Drilling defines copper zone in Chile

Results from widely spaced drilling indicate good potential for copper mineralization over a large area at General Minerals’ (GNM-T) Productora copper property in central Chile.

The company completed eight reverse-circulation holes which, when combined with previous drilling by Chilean operators, extend the mineralization over a strike length of 1.6 km.

General collared the holes along the east edge of a northerly trending valley and encountered mineralization within 50 metres of the surface.

Mineralization is associated with altered Cretaceous volcanic tuffs and intrusions, and dips to the west beneath the valley. The company has also located copper mineralization on the western side.

The company tested the downdip potential near the historic oxide workings of the Productora mine. Highlights from the drilling included hole PR-2, which intersected 72 metres of mineralization grading 0.6% copper, including 24 metres grading 0.93% copper. Hole PR-3 hit 12 metres grading 1% copper, including a 4-metre interval of 2.27% copper. Hole PR-5, collared 600 metres south of Productora, encountered 44 metres grading 0.72% copper, including 12 metres of 1.23% copper.

The company tested the downdip potential of another past-producing mine on the property, Santa Ines, in holes PR-4 and PR-7. The former hit 8 metres of 0.58% copper, while the latter hit 44 metres (from 96 to 140 metres) grading 0.41% copper and a 34 metres (from 180 to 214 metres) of 0.49% copper.

The Productora property is situated in Chile’s Iron belt, an area which is known to host ore deposits with unusual mineral assemblages. Accordingly, metals not normally associated with Chilean porphyry deposits, such as molybdenum, cobalt, uranium and rare earth elements, have been found at Productora. Hole PR-7, for instance, returned 2 metres grading 0.31% cerium and 0.14% lanthanum, and hole PR-1 returned 16 metres grading 0.41% copper and 0.031% cobalt, including an 8-metre section that contained 0.039% U3O8.

In the drilling, uranium appears to be spatially associated with molybdenum and cobalt, and is present in quantities which indicate a potentially valuable commercial byproduct to the copper mineralization, the company reports.

General has spent the last four years compiling the land package at Productora. Now that this has been accomplished, it plans to step up the pace of exploration with new drilling, plus additional mapping, trenching and geophysics.