Exploration Update For Inca Gold Project
VANCOUVER - Mirasol Resources Ltd. announced an exploration update for the Inca Gold Project in Chile. Inca Gold is a large 16,300 ha property package, with multiple exploration prospects, that has been optioned from Newmont Corporation. The Sandra prospect at Inca Gold was the first zone to be tested and assay results have been received from the maiden 1,417m drill program. A total of eight diamond drill holes were completed on three separate targets to test for mineralization below outcropping quartz veins. The assay results for Au and Ag are generally low grade and over narrow widths, ranging from 0.5 to 1m. The highest values were in hole IG-DD-004 that returned 0.27 g/t Au and 47.8 g/t Ag over 0.5m. Mirasol is completing a review of the geochemical results and alteration indicators to assess if further drilling is warranted at the remaining untested Sandra targets.
President, Tim Heenan, said, “Inca Gold is a prospective project with several untested zones, currently being evaluated. Our recent reviews of the Caldera prospect, located south of Sandra, have delineated a promising new polymetallic epithermal vein, outcropping and subcropping over a strike length of 3 km. In addition, we are planning initial surface exploration at other porphyry and breccia Cu/Au prospects located north of Sandra, taking advantage of the low altitude and accessibility of the project. A detailed review of all the data gathered to date at Sandra is ongoing to make a decision on the next steps in this prospect.”
Following the completion of the maiden drill program at Sandra, the Company has met the minimum drilling commitment and exploration expenditures required for the first two years under the option agreement with Newmont, and it now has until January 2023 to evaluate the other prospects at Inca Gold.
Survey work has identified a promising mineralized polymetallic intermediate epithermal quartz vein structure outcropping over 1.3 km, with widths ranging up to 1.2m. Historical artisanal workings have also been recognized along the length of this structure. In addition, isolated quartz vein outcrops are exposed through colluvial and alluvial cover along strike, to the northwest and the southeast, which could extend the structure to over 3.0 km in length. These vein outcrops and subcrops are hosted within a prominent structural lineament that can be readily traced on the high-resolution satellite images. Abundant Cu minerals including Cu-oxides, chrysocolla (Cu-silicate), chalcopyrite (Cu-sulphide) and locally galena (Pb-sulphide), accompanied by numerous zones with strong Fe-oxide development, are evident over the extent of the structural trend. Geochemical results from the surface sampling survey are pending.
Two additional prospects, Vania and Rincon, located to the north of Sandra are also under evaluation and have potential for porphyry and breccia related Cu and Au mineralization. This is notable as the district hosts several large mineralized systems such as Inca Del Oro porphyry Cu project and the El Salvador porphyry Cu mine, located 12 km west and 50 km north from Inca Gold, respectively. In addition, the Delirio Cu mine, owned and operated by Santiago Metals, is located 4 km to the west of Sandra and hosts Cu in tourmaline hydrothermal breccias, with abundant historical alluvial Au workings.
The compelling Vania porphyry Cu-Au prospect is delineated by multi-layered exploration data collected by Newmont prior to the option agreement with Mirasol. Vania hosts a strong, central Au DSG (Deep Sensing Geochemistry) anomaly with a peripheral anomalous multi-element geochemical halo, highlighted by Newmont’s proprietary in-house geochemical processing technique. This geochemical signature is coincident with a prospective structural intersection of northwest and northeast trending lineaments, and overlies a magnetic low feature interpreted as potentially representing magnetic destruction resulting from alteration and mineralization events. Mirasol’s assessment of Vania will include an expanded soil geochemical survey and a systematic induced polarization (“IP”) geophysical survey over the existing Au DSG anomaly.
The Rincon prospect is located approximately 7 km northeast of the Delirio Cu Mine and represents a window through the Atacama gravel cover where mineralized quartz-tourmaline crackle breccias have been mapped. The current known extent of the breccia is approximately 700x200m and prospecting level geochemical samples from Newmont returned anomalous Au assays from narrow quartz veins and Cu-Mo assays from hydrothermal crackle breccias. This breccia target is considered attractive due to its similarities with the other mineralized tourmaline breccias in the district which hosts economic Cu-Au grades. Detailed, systematic geological mapping and geochemical sampling surveys are planned, with an IP geophysical survey to be completed if warranted.