Antilles Gold (ASX: AAU) recently published a report by its Exploration Director, Dr. Chris Grainger, on his review of the discovery of a cluster of large porphyry copper-gold deposits near Ciego de Avila.
Following the findings, Antilles Gold recommended they be included in the Los Llanos Exploration Agreement it shares with the Cuban mining company, GeoMinera SA. The company believes the findings could support a large-scale open-pit mining operation. It also recommended prioritization for early exploration of these previously explored and highly prospective properties, which should be drill-ready in a few months.
Highlights from the Report:
- The surface exposures of the group of deposits, El Pilar, San Nicholas, and Gapar, are the leached phyllic caps of copper/gold porphyry cores. Copper is widespread with gold mineralization and generally located at the saprolite/saprock contact where the copper has leached downwards in the weathering profile above fresh rock.
- Given the size of the phyllic alteration zones at the surface, the potential size of the mineralized copper/gold porphyry ore bodies shows it is a very large open pit prospect and an excellent exploration opportunity.
The porphyry prospects were first discovered in the 1990s, but they did not recognize the potential of a large system at the time. Shallow drilling revealed copper-gold mineralization near the surface, but the ground deeper below remained untested.
Porphyry deposits, typified by low grades and high tonnage, produce over 70 percent of global copper and about 20 percent of the world’s gold. Generally, it shows there is a key relationship between porphyry copper deposits and a distinct pattern of altered rocks.
Following the identification of the porphyry copper-gold deposits by Dr. Grainger, Antilles is eager to see the proposed Ciego de Avila project become the second operation after the development of the La Demajagua mine in its joint venture with a subsidiary of GeoMinera.
The company has submitted Dr. Grainger’s report, a proposed work program, and budget to the end of 2023 to the joint venture partner GeoMinera.
If further exploration and analysis confirm the findings showing the potential for a major open-pit mine, the 212km2 Mining Concession holding the porphyry system could be transferred to the JV company, Minera La Victoria SA, for further exploration and possible development.
Antilles is eager to move forward with exploration and believes minimal exploration will be required before bringing in a rig. The company believes the targets should be ready in several months after completing data analysis, geological mapping, and geophysical surveys.
Brian Johnson, the Executive Chairman of Antilles Gold, said that Dr. Grainger, who has been a highly successful explorationist in Colombia and other Latin American countries before joining the Company, believes the porphyry deposits could collectively become a company maker, and potentially the next project to follow Minera La Victoria’s near-term development of the La Demajagua open pit mine on the Isle of Youth in south west Cuba.
