AusQuest Limited (ASX: AQD) advises that it has completed its maiden drilling program at the Los Otros Porphyry Copper Project in southern Peru, which is subject to its Strategic Alliance Agreement (SAA) with a wholly-owned subsidiary of South32 Limited.
The Reverse Circulation (RC) drill program, which consisted of four widely spaced drillholes for a total of 1,261m, was designed to provide an initial test of porphyry copper targets located close to the Palaeocene Porphyry Copper Belt of southern Peru, which is the country's major copper producing region.
Advanced argillic alteration (AAA) indicative of a lithocap environment, often associated with porphyry copper deposits, was intersected in every drill-hole, indicating the presence of an extensive alteration system(s) within the volcanic stratigraphy at Los Otros.
The AAA is defined by moderate temperature clay mineralogy (alunite-dickite) and sericite, as indicated by analysis of TerraSpec and geochemical data. This suggests that the drill-holes are located distal to a porphyry system, which is either buried deeper in the profile or located lateral to the current drilling.
The strongest alteration occurs within drill-hole LOTRC04, where upwards of 250 metres of AAA was intersected containing highly anomalous molybdenum (up to 44ppm Mo), antimony (up to 22ppm Sb) and lead (up to 480ppm Pb), with weakly elevated bismuth (up to 1.3ppm Bi) and tin (up to 10ppm Sn), suggesting it is closer to a causative porphyry than the other three holes. Drill-hole LOTRC02, which contains the least altered volcanics, is considered to be the most distal from a causative porphyry, suggesting that the target(s) is likely to occur to the north, possibly under sediment cover.
Further exploration work at Los Otros is subject to the SAA and will be determined in consultation with South32 once a full assessment of all available results has been completed.
Porphyry copper targets at Los Otros are associated with large areas of advanced argillic alteration, some of which have a Palaeocene age date - similar to the age dates reported for the giant porphyry copper deposits located nearby. AusQuest Managing Director Graeme Drew said the initial drill program at Los Otros had confirmed the scale and intensity of the alteration system in the area, and provided some important vectors to assist with targeting the causative porphyry.
'These data will now be incorporated into our prospect database and further interrogated before further exploration work is considered under the SAA with South32,' he said.
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENT
This report contains forward looking statements concerning the projects owned by AusQuest Limited. Statements concerning mining reserves and resources may also be deemed to be forward looking statements in that they involve estimates based on specific assumptions. Forward-looking statements are not statements of historical fact and actual events and results may differ materially from those described in the forward looking statements as a result of a variety of risks, uncertainties and other factors. Forward looking statements are based on management's beliefs, opinions and estimates as of the dates the forward looking statements are made and no obligation is assumed to update forward looking statements if these beliefs, opinions and estimates should change or to reflect other future developments.
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