Long intercepts at Relincho

Vancouver — Lengthy copper-molybdenum intercepts are becoming the norm for Global Copper (GLQ-T, GOCPF-O) as it drills to upgrade and increase the resource at the company’s flagship Relincho project in Chile.

Drilling to expand and upgrade the sulphide deposit at Relincho is consistently returning intercepts over 100 metres long with copper grades averaging 0.5% plus molybdenum grades ranging from 0.01% to 0.1%.

Relincho hosts five porphyry centres discovered in the mid-1990s. Three of the five centres — Relincho, Las Guias, and Marja, forming a southeast-trending line — have seen significant drilling. Along the trend, a copper-mineralized oxide cap overlies primary sulphides, mostly bornite and chalcopyrite, that host copper and molybdenum.

In 2007, Global focused its efforts on infill drilling on all three zones as well as exploratory drilling between Relincho and Las Guias.

Within the Relincho deposit, several drills returned long copper intercepts. Hole 51 cut 32 metres of oxide mineralization grading 0.54% copper, followed directly by 254 metres grading 0.69% copper and 0.02% molybdenum. A few hundred metres southwest, hole 101 returned 272 metres of primary sulphide grading 0.47% copper and 0.02% molybdenum.

Stepout drilling around Relincho has also been worthwhile. Hole 75, stepped out to the west, intercepted 164 metres of 0.42% copper and 0.034% molybdenum. To the south, hole 182 returned a long intercept of 344 metres grading 0.72% copper and 0.006% molybdenum from 112 metres depth.

Infill drilling at Marja also returned promising results. Hole 6 cut 46 metres of oxide cap grading 0.46% copper, followed by 254 metres of primary sulphide grading 0.51% copper and 0.012% molybdenum.

At Las Guias, infill hole 77 cut 194 metres grading 0.59% copper and 0.051% molybdenum from 200 metres depth. Stepout hole 202 hit 246 metres grading 0.38% copper and 0.021% molybdenum from 426 metres depth, extending mineralization 50 metres south of previous holes.

And in what is perhaps the most interesting development, Global was rewarded for its exploratory drilling between Relincho and Las Guias when hole 78 intersected a previously unknown breccia zone that returned 370 metres grading 0.46% copper and 0.071% molybdenum.

Global recently completed a resource estimate for the oxide portions of Relincho, putting indicated resources at 151 million tonnes grading 0.28% copper and inferred resources at 50 million tonnes grading 0.17% copper. The figures were calculated using a cutoff grade of 0.1% copper.

A 2003 National Instrument 43-101-compliant report pegs the sulphide deposit at 317 million measured and indicated tonnes grading 0.47% copper and 0.021% molybdenum, as well as 264 million inferred tonnes of 0.38% copper and 0.015% molybdenum. A new resource estimate for the sulphide zones is currently being calculated.

Global has owned the Relincho project outright since February, when it exercised an option held with Lumina Copper, now part of Western Copper (WRN-T, WCPCF-O), and privately owned Andes Pacific Development in 2003.