Argentina/ChileLos Helados-Copper/Gold
The Los Helados project is located in Chile's Region III and is road accessible from the town of Copiapó, approximately 170 kilometres to the northwest. Los Helados is 12 kilometres northwest of the Company's Josemaria Project. Los Helados is a relatively deeply eroded, hypogene porphyry copper-gold prospect in which a large, centrally located, porphyritic stock and cross-cutting magmatic-hydrothermal breccia body hosts the highest-grade mineralization. Mineralization occurs as chalcopyrite in close association with magnetite, with the possibility that bornite may increase at depths of >900 m, potentially giving rise to higher copper and gold contents. Bornite typically occurs in the deeper parts of porphyry systems and comprises the high grade core in many systems.43-101 Technical Report
A drill program completed in mid-2010 confirmed a significant zone of porphyry copper mineralization which was discovered in 2009 by hole, LH-04 which intersected 762 m of 0.58% CuEq* (0.43% copper and 0.22 gpt Au). The 2010 program confirmed the presence of a large mineralized porphyry copper system that extends at least 1,000 metres north-south and 700 m east-west. The system is open to the south, west, east and at depth. The drilling as well as surface mapping and sampling completed during the program also confirmed the potential for high sulfidation gold mineralization in the upper (eastern) portions of the Los Helados system.
Subsequent drilling begun at the end of 2010 resulted in the best holes drilled to date at this project, including 900 metres at 0.64% CuEq (0.48% Cu and 0.23 gpt Au) in LH-24, 737 metres at 0.85% CuEq (0.64% Cu and 0.30 gpt Au) in LH-16 and 719 metres at 0.71% CuEq (0.50% Cu and 0.31 gpt Au) in LH-17. All of these holes ended in mineralization and this drilling suggested that the high grade core of the system extends further to the west than previously thought. A recently completed IP survey supports this interpretation. Of particular interest is the fact that there are significant intervals of >0.8% copper in several holes, including 32 m of 1.1% Cu and 0.56 gpt Au in LH-16.
The results from the 2010/2011 drill program have expanded the higher grade core of the Los Helados system and confirmed Los Helados as a major new copper-gold discovery. The final holes of the season were all on the western margin of the current drill pattern and they demonstrate that the system continues to be well mineralized and open to the west. All holes drilled to date have ended in strong mineralization, due to limitations of drill rig capacity, and the vertical extent of mineralization is unknown.
The higher grade mineralization is hosted within a quartz-feldspar porphyry stock and cross-cutting magmatic-hydrothermal breccia body that, based on mapping and drilling to date, has a minimum extent of approximately 600 m by approximately 500 m and extends to depths of more than 900 m. The higher grade zone remains open in several directions and further drilling is required to confirm these dimensions and to define the limits of the mineralization.
A drill program which included both infill and step-out drill holes was completed during the second quarter of 2012 with a total of 26 holes totaling 22,143 metres. The objective of this drill program was to extend the previously known mineralization laterally and to depth in order to better quantify the size and grade of the deposit and to permit calculation of an initial resource.
The initial mineral resource estimate and metallurgical testwork was completed in the fourth quarter of 2012 (see news release dated October 15, 2012).
Los Helados is one of several large porphyry copper-gold systems including the Company's Josemaria and Filo del Sol projects, all located with the large block of contiguous claims that the company controls in Region III Chile and adjacent San Juan Province, Argentina. Nearby deposits held by other companies include Caserones-Regalito (Pan Pacific Copper) and El Morro (Goldcorp/New Gold). The Company holds a 60% interest in the Los Helados project. Pan Pacific Copper Company Ltd. holds the remaining 40% interest in the project.
(* CuEq assumes 100% recovery, $3.00/lb Cu and $1400/oz Au.)
Drill Results Summary
Mr. Bob Carmichael, Bachelor of Applied Science (B.A.Sc) degree from UBC, and a registered Professional Engineer (P.Eng.) with the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of BC (APEGBC), is a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Carmichael is Vice President, Exploration for the Corporation and has prepared or supervised the preparation of the information that forms the basis of this project summary or approved the written disclosure. For more information, see the individual technical reports and news releases available under the Corporation's profile at www.sedar.com and on the Corporation's website. In addition, further information on sampling and assay methods can be found in on the Corporation's website in the Qualified Person/Assay Methods link.
