Having inferred a sizable resource,
Resources in the La Fortuna zone are pegged at 410 million tonnes grading 0.61% copper and 0.56 gram gold per tonne. The estimate is based on a cutoff grade of 0.4% copper (the middle of three chosen for the preliminary assessment) and the results of 25 diamond drill holes totalling 10,545 metres.
La Fortuna is one of three zones of copper-gold, porphyry-style mineralization that have been discovered on the property. A fourth, dubbed Cantarito, is a high-sulphidation, epithermal-gold system that is related to La Fortuna.
Most of the resource (350 million tonnes) consists of primary sulphides averaging 0.58% copper and 0.6 gram gold. The remainder, 60 million tonnes, sits in a zone of supergene enrichment running 0.76% copper and 0.27 gram gold.
Noranda collared its core holes on 200-metre centres, but reverse-circulation drilling by it and others (as well as core holes) indicates that mineralization at La Fortuna spreads over an area measuring 1,200 metres in length and 900 metres in width. A higher-grade core of mineralization remains open to the north, northwest and at depth.
Noranda Exploration Manager Michael Donnelly says the resource could possibly be expanded by additional drilling, and he is optimistic about finding more targets on the 164-sq.-km property.
Accordingly, the first 5,000 metres of the campaign, scheduled to start in mid-November, will focus on the deposit itself before moving on to other areas of the property. Results from the entire program will determine if more drilling is warranted.
Noranda can earn a 70% interest in the El Morro property by spending US$10 million on exploration and paying US$10 million to
As part of the deal, Noranda will subscribe for US$1 million worth of Metallica shares priced at $1.67 apiece. The private placement translates into 918,563 shares, or 3.3% of Metallica’s shares outstanding.
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