VANCOUVER, Aug. 30, 2018 /CNW/ - Mirasol Resources
Ltd (TSX-V: MRZ), (OTCPK:MRZLF), (the
"Company" or "Mirasol") is pleased to report on
progress at the Company's 100% owned 21,000 ha Indra epithermal
precious metal project, located 5 km south of the 1.37
Moz1 El Guanaco gold mine in northern Chile.
Indra highlights:
- Indra is subject to recently announced Letter of Intent for an
option to joint venture with Hochschild Mining
- Mirasol's interpretation suggests the project encompasses the
upper levels of a large epithermal precious system
- The outcropping rocks are of a prospective geological age, and
lie within a favorable structural setting on the Paleocene Age
Mineral Belt
- The project is located at relatively low elevation with
year-round access, and is adjacent to mine infrastructure
- Mirasol and Hochschild are planning a geological mapping,
geochemical sampling, alteration vectoring and ground magnetics
program for the southern hemisphere spring and summer (Q4 2018),
that will contribute towards the US$800,000 minimum commitment for the first
18-month exploration program
Letter of Intent
The Indra project is subject to a recently announced Letter of
Intent for an option to joint venture with Hochschild Mining plc
(LON: HOC) which, contingent on completion of a successful due
diligence by HOC, will grant HOC the option to earn up to 75% of
the project. HOC can elect to make a series of exploration and
development investments at the project, make staged cash payments
to Mirasol of US$725,000, and at
Mirasol's request provide production financing for the Company's
retained 25% project interest (see news release August 29, 2018). Mirasol will be the
operator for the first 18 months, (extendable, at the request of
HOC, for a further 12 months), earning a scaled management fee of
up to 10% of exploration expenditures.
Indra Project
The Project was staked by Mirasol as an outcome of the Company's
Atacama – Puna Generative exploration program and encompasses what
Mirasol interprets may be the upper levels of a large epithermal
Au-Ag system. Mirasol has identified a limited number of prospect
pits at Indra estimated to be from the 1900's; however, there is no
evidence of modern exploration at the project despite year-round
access and location adjacent to an operating mine.
The Indra project is located in Paleocene Age Mineral Belt of
northern Chile. The Belt hosts a
number of world class mines, including Yamana Gold's El Penon Low
Sulfidation Epithermal (LSE) Au–Ag mine (6.95 Moz Au and 188.1 Moz
Ag2) and BHP Billiton's Spence porphyry-copper
mine (14 Mt of Cu3).
Indra is localized at the intersection of the Paleocene age
volcanic arc with the NW-SE oriented Culampaja structural corridor
(Figure 1). The Culampaja is considered an important crustal-scale,
trans-orogen structure that has influenced the emplacement of many
large-scale precious metal and copper deposits in northern
Chile and Argentina, including Gold Field's recently
discovered Salares Norte gold deposit (3.7 Moz Au4), located where the structure
traverses the Mio–Pliocene age mineral belt5, 82 km to
the SE of Indra.
The Chilean Government published a regional geological map of
the area, including Indra, which confirms the presence of a
prospective Paleocene age rhyolitic flow dome and volcanic complex.
The flow domes have been radiometrically dated at 56.2
Ma6. Rhyolite flow domes of a similar age are also
known to be associated with Yamana's El Penon Au-Ag
mine7 located 84 km to the north of Indra. This
association suggests a prospective age for the flow domes and
associated alteration system at the Indra project.
The Project hosts the following encouraging prospects (Figure
2):
- Agni, with a large chalcedony and opal silica alteration system
and associated silica - barite structures; and
- Indra, with a large carbonate-silica vein and vein-breccia
zone.
The Indra vein-breccia outcrops intermittently through thin
unconsolidated post-mineral gravels, and has been mapped for a
strike length of more than 7 km before it trends under thicker
cover. The vein-breccias widths range from a few cm up to
more than 10 m and are characterized
by well-developed colloform and crustiform textures and brecciation
(Figure 3), which are indicative of a high-energy multi-pulse
hydrothermal system.
Rock chip sampling of the Indra vein-breccia and the alteration
and veining at Agni has retuned low-level anomalous Au and Ag (max
140 Au ppb and 1,690 Ag ppb) combined with very high levels of As,
Sb, Hg, and Ba epithermal pathfinder elements, as well as strongly
anomalous Cu, Pb and Zn (Figure 1). Alteration mineralogy analysis
of the wall rocks hosting the vein-breccias at Indra show an
interlayered illite and smectite mineral assemblage. The ratio of
these minerals in the alteration can be used to estimate the
approximate depth to the potentially underlying precious metal
interval (Figure 4).
Based on Mirasol's knowledge of this deposit class and ore
deposit models developed from studies of epithermal deposits in
Chile and other parts of the
world, Indra is interpreted as representing the upper levels of a
large epithermal system, where high-grade Au-Ag mineralization may
be preserved at depth beneath the outcropping Indra and Agni
alteration and vein zones. This interpretation is supported by the
presence of "Indra" like carbonate – silica veining, peripheral to
and overlying gold - silver mineralization in the El Penon
district8, and overlying the ore zone in the
multi-million ounce HOC Arcata gold-silver mine in Peru that has produced in-excess of 390,000 oz
Au and 200 Moz Ag9.
Mirasol and HOC are currently designing the first phase Indra
exploration program that will include detailed geological mapping,
rock chip sampling, alteration vectoring studies and ground
magnetics. It is anticipated that exploration will commence at the
project in the 4th quarter of 2018.
Stephen Nano, President and CEO
of Mirasol, has approved the technical content of this news
release. Mr Nano is a Charter Professional geologist and Fellow of
the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (CP and
FAusIMM) and is a Qualified Person under NI 43 -101.
Quality Assurance/Quality Control of the Indra exploration
program:
All exploration on the project was supervised by Mirasol CEO
Stephen C. Nano, who is the
Qualified Person under NI 43-101.
Mirasol applies industry standard exploration sampling
methodologies and techniques. All geochemical soil, stream, rock
and drill samples are collected under the supervision of the
company's geologists in accordance with industry practice.
Geochemical assays are obtained and reported under a quality
assurance and quality control (QA/QC) program. Samples are
dispatched to an ISO 9001:2008 accredited laboratory in
Chile for analysis. Assay results
from surface rock, channel, trench, and drill core samples may be
higher, lower or similar to results obtained from surface samples
due to surficial oxidation and enrichment processes or due to
natural geological grade variations in the primary
mineralization.
Forward Looking Statements: The information in this news release
contains forward looking statements that are subject to a number of
known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may
cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in
our forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause such
differences include: changes in world commodity markets, equity
markets, costs and supply of materials relevant to the mining
industry, change in government and changes to regulations affecting
the mining industry. Forward-looking statements in this release
include statements regarding future exploration programs, operation
plans, geological interpretations, mineral tenure issues and
mineral recovery processes. Although we believe the expectations
reflected in our forward-looking statements are reasonable, results
may vary, and we cannot guarantee future results, levels of
activity, performance or achievements. Mirasol disclaims any
obligations to update or revise any forward-looking statements
whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise,
except as may be required by applicable law.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services
Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX
Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this release.
_________________________________
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1 S&P
Global Market Intelligence
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2 S&P
Global Market Intelligence
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3 S&P
Global Market Intelligence
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4 Gold
Fields. (2017). The Gold Fields Mineral Resource and Mineral
Reserves Supplement to the Integrated Annual Report
2017.
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5 Azevedo,
F. et. al. (2015). The Discovery and Geology of the Salares Norte
Epithermal Gold-Silver Deposit, Northern Chile, New Gen Gold
2015
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6
Espinoza, F. et. al. (2011). Carta Catalina, Region de Antofagasta,
1:100,000. Carta Geologica de Chile, Serie Geologia
Basica
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7 Warren,
I. et. al. (2008). Geochronology of epithermal Au-Ag
mineralization, magmatic-hydrothermal alteration, and supergene
weathering in the El Penon district, northern
Chile. Economic Geology, 103(4),
851-864.
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8 Bissig,
T. et. al. (2007). Vein carbonates in the low sulfidation
epithermal Au-Ag District of El Penon, II Region, Chile:
environment of formation and exploration implications. Revista
geológica de Chile, 34(2), 291-303.
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9
Candiotti de los Rios, H. et. al. (1990). Geologic setting and
epithermal silver veins of the Arcata district, southern
Peru. Economic Geology, 85(7), 1473-1490. and
Hochschild Mining public prospectus and production
reports.
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SOURCE Mirasol Resources Ltd.