Estrella Resources (ASX: ESR) has located and secured access to airborne geophysical magnetic and radiometric data over about 80% of the Altair Project in Chile as part of its due diligence process.
The data provides the company with exploration advances, time and cost savings and can be accessed by paying the third party owner a minimal licence fee.
It covers the Dania, Ivannia and Colupo brownfields prospects and excludes only the northwestern corner of Altair.
This data is being reviewed together with all SQM data to aid with preparation and planning of the exploration program.
The program will initially focus on identifying high priority target areas and will be followed by additional infill ground geophysical surveys.
Initial drilling is expected to focus on the brownfields prospects in order to test the mineralisation extent at Dania, Ivannia and Colupo.
Other high priority targets on Altair will also be tested with surface trenching and sampling.
Altair Project
The Altair Project is located 90 kilometres north northeast of Antofagasta within the Coastal Iron Oxide Copper Gold belt of Chile.
It covers 2,655 square kilometres of tenement along the Atacama Fault Zone with 11 highly prospective target zones identified by Estrella and SRK Consulting as part of due diligence process over the past few months.
Regionally, there are several known mineralisation systems nearby to Altair. These include:
- Antofagasta Minerals’ Michilla Deposit with 66.7 million tonnes at 1.57% copper;
- Antofagasta Minerals’ Antucoya Deposit with 642Mt at 0.35% copper; and
- Anglo American’s Los Mantos Blancos with 372.6Mt at 0.48% copper.
Colupo covers 873 hectares and has been previously explored by SQM, which carried out surface mapping, trench mapping and sampling, and reverse circulation drilling.
Significant results from the 15 holes drilled include 31 metres at 1.39% copper, 39 metres at 0.63% copper and 22 metres at 0.98% copper.
Locally, Colupo features mineralised tourmaline breccias interfingered within volcanic rocks situated between intersecting NNE to NE and NW trending faults that occur throughout the region.
The Dania Prospect covers 1,476 hectares that hosts a copper, molybdenum and gold mineralised porphyry system however it also features andesites and volcanic agglomerates from the La Negra Formation and remains open to Colupo style mineralisation.
Ivania covers 1,000 hectares and is similar to Dania in that it is also prospective for a copper, molybdenum and gold mineralised porphyry system.
Estrella had $3.1 million in cash as of 31 March 2013.
Proactive Investors Australia is the market leader in producing news, articles and research reports on ASX “Small and Mid-cap” stocks with distribution in Australia, UK, North America and Hong Kong / China.