Adrian drills Peruvian copper oxide prospect

Drilling is under way on a copper oxide target at the Picuda property in southern Peru.

The project’s operator is Adrian Resources (ADL-T), which can earn a 63% interest by spending US$900,000 on exploration within three years and paying the vendor US$1 million over four years. International Skyline Gold (SK-T) holds the right to a 27% interest and is carried until Adrian is vested, at which point all future exploration will be carried out on a joint-venture basis. The vendor retains a 10% interest.

The Picuda property is 14 km by road from the port city of Ilo and within 11 km of Southern Peru Copper’s refinery and smelter operations.

The principle target on the 397-ha property is the South copper oxide zone, which has minimum surface dimensions of 300 by 75 metres. Small-scale copper mining has been sporadically undertaken on the zone since the turn of the century. Historical data suggest grades were in excess of 2-3% copper. The target was apparently never drilled.

Recent sampling by Adrian of the main adit and south cut included a 30-metre composite chip sample that averaged 2.9% copper and 0.18 gram gold per tonne. A separate sample from the South adit yielded 1.5 metres grading 0.36% copper and 4.04 grams gold, indicating the potential for higher-grade gold.

The principle copper oxide minerals present are brochantite and antlerite.

The property was held under a mineral reserve from the 1940s until the early 1990s, when it was acquired by the vendor.

The initial drilling will consist of up to 1,000 metres on two or three sections of the zone.