Vortex Metals expands exploration at Illapel with airborne geophysics and new drill targets
Agustín de Vicente / March 5, 2026 | 02:53
Vortex Metals Inc. (TSXV: VMS) has announced the start of Phase II exploration at its Illapel copper-silver project in Chile, marking a significant expansion of field activity across the company’s concession package.
The new campaign is designed to build on the results of the Phase I drill program, which confirmed the company’s geological model by identifying low-resistivity sulphide mineralization extending northward from the nearby Rio 27 copper-silver mine along a favourable structural corridor.
According to the company, the next phase will combine geological knowledge gained from the first round of drilling with data from an upcoming airborne geophysics program, with the goal of defining additional targets for follow-up drilling.
A key component of Phase II is an airborne geophysical survey that will cover approximately 2,000 line-km using:
The survey is expected to provide direct information on favourable structures and potential associated mineralization, helping generate new priority targets across the project area.
Vortex said the program will cover the full 180 sq. km concession area, including multiple unexplored copper-silver surface expressions identified throughout the property.
The company added that discussions are currently underway to finalize a contract with a local geophysical contractor.
The Illapel Copper-Gold Project is located in the Commune of Illapel, Choapa Province, in Chile’s Coquimbo Region, about 250 km north of Santiago.
The nearest mining centre is the town of Illapel, located roughly 35 km from the project. Vortex highlighted that the property benefits from strong infrastructure, including paved road access, electricity and a mild climate that supports year-round exploration.
The company also noted that the project is fully permitted for exploration, with drilling able to begin once targets are defined.
The area surrounding Illapel has a long mining history, with both historical and active operations.
Vortex pointed to the nearby El Espino copper-gold project, located approximately 14 km to the north, as a relevant regional reference. The company also emphasized the project’s proximity to the Rio 27 mine, an existing operation owned by Ventana Group.
Rio 27 has reportedly been in production since 2010, with on-site processing infrastructure already in place. According to Vortex, Ventana has indicated that around 400,000 tonnes of mineralized material grading 1.39% copper have been processed there to date.
The company also noted that its existing LOI provides a right of first refusal (ROFR) over the Rio 27 mine and processing facility.
Vortex said initial drilling at Illapel delivered encouraging signs of a broader mineralized system that merits further work.
To date, three completed holes testing the north-northeast trend of high-grade, manto-style copper-silver mineralization extending from the historic Rio 27 mine intersected:
These results support the interpretation of a potentially extensive mineralized structure.
The company highlighted hole DVM-08 as particularly significant, reporting high-grade mineralization over a one-metre intercept that may represent the edge of a larger manto-style lens.
This interpretation is supported by downhole geophysics, which identified a broad low-resistivity zone coincident with the sulphide-bearing interval and consistent with off-hole extensions.
Vortex added that geophysics contractor GEODATOS has identified six additional conductive targets near DVM-08, further supporting follow-up drilling.
In addition to the manto-style copper-silver system, Vortex said it observed signs of Iron Oxide Copper Gold (IOCG) mineralization in multiple drill holes, including DVM-08.
According to the company, this mineralization—characterized by iron oxides and disseminated sulphides—occurs within a sequence of volcanic and sedimentary rocks, in a geological setting comparable to the nearby El Espino deposit.
The presence of both manto-style copper-silver mineralization and possible IOCG-style targets gives the Illapel property a broader exploration profile, with the company also referencing gold-bearing vein systems as part of the project’s discovery potential.
Vortex said previous work has confirmed the importance of generally north-south trending structures, along with cross-cutting structural features and dykes, in controlling copper-silver mineralization at Illapel.
The company believes that sulphide-bearing halos associated with these structures can be traced through geophysical responses, particularly low-resistivity zones that respond to electromagnetic methods.
With this improved understanding of structural controls and geophysical signatures, exploration will now expand beyond the areas tested in Phase I and across the broader concession package, where several copper-silver occurrences have already been identified at surface.
The company expects the airborne survey to define additional targets for follow-up using IP geophysics and/or drilling.
Vortex’s next milestone will be the completion of the airborne survey and the interpretation of its results, which will be used to refine priority targets for the next phase of drilling.
The company’s broader strategy is to integrate:
This integrated approach is intended to improve target quality and support more efficient follow-up exploration at Illapel.
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