Pampa Metals Corp. (CSE:PM) (OTCQX:PMMCF) is expanding its exploration activities at its 6,800-hectare Block 4 project in northern Chile with the start of a geochemical soil sampling programme and advanced plans for drill testing of the Buenavista target.
Block 4 is located along the principal porphyry copper belt of northern Chile, about 110 km south of the giant La Escondida copper mine.
Buenavista comprises a poorly exposed quartz-veinlet stockwork zone hosted within a dacite porphyry intrusion, which is spatially coincident with a magnetic high and anomalous molybdenum geochemistry.
Copper oxide occurrences and anomalous gold values are zoned around the central stockwork zone.
Key takeaways:
- Follow-up geological fieldwork at the company’s Block 4 property led to the discovery of the stockwork veined porphyry intrusion spatially coincident with a magnetic anomaly detected by Pampa Metals’ ground magnetics survey with the new target being named Buenavista.
- The company completed a trenching programme at Buenavista in November-December 2021, with assay results returning up to 0.26% copper, including 24m @ 0.14% Cu – and up to 0.64g/t gold, including 24m @ 0.25g/t
- Buenavista is a priority follow-up target for Pampa Metals and the company continues to advance plans for a maiden drill test once the rapidly encroaching southern hemisphere winter is over.
Block 4 – Exploration Activities and Planning
The Buenavista target at Block 4 is a priority follow-up target for Pampa Metals. Results to date have revealed a central porphyritic intrusion, associated with an intense quartz-veinlet stockwork, a discrete magnetic anomaly, and highly anomalous Cu-Mo-Au geochemistry from limited trenching, all supporting the possible presence of a productive Tertiary porphyry copper style system.
Pampa Metals intends to test the Buenavista target with diamond drilling. Although access to the project is relatively easy with a good quality dirt road extending from the paved Pan American Highway, the project is somewhat remote, and the rapidly encroaching southern hemisphere winter season will make for difficult work conditions. Consequently, plans are underway, including preliminary environmental studies and permitting, for a drill programme to start in the southern hemisphere springtime, around September of this year. In the meantime, further surface studies are being implemented and considered, as follows:
- An approximately 2,500 soil sample programme on a 100m x 50m grid, covering an area of approximately 3.5 km x 3.5 km centred on the Buenavista target and stockwork zone, will be initiated immediately, with sampling in the field expected to be completed before any potential winter storms.
- Based on the soil sampling geochemical results, and subject to weather conditions, additional trenching to expose more bedrock for sampling, may be considered.
Several magnetic anomalies, with similar features to the magnetic anomaly centred on the Buenavista target, occur under thicker post mineral cover materials to the east and north of Buenavista.
Consideration is being given to exploring through the thicker cover using induced polarisation (IP) geophysical methods to test for the presence of possible porphyry-type sulphide mineralisation associated with one or more of the magnetic anomalies.
Pampa Metals – Other Activities
In addition to its focus at its Block 4 project, Pampa Metals continues to evaluate a follow-up drill programme at the Cerro Chiquitin target on its wholly owned Cerro Buenos Aires project, as well as two follow-up drill targets at its Redondo-Veronica project.
In addition, the company continues to evaluate the prospective potential of the Block 3 project and has started a 1:5000 geological reconnaissance on the Block 2 property.
Pampa Metals is also active with field follow-up of eight target areas in northern Chile generated by VerAI Discoveries using Artificial Intelligence technologies, over which the Company has option rights.
Additionally, the company rounds off its very active exploration programs with two projects at Morros Blancos and Cerro Blanco under option to Austral Gold Ltd, where a variety of exploration activities, including drill testing, have been underway since August 2021.
For further information please visit: https://pampametals.com/
