Mar 28 2017
Arena Minerals Inc., (TSX VENTURE:AN) ("Arena" or the "Company") is pleased to report that the Japan Oil Gas and Metals National Corporation ("JOGMEC") and Arena joint venture has added a second drill rig to the Pampa Union drill program that forms part of the US$17.5 million JOGMEC joint venture. The additional drill shall focus on following up on the discovered porphyry system in drill hole PU-RC-39 (refer to press release dated February 21, 2017), while the first drill shall continue completing a 1.5 kilometre grid over the Pampa Union project.
Arena is also pleased to announce that Teck Resources Chile Limitada ("Teck") has informed Arena that it has received the final results for the Paciencia North project drill program completed in late December 2016.
"The JOGMEC Joint Venture has decided to accelerate its exploration program by focusing a second drill on the porphyry system discovered in 2016. The plan is to vector in towards areas of potential copper mineralization within the porphyry system by completing systematic drilling around PU-RC-39," commented William Randall, President & CEO of Arena. He added, "We are also pleased with Teck having intersected a further porphyry-style system in Paciencia North with the associated anomaly still predominantly untested. We look forward to further updates from Teck as their data integration work is completed."
The Paciencia North drill program was a reconnaissance program consisting of seven wide-spaced reverse circulation holes for a total of 1,606m (average depth of 230.5m and maximum depth of 264m). The holes were targeted on a large (2.5 x 3.5 km) induced polarization and magnetic anomaly (refer to press release dated November 22, 2016) which previously had seen limited drilling, only on its margins (Figure). The holes were designed to provide a first pass test of the coincident anomaly and to acquire initial geological, geochemical and physical rock properties data across the anomaly.
All holes penetrated the cover sequences, intersecting bedrock intrusive lithologies and alteration consistent with a porphyry-style system, entirely covered by post mineral cover with a maximum thickness of 48 metres. Alteration is dominated by widespread hydrothermal pyrite development (up to 5%) and abundant magnetite (up to 10%) associated with chlorite-epidote and local weak sericite alteration. One hole (PAC-038) intersected 26m of cemented hydrothermal tourmaline-pyrite breccia similar to those breccias intersected in the southern part of the Paciencia North area, and found in the neighbouring Sierra Gorda deposit. Geochemical results for the program include copper values >200ppm (maximum 480ppm Cu over 2m) and maximum molybdenum value of 47ppm.
Minimum drill spacing is approximately 500m and only seven holes have been drilled within the anomaly; large parts (up to 1.5 x 1.5 km in area) of the anomaly remain untested (Figure). The wide drill spacing does not allow for a detailed geological interpretation and in particular no robust definition of alteration zoning is possible with current data coverage.
Teck has indicated that a full integration of the geophysical, geochemical and geological data is ongoing and decisions regarding further work will be taken in the coming months.
Source: http://arenaminerals.com/