Drilling at Petaquilla focuses on Valle Grande

Drilling at the Petaquilla property in Panama is testing the starter-pit potential of the Valle Grande zone.

Adrian Resources (TSE) reports that classic porphyry-style mineralization begins at surface and centres around an elongated, oval-shaped potassic core. Two distinct zones of high-grade copper and molybdenite within quartz stockwork occur along the northern and southern limbs of the deposit.

Having completed 36 diamond drill holes, Adrian says a possible target area exists at Valle Grande which measures 2.8 km long by 1 km wide.

The Botija deposit, by comparison, exists within an area measuring 2 km long by 1 km wide and hosts minable reserves of 520 million tonnes grading 0.52% copper, 0.1 gram gold per tonne and 0.015% moly. The geological resource totals 883 million tonnes.

Adrian believes the reserve potential at Valle Grande is greater than that of Botija, and that the grade of copper-molybdenite is higher.

Recent drill results include a 164.6-metre intersection grading 0.67% copper, 0.02% moly, 0.08 gram gold and 1.7 grams silver in hole 267, as well as 88.4 metres grading 0.7% copper, 0.02% moly, 0.05 gram gold and 2.3 grams silver in hole 269.

Teck (TSE) is earning half of the 52% interest held by Adrian by funding Adrian’s share of exploration expenditures and preparing a bankable feasibility study on the copper-gold deposits. The remaining 48% interest is owned by Inmet Mining (TSE).

Based on a cutoff grade of 0.2% copper-equivalent, the Botija and Petaquilla deposits are estimated to contain a diluted measured and indicated minable reserve of 579 million tonnes grading 0.52% copper, 0.12 gram gold, 1.32 grams silver and 0.014% moly.

Elsewhere on the concession, Adrian has drilled five holes on the Cuatro Crestas zone, within a 200-by-100-metre area. Cuatro Crestas is defined by a copper-gold geochemical anomaly measuring 1,600 by 600 metres. Results include 66.5 metres of 0.75% copper, 1 gram gold and 2.4 grams silver in hole 281, and 57 metres of 0.7% copper, 0.12 gram gold and 2.9 grams silver in hole 284. Further drilling is proposed, to test the downdip extension to the northwest.