Altamira Gold Corp. (TSX-V:ALTA, OTC:EQTRF) said it has kicked off a first diamond drill campaign at its Santa Helena project in northern Brazil, aiming to test its theory that a porphyry-style copper-gold system exists at depth.
It comes after recent sampling at the Gabriel target exposed at surface, a zone of copper and gold-bearing quartz stockwork extending over at least 100 meters (m), which is open in every direction.
The company noted this geology was similar to that seen at the recently discovered nearby Jaca porphyry copper deposit unearthed by major Anglo American Corporation.
Three angled holes, up to 400m deep, will be drilled at the Gabriel target to test the depth extent.
"Although outcrop over this large project area is poor, there are limited exposures of significant interest for porphyry Cu-Au potential," Michael Bennett, Altamira's CEO said in a statement.
READ: Altamira Gold intersects widespread gold mineralization in first drill hole at the Mutum target in Brazil
"At the abandoned artisanal 'Gabriel' mining pit, which was exploited historically for oxide gold, altered and stockwork intrusive rocks outcrop where sampled and have returned anomalous gold grades (i.e., 5 m @ 0.50g/t gold). These gold mineralized quartz stockworks are hosted by fine-grained felsic intrusive and are described as being like those seen in porphyry deposits.
"The stockwork mineralization was also likely copper-bearing, due to the presence of copper-oxides, although almost all copper has now largely leached out from surface outcrops in this tropical weathering environment," he added.
The Santa Helena project sits next to the paved BR-163 federal highway in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso and 60 kilometers (km) south-west of the Jaca deposit
So far, five main target areas with significant gold and/or copper values on surface have been identified. These include Flecha Dourada, Gabriel, Dorival and Tucura.
Altamira is an explorer focused on western central Brazil. It holds eight projects comprising around 190,000 hectares, within the prolific Juruena gold belt which historically produced an estimated seven to ten million ounces (Moz) of placer gold.
Contact the author at giles@proactiveinvestors.com