"In this first phase of drilling, we plan to deepen holes that ended in wide zones of higher-grade mineralisation to test the extent of the deposit and include infill drilling to increase the confidence in the resource [at Tres Cruces]," CEO Jim Currie said. 

"This mineralisation includes 173.0m averaging 3.1118g/t Au from 92.0m to 265.0m in hole RTC-255, which ended in mineralisation," he added. 

The approval was for a Ficha Technical Ambiental, or FTA. Last week, Anacortes released a preliminary economic assessment for the project, which showed an after tax NPV of 5% of US$165.9 million and NPV of 33%. 

The PEA predicts a mine life of seven years and an average annual gold production of 68,000 ounces. Pre-production capital expenditure is US$125.2 million, life-of-mine sustaining capital expenditure is US$5.2 million, and LOM all-in sustaining costs are US$786/oz. The payback period is set at 2.1 years. 

Anacortes, through its Peruvian subsidiary Aurifera Tres Cruces, has started a property-wide exploration programme. The last time the project was drilled was by Barrick in 2008. 

Aurifera is in final discussions with companies to carry out the drilling and a decision is expected to be made in the coming days, so that site mobilisation can start in early April, Anacortes said. 

Anacortes was quoted on the Toronto Stock Exchange at C$1.50/share (US$1.18/share) on March 16, which was up 15% day-on-day. The company had a market capitalisation of C$63.47 million.