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
A number of secondary targets have also been identified which display encouraging geological characteristics and anomalous geochemistry.

 

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)
 Ivone_with_magdrillholesamples.jpg
 Figure 1. Reduced to pole up 50m processed ground magnetic data at Ivone with some geochemical sampling and drill collars included.
 
The results for Ivone are extremely encouraging as both holes noted above intersected copper mineralisation from surface to end of hole (EOH). This indicates that a large consistently mineralised porphyry style system may be present at Ivone. Although only low average grades have been intersected in drilling to date, mineralisation remains open at depth and to the north, east, and west. Recent geological mapping and interpretation has identified a north trending alteration zone to the north of Ivone, suggesting that follow-up work should concentrate on northern extensions to mineralisation.
 
An IP survey is currently being planned in order to assist in the development of drill targets. Following this survey potential extensions to mineralisation at Ivone will be tested by further RC drilling.
 

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
 
Recent work completed at Copper Trench identified an additional two existing trenches over one kilometre further to the south of the main trench with copper oxides hosted in tourmaline breccia and altered granodiorite under thin colluvial cover. Channel sampling of these trenches identified the following continuous intervals:
 
  • 11m @ 0.3% Cu
  • 15m @ 0.4% Cu
 
The identification of this mineralisation under thin colluvial cover to the south of the main trench is extremely encouraging and suggests that previously unidentified mineralisation may lie under the pervasive colluvial cover. Recent mapping identified a number of tourmaline breccia units to the west of the target area with variably anomalous geochemistry of up to >1% Cu, 69 g/t Ag, and 0.6 g/t Au. This suggests that Copper Trench may be a mineralised breccia complex system. Further trenching using an excavator is required to test for extensions to mineralisation below the colluvial cover prior to an initial phase of drill testing being completed.
 

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.