COLQUIPUCRO, PERU

The Colquipucro project consists of 42 claims totaling 6,679 hectares in the Department of Pasco and Province of Daniel Alcides Carrion and is approximately 190km NE of Lima and 65km NW of Cerro de Pasco.

The Colquipucro mining district lies some 40 kilometers north west of the famed Cerro de Pasco and Colquijirca Pb-Zn-Cu mines, and 35 km east of the Raura mine, a Cu-Pb-Zn-Ag skarn deposit mined since 1958. The project is 25km SW of Buenaventura´s high grade 150 million oz Uchuccahacua silver mine.
A first field visit identified numerous gossanous mantos and veins over an area of 20 sq.km within a sequence of limestone, shale and carbonaceous sandstone. Two dominant vein orientations were identified with widths up to 1 m, containing galena, sphalerite and pyrite as the principal sulphide minerals.  Mapping identified propylitic alteration associated with intrusives northeast of the vein and gossanous occurrences, suggesting a mineralizing intrusive source may exist nearby. 

Reconnaissance sampling of vein and mantos yielded strong base metal and silver anomalism with lesser gold values. A 1m by 2m panel sample of oxidized and pyritic rock yielded 64 g/t Ag, 0.7 % Pb and 0.4% Zn; a 0.5 m wide channel sample from a quartz vein returned 460 g/t Ag, 12.3% Pb, 1.9% Zn and 0.2 g/t Au. Two grab samples taken from old mine dumps ran 500 g/t Ag each, 1.8% and 1% Pb, 0.8% and 0.1 % Zn, respectively. From 41 rock chip and soil samples, Ag values ranged from trace to 500 g/t, Au from trace to 0.2 g/t, Pb from trace to 12.3%, and Zn from trace to 1.9%.

Crews returned to the project to sample an existing adit from previous mining. Numerous east-west trending and steeply northerly dipping fault/breccia zones crosscut the adit at fairly regular intevals along its length. The host rock is a banded sandstone unit of the Chimu Formation which has been extensively fractured between the adjacent fault zones, resulting in a series of parallel, closely-spaced fractures resembling a stockwork texture. Surface workings along these faults have been traced over approximately 500m in strike length to at least 300m north-south.

A total of 127 samples were taken over a 245m length along the adit at regular 2m intervals, except where either narrow high grade shear zones or pillars occur at old workings. It appears that the mineralizing event that produced the high grade silver mineralization along the fault zones also produced mineralization over large widths in the intervening host rock.  Anomalous lead and zinc values occur with the high grade silver. These faults and fractures are filled with limonites derived from sulphides and no associated vein material, like quartz, carbonates or barite, are observed. A summary of significant intercepts, using a 30 g/t Ag cut-off, is shown below.

A program of surface trench sampling, using a diamond saw to cut channels in the bedrock, was then begun, with the sample lines being up to 300m long and spaced 100m apart. The first channel was cut immediately, and up to 100m, above the existing adit. A total of 70 samples were taken from the channel over a 305m length at regular 5m intervals, except where old workings or back fill occurred. A summary of significant intercepts, using a 30 g/t Ag cut-off, is shown below.