending fault. The current hole underway (TRC-11) was planned on this basis and visually has cut significant mineralization over 175 metres in length and counting (still drilling). Lastly, at the Olympus target, steeply dipping veins have been intersected at a shallow elevation and if assays are favourable, would connect Apollo with Olympus in the northeast corner of Apollo. We remain committed to our goal of outlining a series of closely spaced porphyry and porphyry related systems capable of producing at more than 400,000 gold equivalent ounces on an annual basis."

CNL closed Monday up $0.11 or 2.7% at $4.17.