Arena has now completed a full year of exploration on the Property, consisting primarily of ground work resulting in the discovery of nine prospects with potential for both copper porphyry style mineralization and/or epithermal gold silver veins. Based on the results of the work conducted over the past 12 months, the Company has selected the 149,235 hectares that cover all the prospects discovered to date and what the Company believes is the most prospective land in the area. Arena will continue to develop the ACP during the second year of the option agreement.
Property Area Selection
During the last year Arena has systematically explored the 293,500 hectare ACP with a clear objective of identifying areas prospective for Cu porphyry mineralization, as well as areas with prospective features for Au-Ag epithermal veins and Cu bearing breccias. In order to ensure maximum coverage and maximize target discovery, the following work was completed:
Desktop data collection and target generation, consisting primarily of available geology, airborne geophysics, geochemical datasets, alteration assemblages via ASTER satellite imagery, and regional/local structural components;
Initial ground work, focused on covering large tracts of land, including desktop targets generated, by teams of geologists, prospectors and helpers, focused on sampling and identification of prospective alteration, mineralization and structural components;
Target area selection based on the initial groundwork was completed based on the results of initial reconnaissance and sampling, such that areas with coincident desktop (geophysical, structural, alteration) and ground (mapping, sampling) prospective features were selected for further work;
Additional work has been completed on most targets, including more detailed mapping and sampling; target areas showing more prospective features were selected as prospects and given prospect names; work is ongoing on a number of additional target areas.
Further work is currently being completed in the more advanced prospects, including ground geophysical surveys, to move these to drill ready stage over the coming few months.
Subsequent to the completion of the exploration program, Arena has relinquished its rights to explore 144,265 hectares comprising the property and is focused on completing a more detailed exploration program on the 149,235 hectares of merit for the next 12 months. The land package covers most of the available land overlying the prospective Antofagasta-Calama Lineament that hosts the Spence and Sierra Gorda Cu porphyry deposits. In addition, the Company elected to retain a significant portion of the land covering past producing facilities by local iodine and nitrate producers. These areas have been subject of extensive work, including comprehensive drilling campaigns that have the potential of shedding much light on areas otherwise covered by several metres of overburden material.
The final property package and the identified target areas can be accessed here.
Three additional prospects discovered
Paciencia Tourmaline Breccias: Two areas of tourmaline breccias were discovered approximately 3km northeast of the Pampa Paciencia prospect epithermal gold bearing veins. The breccias are located approximately 15km north east of the Spence Cu mine. The breccias outcrop over a 300m by 200m area and are closely associated with a zone of magnetite vein stockwork within a granitic to monzonitic intrusive. The breccias strike north-south and appear related to a lineament seen on satellite images and appear to be confirmed by the recent ground magnetic survey. A third outcrop of tourmaline breccias has recently been located about 1km north of the known zone and mapping is continuing. The breccias are closely associated with magnetic lows picked up in the ground survey. Further details of the ground magnetic surveys, both on the Paciencia targets and other prospects, will be released when interpretation is complete.
Tourmaline breccias are often associated with porphyry copper mineralization and are considered a good exploration indicator. Mineralized tourmaline breccias are present in a number of the porphyry deposits in northern Chile. One such example from the area is the Copucha breccias in the Sierra Gorda area which intrudes a monzonite porphyry. Fragments are of variable size and copper oxide mineralization is found within cavities inside the breccias. While the outcropping breccias found to date on the Paciencia target are not strongly mineralized, they have a number of similarities with breccias near and within known deposits in the area, and constitute an excellent exploration indicator of large copper porphyry deposits.
A map of the Pampa Paciencia targets can be accessed here.
Solitario: The Solitario area is characterized by a large area of (10km by 10km) multi-element (Cu, Mo, As) anomaly in regional geochemical sampling as well as two areas of strong iron oxide and argillic alteration in altered volcanic and intrusive rocks. The prospect is located approximately 12 km east of the Sierra Gorda Cu mine. The main outcrop area also corresponds to a high radiometric response with a magnetic low anomaly that could indicate the presence of altered intrusive bodies at depth. Several samples have been collected from the surface outcrops and sent for multi-spectral analysis in order to define vectors towards increased alteration. Rock chip sampling to date has returned weak to moderate anomalies in Cu, Mo and As from oxidized zones.
A detailed map of the Solitario area can be accessed here.
Los Dos Huevos: A new area with strongly altered andesites has been located approximately 12km east-southeast of the Mantos Blancos mine. Surface mineralization includes disseminated Cu-Ox as well as a north-south trending 50cm to 1m wide structurally controlled, steeply dipping manto that was previously worked by artisanal miners. The two areas of copper mineralization are approximately two and a half kilometers apart separated by shallow cover. Strong oxidation and disseminated CuOx and magnetite were observed in rubble and subcrop at a number of sites between the two showings. Additional mapping, sampling and ground mangetics are planned to follow up on this new target.
Vernon Arseneau, Vice-President of Exploration of Arena, commented "We have now completed the first stage review of the original land package which allowed us to select the most prospective ground for additional follow-up with ground geophysics and then proceed to a reverse circulation drill program. Initial results of the ground magnetic survey are giving us a better definition of the target areas which will be used in laying out the RC drill plan."
