Mirasol Resources Ltd (CVE:MRZ) (OTCPINK:MRZLF) (FRA:M8R) has announced the commencement of a 2,000-meter drill program at the Rubi copper project in Chile.
The company said two significant copper-molybdenum-gold (Cu-Mo-Au) porphyry-style targets, Lithocap and Zafiro, will be tested.
The Rubi drill program is being fully funded by Mine Discovery Fund Pty Ltd (MDF) and is operated by Mirasol, under an option agreement announced in October 2020.
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“The Rubi porphyry targets are technically strong and have the potential to host large-scale copper discoveries,” said Mirasol President Tim Heenan in a statement. “We are excited to be drilling at Rubi after successfully completing the required drill permitting and look forward to reporting on the results from this program.”
The 7,543 hectare (ha) Rubi project is located within the prolific Paleocene-age porphyry belt of northern Chile, which is host to a number of significant, currently producing porphyry copper deposits. The project lies at relatively low elevation (1,900-2,100m), within 20 kilometers (km) of both the El Salvador copper-molybdenum-gold mine and the Potrerillos smelter, with excellent access to port facilities at Chanaral located some 80km to the west.
Mirasol said the Lithocap target at Rubi covers a 3.5km by 2.0km area centered on a large, deeply weathered, advanced argillic alteration zone that is surrounded by gravel cover with thicknesses modelled from a gravity survey ranging between 10m and 50m. These types of lithocap alteration zones can be found adjacent to or above large, productive porphyry copper deposits.
Mirasol said drilling by a previous partner tested areas peripheral to the outcropping lithocap exposures, where previous rock chip sampling returned anomalous values of molybdenum and locally copper. This outcropping lithocap remains undrilled, as does its extension to the west under shallow post-mineral gravels.
Drill program
The company said the current program will drill test concealed and shallow covered, high and low magnetic responses on the western extensions of the lithocap, with six initial short diamond drill holes.
The objective of these drill holes is to sample the top of the bedrock at the interface with the gravel cover. The alteration, mineralization, and rock-type information gathered from geological, geochemical, and spectral analysis will then be used to vector towards a potential centre of mineralization for testing with one deeper diamond drill hole (more than 500m).
Mirasol said the Zafiro target features an untested 2.8km by 2.2km attractive, although subtle, circular magnetic high surrounded by a partial, doughnut-shaped magnetic low under gravel-cover. This magnetic signature may be indicative of a potentially mineralized porphyry intrusive center with a peripheral pyritic alteration halo.
Mirasol’s stream sediment sampling of gullies located 1km north to northwest of the Zafiro target previously returned widespread anomalous copper, suggesting a primary mineralized porphyry source of copper in the basement rocks or an “exotic” source of copper in the gravels. The current drill program contemplates a single diamond drill hole (more than 400m within bedrock) to test this porphyry copper target, estimated to be covered by up to 180m of recent Atacama gravels.
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