Southern Rio acquires Chilean prospect

Junior Southern Rio Resources (SNZ-V) has gained the right to acquire a copper-gold porphyry prospect in Chile.

The Santo Tomas property comprises 63 sq. km at an elevation of 3,300 metres, 20 km southwest of Collahuasi and 12 km west of Quebrada Blanca, both of which are copper mines.

The Santo Tomas prospect, since it lacked a large alteration expression and any evidence of historical workings, was not initially recognized. The property was claimed in 1993 and has never been drilled or geophysically tested.

Southern Rio can acquire a 100% interest, subject to a 2% net smelter return royalty, by paying the owner US$6 million and issuing 200,000 shares over four years. The company will pay US$25,000 on signing and US$75,000 on the first anniversary.

Chip sampling of exposures on the sides of larger drainage channels and close to the gravel road that passes through the property shows an inner core of molybdenum-gold mineralization surrounded by a copper-zinc-lead halo. Of the 193 samples collected, 37 ran above 10 parts per million moly, with a high of 243 ppm; 12 samples were above 0.1 gram gold, with a high of 0.73 gram; and 12 assayed greater than 0.01% copper, including a high of 0.051%.

The inner moly-gold core of partially brecciated and stockworked intrusive rock exhibits strong leaching and shows evidence of boxwork-textured jarosite and hematite, and argillic alteration. The area is surrounded and overlapped by seritized and illitized zones.

Southern Rio considers the results and alteration assemblage typical of a highly leached porphyry copper system. Based on preliminary mapping, the intrusive complex area has a minimum dimension of 1,500 by 600 metres. A geophysical program is planned.