Aztec Minerals (WKN A2DRF0 / TSXV AZT) is further expanding ongoing exploration activities at the Tombstone project. As the company announces, the joint venture management committee for the property has approved an additional extension of the current drilling program by 4,500 meters of reverse circulation (RC) drilling. This brings the program, which has been running since June 2025, to a total of approximately 17,000 meters of core and RC drilling. The program now comprises approximately 14,200 meters of RC drilling and 2,800 meters of core drilling.
For the newly approved extension, the joint venture is allocating an additional budget of CAD 1.7 million. The funds will be distributed across multiple target areas on the project, including Westside, Hard-up, Ingersoll, East Contention, Southeast Contention, Central Contention, and North Contention. The focus of this additional, relatively shallow RC drilling is on oxidized gold-silver mineralization. This continues Aztec’s strategy of systematically exploring near-surface mineralized zones on the project.
Aztec Minerals Focuses on Additional Oxide Targets
The expansion of the program underscores that the Tombstone project remains at the center of Aztec’s ongoing activities. The additional drill meters will primarily be deployed where the company already suspects further oxidized gold-silver mineralization. Shallow-dipping or near-surface zones are particularly in focus, as they can be tested relatively efficiently with RC drilling.
The decision to expand the program comes at a time when the drilling program, which has been running since mid-2025, was already extensively designed. With a total of approximately 17,000 meters, the project now reaches a scale that allows both the advancement of known target areas and the testing of additional geological concepts. This is relevant to the market insofar as the company will thereby obtain further data on the extent and distribution of gold and silver mineralization at the Tombstone project.
Geophysics to Refine Hidden Sulfide Targets Below the Oxide System
In parallel with the expansion of drilling, Aztec has announced the commencement of downhole electromagnetic surveys. These downhole EM surveys will be conducted in three core drill holes on the project. These include the recently completed drill hole TC25-3 in the northern part of the property, TC25-4, which was targeted at the southeastern NSAMT target, and TC26-2, which is currently being drilled at the southwestern NSAMT target.
Zonge International has been contracted to conduct the surveys, which are scheduled to take place in March. The objective of these geophysical surveys is to obtain additional data for delineating potential massive sulfide mineralization. According to the company, such sulfide bodies could occur below the shallow-lying sediments of the Bisbee Group, which host the currently known oxidized gold-silver system at the Tombstone project.
For Aztec, the geophysics thus complement the ongoing drilling activities with a second important component. While the RC drilling primarily targets near-surface oxide mineralization, the EM surveys are intended to provide additional indications of deeper mineralized zones.
Tombstone Project Covers Large Portion of Historic Silver District
Aztec Minerals’ Tombstone project comprises 33 patented and 73 unpatented claims covering an area of 663 hectares or 1,639 acres. The property covers a large portion of the historic Tombstone silver mining district. According to the announcement, the project also benefits from good infrastructure, road access, and available water and power supply.
Between 1878 and 1939, the historic district produced 32 million ounces of silver and 250,000 ounces of gold, according to company information. Production came from high-grade, oxidized silver-gold-lead-zinc-copper veins, breccias, and CRD deposits. In the late 1980s, there was also minor open-pit production using heap-leach methods. This historical foundation provides the geological framework for Aztec Minerals’ current activities.
The company also notes that its own drilling from 2020 to 2025 has demonstrated that the Contention Pit target area hosts significant near-surface oxidized gold-silver mineralization with bulk-tonnage characteristics that remains open in all directions. In addition, Aztec highlights further prospective target areas in Cretaceous and Paleozoic rocks. These are reportedly associated with larger northwest- and north-northeast-trending structures as well as porphyritic intrusions that intersect a possible caldera ring structure.
With the now-approved expansion of the drilling program and the commencement of additional geophysical surveys, Aztec Minerals is thus pursuing two parallel approaches at the Tombstone project: further delineation of the known oxidized gold-silver mineralization in multiple target areas and the search for potential deeper massive sulfide zones. It will be interesting to see how this develops.
