Strong copper visuals for Pan Asia at Chilean play

Pan Asia Metals has unveiled promising early visual indicators from its Rosario copper project in Chile, with many soil and rock-chip samples at the site showing strong green malachite copper mineralisation – lending further support to historic exploration results.

The program kicked-off at Rosario last week alongside geophysical induced-polarisation (IP) surveys. Led by chief geologist David Hobby, the program set out to validate historic exploration results and further define the potential size of the prospective Rosario East Trend (RET).

Promising visual green copper mineralisation from rock-chip sampling at Pan Asia Metals’ Rosario copper project in Chile.

The significance of the RET is that it hosts the old Salvadora and Royal Mines where research has unearthed many rock-chip samples carrying strong copper grades that relate to extensive economic oxide mineralisation. The initial programs at Rosario also seek to uncover potential signs of “Manto-style” copper mineralisation prior to maiden drilling.

Manto-style mineralisation refers to copper-silver mineralisation forming in blanket-like bodies between bedding planes, like that found in northern Chile at the 170 million tonnes at 1.6 per cent Mantos Blancos copper deposit, which began mining way back in 1995.

‘The presence of historical mines and the proximity of the El Salvador copper mine provide a high level of confidence in the project.’

Pan Asia Metals managing director Paul Lock

With limited outcropping mineralisation at the project, soil sampling is of particular importance, with initial findings showing consistent visuals of malachite mineralisation.

Pan Asia Metals managing director Paul Lock said: “Exploration results to date support previous work with strong visuals and many samples containing visible Malachite, a secondary copper mineral. The presence of small-scale historical mines and the proximity of the El Salvador copper mine provide a high level of confidence in the project.”

The company says the geochemical program will involve both soil and rock-chip sampling, with 193 soil samples and 32 rock-chip samples collected to date. Previous exploration efforts in the region have yielded impressive figures for non-outcropping primary mineralisation, with rock-chip samples grading between one and five per cent copper.

While the visual estimates of copper mineralisation are encouraging, Pan Asia will now be eagerly awaiting conclusive laboratory analyses to confirm the oxide grades. Results from the geochemical sampling are expected mid-to-late next month.

Management says further exploration is continuing along both the RET and the Rosario Central Trend (RCT), where reconnaissance mapping and additional rock-chip sampling are underway. An update on the geochemical work is expected early next week, while results from the IP survey and the geochemical analysis are anticipated later next month.

The company is also progressing some 19 IP geophysical survey lines for about 27 line kilometres. The survey began at the southern end of the RET and continues northward on east-to-west lines spaced about 400m apart. When the IP survey has been completed on the RET, it will progress to the RCT and Rosario West Trend (RWT) before winding up in about a fortnight, with results expected soon after.

Pan Asia is also preparing for its maiden 2500m reverse-circulation (RC) drilling program at Rosario, which is slated to begin in November to target key areas identified through the geophysical and geochemical surveys.

Rosario’s location puts it in the box seat as one of South America’s most strategically situated projects, as it lies about 100km by road from Chilean State mining firm ENAMI’s El Salado oxide and sulphide copper ore processing plant, while Codelco’s Porterillos copper smelter sits just 40km south its El Salvador mine.

Should the promising copper visuals from rock chips be confirmed by the laboratory, the historic prospectivity of the RET will be compulsive. In conjunction with the soon-to-be-received IP targets, it should help point Pan Asia’s drill bit in the right direction for its upcoming maiden program in November.

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