Exploration on this 100% owned, 1,700 hectare, porphyry copper-gold project has yielded results from preliminary surface sampling that range up to 1.15% copper over 30.0 meters and 0.74% copper over 50.0 meters.
Work to date on the project has comprised preliminary mapping, rock and silt sampling focused on the eastern portion of the property in the general area where limited previous drilling was carried out.
Location
Acero Copper-Gold Project
The property is located in the Southern Department of Cusco, Peru. It lies within the Santo Tomas Porphyry Copper Belt within a prolific mining district known for both epithermal gold and porphyry copper deposits.
The Constancia copper-molybdenum project currently being explored by Norsemont Mining Inc. is located 20km to the east; Hochschild Mining's high-profile Liam epithermal gold project is located 50km to the southwest; while Xstrata's Tintaya copper-gold-silver porphyry-related skarn deposit is located 60km to the southeast.
Technical Background
Claims were held in the Acero area in the past by Southwestern Resources through a joint-venture Southern Peru Copper. They reported discovering two zones of altered feldspar porphyry with potassic alteration and associated leach cap with copper oxides and secondary chalcocite. A limited drill program reportedly intersected "thick zones" of sulphide porphyry copper style mineralization with grades ranging between 0.3 and 0.5% copper with local narrow sections assaying over 1% copper.
Several phases of intrusive have been mapped on the property including dacite, micro-diorite and granodiorite; the majority of mineralization and alteration identified to date is hosted by dacitic intrusive. Quartz stockwork, with individual veinlets up to 3cm wide, is widespread in the southwest portion of the mineralized area. Copper mineralization identified on surface on the Acero property appears to be open to the southeast of current mapping and sampling coverage.
A summary of significant results from the preliminary sampling program is presented in the following table.
