With more than 80 historical artisanal mines in the area, the company believes it will encounter broad mineral zones of closely-spaced veins carrying double-digit gold grades, similar to those seen at Buritica.

"Small-scall mining has exploited veins running over 20 grams per tonne up to a maximum of 146g/t over a plus-800m vertical interval. Abriaqui has a similar geologic setting to Buritica with upper Miocene diorite intruding Cretaceous fine grained sediments, and it really took drilling to identify and define the ore grade veins corridor," said VP exploration Stuart Moller, who was VP exploration for Continental Gold, and who made the Buritica discovery.

The first hole of a US$2.9 million, 6,000m drilling programme is underway. It will feature angled holes across interpreted families of veins. The first phase will see 4,500m drilled in 10 holes with the remainder to be programmed depending upon results.

Fenix also aims to drill one hole into a magnetic anomaly to test for porphyry-style mineraliation.

"There are outcrops of magnetite-bearing potassic alteration which is typical of gold porphyries. If there is a gold porphyry there, the whole thing looks like it is preserved at easily drillable depths," he said.

Shares in Fenix Gold are trading at C50c, valuing the company at $37 million.