Culpeo Minerals intersects visible copper at Las Petacas project
Culpeo Minerals anticipates copper and gold assay results from the initial four holes at Las Petacas within four weeks.
Newly-listed junior explorer Culpeo Minerals (ASX: CPO) has intersected visible copper mineralisation in the first holes of an initial drilling program at the Las Petacas project in northern Chile.
Four holes for a total 1,520 metres are now complete and a fifth hole is underway.
The first three holes of the program targeted an anomaly at the Diego prospect identified from co-incident gradient array induced polarisation (GAIP) and dipole-dipole induced polarisation (DDIP) surveys conducted earlier this month.
Geological logging of holes completed at Diego identified numerous intervals of copper mineralised skarn associated with dacitic dykes and sills.
Breccia-hosted sulphide mineralisation was also observed and is believed to be analogous to other proximal iron-oxide-copper-gold (IOCG) deposits such as Candelaria, 15 kilometres north of Las Petacas, which is owned by Lundin Mining Corporation.
Peta 1 prospect
The fourth hole at the Peta 1 prospect was collared in the hanging wall of an outcropping skarn zone where surface geochemistry and historic drilling had returned copper grades up to 1.02% copper over 10m.
Peta 1 has been the subject of historical small-scale artisanal mining and geological mapping recently completed by Culpeo suggests a north-west dip to the mineralised zone.
Culpeo said historical drilling in the south of the prospect may have not intersected the main mineralised zone, having collared in the footwall of the copper mineralisation.
Anomalous areas
Earlier this month, a GAIP survey identified multiple anomalous areas at Las Petacas which reflected high chargeability.
The areas were believed to indicate the presence of copper sulphide mineralisation and were earmarked as high priority targets for requiring further geophysical surveys and drilling.
The new data supports the interpretation of north-west faults that transect the project area and appear to be intimately associated with the chargeability anomalies.
Similar fault architecture and structural controls on mineralisation are present at Candelaria and are known to be an important part of the localisation of economic ore zones in IOCG deposits.
Geophysical surveys at Diego identified areas of similar anomalism which have been the focus of current drilling.