08:56 AM EDT, 06/06/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Collective Mining Ltd. ( CNLMF ) on Thursday announced that new high-grade assay results from surface outcrop samples have expanded the Box Target and that visual inspection of recently completed drill holes point to the "potential for a large-scale system in the area at depth".

The company in a statement noted it has five drill rigs operating at the Guayabales Project as part of its fully funded 40,000 metres drill program for 2024. Drill rigs are currently 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 results expected "in short order".

David Reading, Special Advisor to Collective, said: "Surface exploration work at the Box Target continues to confirm a very similar geological and geochemical footprint to the Apollo system. Visual observation from the three holes drilled in the northern portion of Box are promising and highlight multiple styles of mineralization, which are typical of the upper levels of a porphyry system and are proving useful in assisting our team to vector towards the center of the system. The discovery of brecciated porphyry outcrops in the south, some 400 metres higher in elevation, is also very encouraging and we hope to be drill testing that area soon. Reconnaissance exploration at Box is in its infancy, and to date, we have only drill tested a small portion of the total area at very shallow levels. The Box porphyry centre is only 1.5 kilometres west of the Apollo system and we believe that both systems form part of a much larger cluster of porphyry bodies."