Altamira Gold Corp. (TSX-V:ALTA, OTC:EQTRF)'s Santa Helena porphyry prospect in Brazil is “as good as it gets in terms of drill readiness”, that’s according to consultant geologist Darren Jones.
The assertion from Jones comes as Altamira today told investors that it has defined additional targets at the project where work to date has included ground magnetics and in-soil exploration.
Altamira, in a statement, said its ground magnetic work had been completed for three additional anomalies (denoted as areas 2, 3, and 4) and the work revealed the presence of coincident magnetic anomalies – building on similar data seen in area 1.
The anomalies have signatures that are considered to be consistent with inferred porphyry settings, the company said.
A drill program is now being designed by the Altamira team, to advance the project further.
Chief executive Mike Bennett described the newly defined areas as compelling targets.
“We now have an impressive inventory of 'drill-ready' options to test for porphyry-style copper mineralization,” he said.
“The regional structural location, and widespread association with large-scale alteration features, consistent with porphyry-style intrusive systems are very encouraging at this stage of exploration.
“The design of a scout drilling programme is underway.”
Geologist Darren Jones, meanwhile, commented: "The presence of undrilled-tested copper-in-soil anomalism in this tropical weathered landscape, coincident with well-defined magnetic features, reminiscent of intrusive bodies and a local and regional structural setting permissive for porphyry stock emplacement are strong positives.
“Together with the presence of mineralized porphyry-like stockworks in limited surface exposure, trenching and initial drilling of what appears to have been the margins of one or more potentially copper-mineralized porphyry stocks, is, in my opinion, as good as it gets in terms of drill readiness for a potential cluster of porphyries on early-stage exploration plays in largely covered terrain."
The work at Santa Helena is being conducted in parallel with ongoing exploration at the company's main Cajueiro gold project.