Great Southern Copper (GSCU ) has commenced scout reverse circulation drilling at the Artemisa South copper-gold target on the Especularita project in Chile.
The RC programme at Artemisa South is targeting old mine workings where structurally-controlled vein and disseminated type copper-gold mineralisation occurs in granodiorite, south of the La Colorada lithocap.
The prospect is located at low elevation with excellent access to infrastructure and mining services and along trend of more than 85 million tonnes of contained copper hosted in major deposits including Los Pelambres, Altar and El Pachon.
In addition, drilling recently completed at the nearby Victoria target has confirmed the potential for a large-scale porphyry copper type alteration system.
Five holes were drilled for 662 metres, representing the first drilling beneath the La Colorada lithocap.
The work has confirmed that porphyry-style alteration is strengthening toward the centre of the system, supporting the potential for a large-scale buried copper-gold porphyry target.
Samples for all five holes at Victoria have been dispatched to ALS Laboratories in Santiago
"Artemisa South is the final of four targets to be tested with scout RC drilling in the current porphyry exploration programme,” said Sam Garrett, chief executive of Great Southern Copper.
“This programme is testing beneath high-grade copper-gold-silver mineralisation identified in old workings, providing an opportunity to assess both the broader porphyry potential and the higher-grade mineralised structures observed at Artemisa South. The identification of porphyry-related phyllic alteration in drill chips at Victoria is very encouraging, particularly as this is the first hole to test beneath the La Colorada lithocap. These observations provide further support for our interpretation that the lithocap has the potential to host a large-scale porphyry copper alteration system. Meanwhile, the AMT geophysics survey across the western half of the lithocap has been completed and results will be used in conjunction with the scout drilling and mapping to vector the next phase of drill targeting of the lithocap for buried porphyry copper deposits. Exploration mapping and sampling activities are continuing at both the Cerro Negro and Viuda prospects as we prepare for the next phase of drilling activity in those areas."
View from Vox
Great Southern Copper’s Chilean portfolio continues to serve up enticing results. No doubt the company has caught the scent of something big. But what? Well, it’s known that copper porphyries tend to occur in clusters, not just in isolation, and this ground is looking increasingly prospective for porphyries. Could it be there’s more than one? It’s certainly possible. More follow-up work is needed before anything can be said with certainty, and that work is already underway at Artemesia South and elsewhere.