EV Resources (ASX:EVR) reports it has confirmed copper-silver zones from channel sampling at the Don Enrique Copper Project in Jauja Province in Peru.
The company says channel sampling was conducted in and around an old underground exploration drive and crosscut at the project were developed in the 1960s by Peruvian company Cerro de Pasco, and EV Resources’ results demonstrate the continuity of copper-silver-zinc mineralisation where underground development permitted sampling.
It reports the underground development was driven into the halo of mineralisation alongside 1 of the 2 primary parallel polymetallic breccia structures, and the company has received all underground samples whole results for surface sampling directly along the strike of the breccia ore body are awaited.
EV Resources reports sampling of underground workings was carried out in the historic adits that were developed for exploratory purposes in the 1960s, and a large number of samples have been collected along the west margin of a quartz breccia vein structure following the strike (footwall).
This structure exhibits of a variety of quartz textures including milky white quartz, sinuous quartz, saccharoid veinlets, hyaline quartz, and textures such as dog-tooth, buck and ribbon quartz, and this suggests that several generations of silica deposition occurred, and in addition there are sporadic occurrences of carbonate veins including ankerite and calcite.
Copper mineralisation occurs as a dissemination in hydrothermal breccias, narrower quartz veins, and in a strongly silicified dacitic body, and the identified minerals are predominantly chalcopyrite, traces of bornite, secondary copper such as malachite and azurite, and the local presence of covellite.
Silver, molybdenum, zinc, and lead mineralisation occur accompanying the copper mineralisation in lower concentrations in the crosscuts perpendicular to the main structure, and towards a short, poorly developed secondary underground working.
Silver, molybdenum, zinc, and lead mineralisation occur accompanying the copper mineralisation in lower concentrations in the crosscuts perpendicular to the main structure
Strong silver and zinc anomalies are reported in the crosscut sampling where silver sulfosalts, sphalerite and traces of galena have been identified, and the primary quartz breccia vein structure has a variable width of up to 20m, and a second sub-parallel structure with a smaller width is located to the east of the main structure.
Both structures present a general strike of north-northwest to south-southwest and continue for almost 1km in length, and the company says the mineralised structures are located in strongly fractured and deformed volcanic units, predominantly pyroclastic rocks that alternate with lava flows both of dacitic composition, and in the vicinity of the mineralised structures, the volcanic units are affected by strong silification and quartz-sericite alteration.
Some underground crosscuts were also developed, but based on EV Resources’ mapping and sampling, they do not completely cut the breccia vein structure, and samples with anomalous copper values occur in the crosscuts but not in the margin or the west wall of the structure, which represent a halo of the main structure.
EV Resources reports geochemical sampling was conducted by collecting samples from continuous channels in underground workings and surface outcrops, and channels were cut with a manual diamond disc saw and samples after cleaning the walls, and sample intervals 2m long, 5cm wide and 4cm deep were cut and retrieved using a chisel.
A total of 257 samples have been collected to date in 2 sampling campaigns and submitted for analysis, of which 1 out of every 10 are control samples consisting of both blank and duplicate samples, and 108 samples have been analysed with 28 samples returning copper values greater than 0.30% and up to 3.22% Cu, while 17 of the samples recorded silver values greater than 30ppm and up to 585ppm Ag.
EV Resources reports a geophysical program is due to commence on 21 November, and in total, a 28.8km line of induced polarisation (IP) testwork and a further 46.8km of ground magnetics will be conducted along the breccia structures to test what is interpreted, after mapping and geochemical sampling to be a potential porphyry structure.
The company is also finalising a drilling permit application which requires community approval under Peruvian regulations, and the fieldwork is supported by the local communities with whom a constructive relationship has been established.
The results of the surface sampling along the quartz breccia structures are expected in December 2022, and will be used along the underground sample results and the geophysics program to design the drilling program.
EV Resources is a green metals exploration company operating in Australia and Europe, and also holds interest in precious metal projects in Latin America.
Its assets include the Khartoum, Shaw River, and East Pilbara projects in Australia, as well as the New Standard Copper Mine in Arizona, the Weinebene and Eastern Alps Lithium Project in Australia, the Tierra Blanca Project in Mexico and the Yanamina Gold Project in Peru.
Images: EV Resources Ltd & iStock
