お知らせ • May 21
NGEx Discovers Major Copper-Gold Porphyry System at Lunahuasi, Drills 1,619.4m at 0.87% CuEq including 876.4m at 1.13% CuEq
NGEx Minerals Ltd. announced the discovery of a major new copper-gold porphyry system at its 100% owned Lunahuasi high-grade copper-gold-silver project in San Juan, Argentina. This discovery confirms its interpretation of the geological setting of the Lunahuasi mineralization and opens up an entirely new, very large-scale exploration target at the project. Drillhole DPDH027 demonstrates that the Lunahuasi system has similar size and scale potential to other deposits in the Vicuna cluster, with the added advantage of the large, very high-grade copper- gold-silver high-sulphidation ("HS") epithermal structures which are unique to Lunahuasi. Highlights: Drillhole DPDH027 drilled across the HS zone before entering a porphyry copper-gold deposit at about 1,262m. It intersected the HS zone over its entire length, with early porphyry veins occurring from 1,100m providing a clear vector towards the porphyry to the west of the end of the hole. The hole intersected: 823.10m at 1.17% CuEq from 776.90m, including: 157.70m at 2.18% CuEq from 7 76.90m, including: 38.90m at 4.35% CuEq from 870.70m, 153.50m at 1.98% CuEq from 1,207.50m, including: 9.00m at 7.33% CuEq from 1.352.00m. DPDH027 was collared from the same platform as DPDH021 and angled to the southwest (255) with a dip of -46 to test for a southern extension to the mineralization in hole 21. This hole was also planned to go as deep as possible to test the concept of a porphyry system located to the west of the main HS zone. Partial results from this hole, to a depth of 1,075.1m, were released on January 20 and February 19, and are included in the table of full results above.Within the HS alteration and mineralization, the characteristic zonation of porphyry veining can be recognized with D veins first intersected at 480m, B veins at 920m and A veins at 1,270m. This zonation indicates that the hole intersected the eastern flank of a porphyry centre, with the hole ending in mineralized diorite porphyry with potassic alteration. The same zonation is also seen to the north, in DPDH028, and to the south, in DPDH029, however neither of those holes appears to have been drilled deep enough to intersect the porphyritic rocks or potassic alteration and both ended in the HS system. Together these three holes provide clear evidence of a western porphyry system with a minimum north-south extent of 700m.DPDH029 was collared adjacent to DPDH027 and drilled towards the southwest (229) at a dip of -50 degrees in order to explore the southern extent of the deposit. Partial results from this hole, to a depth of 1,060.0m, were released on February 19, and are included in the table of full results above. As with other holes, numerous intersections of HS mineralization were drilled by this hole, including a broad zone from 776.9m which includes some higher-grade sub zones. The zone from 776.90m to 934.60m correlates well with the large zone in DPDH021, 22, 27 and 28 and indicates that the HS system remains strong here and is completely open to the south. This hole intersected the same zonation of porphyry veining, overprinted by the HS alteration, but stopped short of intersecting potassic alteration or mineralized diorite porphyry. Drillhole DPDH027 confirms the presence and location of a significant porphyry copper-gold centre which is intimately related to the high-grade HS mineralization that makes up the currently known deposit. The hole transited the eastern flank of the porphyry system, where it has in large part been overprinted by the subsequent HS alteration, before intersecting a multi-phase, mineralized diorite porphyry with potassic alteration at a depth of about 1,262m. Below this depth, the hole is primarily in potassic altered and mineralized porphyry and country rock, still overprinted by discreet zones of HS alteration and mineralization, and it ended in mineralization at 2,005m. In addition to the characteristic alteration, veining and porphyry intrusive rocks, the change from HS to porphyry mineralization is distinguished by a change in copper mineralogy from enargite /chalcocite in the HS to chalcopyrite +/- bornite in the porphyry. This change can be identified visually, and geochemically by a decrease in the cyanide-soluble values of the sequential copper analyses and an increase in the residual copper values. The density of early veins varies throughout the section below 1,200m with more abundant veins associated with higher copper and gold grades. Early lithologies, including early porphyry phases and fine-grained andesite and rhyolite country rock, and breccias, contain the highest density of veining and consequently the highest grades. In contrast, a late phase porphyry is clearly identified by diminished alteration and relatively scarce early veins and carries lower grades. The highest grades in this section occur in areas with overprinting HS mineralization, with individual samples between 1.0% and 7.0% CuEq. In addition to these holes, three geotechnical holes and two water wells were completed. All equipment and personnel have now been demobilized from the site and all field activities have been concluded Assays for the final 12 holes representing 10,369m of drill core are pending.