New plans for Pimenton

Vancouver — With the guidance of a Toronto investment firm, South American Gold and Copper (SAG-T, SGLDF-O) is holding discussions with various companies for a possible joint venture or other arrangement to bring Chile’s Pimenton gold mine back into production.

South American Gold and Copper has proposed a 9-month development program to include limited production at the underground mine project, situated 113 km northeast of Santiago.

Once the program is completed, the company aims to increase production to 300 tonnes per day, and then to 500 tonnes per day within six months. At this rate, production would average 78,000 oz. gold and 212 tonnes copper per year from resources with a head grade of 14.44 grams gold per tonne and 1.26% copper. These resources are hosted in high-grade vein systems in a large alteration zone that is thought to be the surface expression of a potential deep-seated porphyry copper system.

The program will include about 6,215 metres of drifting and crosscuts, 14,400 metres of close-spaced drilling of structures, and 600 metres of raises on three separate levels. The company’s goal is to convert an indicated resource of about 200,000 tonnes of 18.79 grams gold and 1.57% copper into reserves that comply with National Instrument 43-101 guidelines.

South American Gold and Copper also plans to further explore a gold-copper porphyry deposit at Pimenton, following the recent withdrawal of Rio Tinto (RTP-N), which drill-tested the system with eight holes totalling 3,892 metres. The senior mining company elected not to continue the program based on its perception that the potential size of the project did not meet its requirements.

The highlights of Rio Tinto’s drill program are 279 metres of 0.4% copper and 0.43 gram gold per tonne, and 70 metres of 0.46% copper and 0.49 gram gold. While South American Gold and Copper views these grades as sub-economic at this stage, it says there is potential for a higher-grade chalcopyrite-bornite core that remains untested at depth.