Prior to 1998, only limited extraction of high-grade copper oxides was undertaken at San Andres by small groups of local miners.

In 2000 a Chilean national company La Empressa Nacional de Mineria ("ENAMI") developed two underground exploration drives targeting copper sulphides.

In 2005, San Andres became part of the Punitaqui mine complex.

In 2007, a ground geophysical induced polarization ("IP") survey was completed on 250m - 500m spaced lines across the San Andres-Cinabrio area. The results of the IP survey line across the southern end of the San Andres zone identified a strong chargeability anomaly interpreted to represent potential extensions of the copper sulphide mineralization at depth and along strike.

Historic wide-spaced drilling completed by the previous operators between 2011- 2017 totaled 58 holes for 5,927m. Significant intercepts reported included:

• SAS-20-07: 180m to 196m: 15.9m true width at 2.52% Cu
• SA-50: 128m to 139m: 7.8m true width at 2.39% Cu
• SAS-20-01: 186m to 197m: 10.1m true width at 2.16% Cu
• SAS-20-08: 183m to 200m: 15.2m true width at 1.74% Cu

The San Andres target is part of the Punitaqui project which is situated within a 25km long mineralized district that is a classic IOCG and mantos style Copper-Gold belt that is comprised of mantos and structural controlled Copper-Gold-Silver veins.

San Andres is a zone of Copper mineralization located 500m southwest of the high-grade Cinabrio deposit.

San Andres is a tabular sedimentary horizon within a volcanic sequence. This sedimentary horizon is variably mineralized and has a variable width ranging from 5m - 30m.

The horizon dips -40 to -50 degrees to the east and is cut-off at depth by the moderately west dipping San Andres fault.

The sedimentary horizon consists of an interlayered volcano-sedimentary sequence composed of dark colored laminated and unlaminated shales, volcanoclastic sandstone, conglomerates and breccias and tuff breccias. There is a variable component of syngenetic Pyrite.

The host horizon is also cut and offset by other faults with a wide range of orientations. The fundamental orientations identified to date include:

• moderately west dipping splays of the San Andres fault, generally with downward and westward movement
• steep dipping northeast to northwest trending faults with both sinistral and dextral offsets

The mineralisation is predominantly chalcopyrite and bornite. It consists of veinlets and irregular disseminations in both the fine and coarse-grained clastic rocks and locally within the volcanic rocks above and below the host unit.

The intersection of the host sedimentary unit and the San Andres fault plunges toward the south. Because of this, the potential volume of ore within the host sedimentary horizon increases towards the south.

The host sedimentary unit at San Andres is exposed along a north-northwest trending ridge. The surface trace of the mineralized unit crosses from the east side of the ridge in the northern part of San Andres to the western side of the ridge in the southern part.

The San Andres target is one of several historic zones identified by BMR with established underground access for infill and extensional drilling. San Andres is the "normal" fault displaced upper portion of the adjacent Cinabrio copper deposit.

San Andres is currently the focus of 8,000m phase 1 diamond drill program designed to confirm resources identified by previous drilling programs and expand these the mineralization north and south along strike and at depth.

As of end of December, a total of 8,156m of diamond core drilling in 38 drillholes have been completed.

Thirty-three drillholes reached target depth and 28 have intersected significant sulphide mineralization. Sample results have been received for the first 8 drill holes. Encouraging results received to date include

• SAS-21-05: 9m at 2.06% Copper and 20.5 g/t Silver
• SAS-21-01: 3m grading 1.52% Copper and 2.0g/t silver
• SAS-21-03: 11m at 1.39% Copper including 8.00m at 1.63% Copper
• SAS-21-04: 16.7m grading 1.37% Copper including 11.70m at 1.64% Copper and a second interval of 9.00m at 1.75% Copper
• SAS-21-07: 3.4m at 2.10% Copper and a second interval of 4m at 1.56% Copper
• SAS-21-08: 5.25m at 1.39% Copper and a second interval of 3.75m at 1.85% Copper
• SAS-21-11: 2.0m at 0.91% Copper.
• SAS-21-12: 7.0m at 1.81% Copper and a second intercept of 2m grading 1.04% Copper.
• SAS-21-13: 3.0m at 1.96% Copper from 217m downhole, 3.0m grading 0.87% Copper from 199m and a third interval of 1.8m at 0.83% Copper from 211m.
• SAS-21-14: 28.1 m at 0.98% Copper from 203m downhole including 10.1m at 1.44% Cu and a second intercept of 9.4m grading 1.24% Copper from 227m.
• SAS-21-15: 3.0m at 0.5% Copper from 116m, 3.0m grading 0.48% Copper from 133m and a third interval of 2.0m at 0.51% Copper from 139m.
• SAS-21-17: 3.6m at 1.04% Copper from 241m.
• SAS-21-19: 5.0m at 1.08% Copper from 74m including 4.0m at 1.24% Copper.
• SAS-21-20: 2.4m at 0.70% Copper from 266.9m.
• SAS-21-21: 25.0m at 0.88% Copper from 106m including 13.0m at 0.96% Copper and 4.0m at 1.19% Copper from 115m and a second main intercept of 2.0m at 1.12% Copper from 136m.
• SAS-21-23: 2.8m at 1.00% Copper from 194m.
• SAS-21-24: 3.0m at 0.82% Copper from 231m.

A Phase 2 Infill drill RC drill program is being planned for later this year of ~15 holes totalling 2,400m.