TREBOLAR COPPER PROJECT
- Over 30 new copper exploration concessions within the world-class Chilean porphyry copper belt
- Drilling by Serena has identified an early copper discovery
- With roads constructed, ground magnetic surveys completed, hundreds of rock chip and channel samples, completed geological mapping, and planned IP surveys we are agressively working towards new target generation for drill testing
Location
The Trebolar Copper Project is located between Santiago and Iquique, around 500km north of Santiago, 110km north-east of La Serena, or 140km travelling along the Pan American Highway.
Tenement Portfolio
Serena's Trebolar Copper Project currently consists of over 30 concessions at various stages of application and approval located in the copper rich region of central-northern Chile, northeast of the town of La Serena.
Exploration work completed to date has led to the identification of two priority targets based on drilling results from 2011, and subsequent geological mapping and interpretation. These priority targets are:
- Ivone
- Copper Trench
Favourably Positioned for Profitable Extraction
The Trebolar Copper Project is in a relatively favourable position, 40km from the Pan American Highway, which offers a number of advantages. Terrain is relatively low, level and stable, leading to lower logistical costs and higher margins in mining the copper.
Porphyry copper type prospects of other companies working in Chile are located higher up in the mountains, or else under barren post-mineral cover, causing logistical difficulties that increase extraction costs.
Key Characteristics of Trebolar Targets
Key advantages of the porphyry copper type targets such as those found at Ivone are:
- Large tonnage potential
- Even distribution of copper
- Copper sulphides located in closely spaced fractures so they are liberated easily by crushing and coarse grinding (low cost of concentrating process).
Current Priority Targets
Below is a review of current priority targets within the Trebolar Copper Project with a summary of the geology, exploration activities and results to date.
1. Ivone
Initial drilling at Ivone by Serena has resulted in the successful discovery of a new low grade porphyry copper deposit. Outcropping porphyritic andesite rocks with abundant secondary copper oxides occurring in fractures and abundant magnetite veining first attracted Serena to this target. Identification of this target was followed by a ground magnetic survey and geochemical sampling, including channel sampling. Assay results obtained from the channel sampling were as follows:
- All 22 samples returned copper values >0.1% Cu, with a highest value of 0.36% Cu
- Average channel grade returned 22m @ 0.22% Cu
The ground magnetic survey identified a discrete circular magnetic anomaly coincident with the identified mineralised outcrop, which gave Serena the confidenceto proceed with drill testing in 2011. This drilling intersected heavily altered and fractured andesitic volcanics in contact with an altered and mineralised dacitic porphyry at depth. In the oxide zone, mineralisation was dominated by chrysocolla and atacamite which gives way to pyrite and chalcopyrite below the base of oxidation. Assay results from the drilling resulted in the following inersections:
- SIV001: 200m @ 0.11% Cu (0-200m)
- SIV002: 250m @ 0.13% Cu (0-250m)
2. Copper Trench
The Copper Trench target is located in the southern portion of the Trebolar Project area. A 100m long trench beside a track has exposed some encouraging alteration and zones of copper oxide mineralisation with preliminary rock chip and channel sampling results confirming the target's prospectivity. Located only 10km from a substantial newly constructed road, built by Barrick to service their Pascua-Lama gold mine, the Copper Trench project has advantageous logistical conditions.
Channel sampling of the main trench at Copper Trench identified the following continuous interval:
- 18m @ 0.54% Cu
- Ag up to 15.5 g/t
- 11m @ 0.3% Cu
- 15m @ 0.4% Cu
Serena continues to aggressively pursue other advanced copper and gold opportunities in Chile with the potential to quickly progress towards development and commercialisation.
For more information, please contact Clive McKerr.