CuOro Resources has encountered high-grade copper mineralization through a shallow drilling program at its Santa Elena Copper-Gold Project in Colombia.
The company has employed a compact, portable drill to examine mineralization of the Volcanogenic Massive Sulfide (VMS) projection that was TEM1 exposed. It was anticipated that this small rig would drill up to a depth of 15 m but only two shallow holes were drilled due to technical difficulties. CuOro has drilled these two shallow holes to a depth of 3.55 m and 7.61 m respectively at 20° down dip angle. It has assayed 1.5 in. diameter core from these shallow holes at 1 m intervals. CuOro has intersected 9.51% grading copper over 1 m in the hole C4-4 and 4.53% copper over 3.55 m and 5.63% copper over 7.61 m in the other two shallow holes.
The Santa Elena project shows outcropping of huge sulfide mineralization. The fine to average and sheared grained mineralization mainly includes pyrite, pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite and has been categorized as a Beshi-Type VMS deposit by taking into account the geochemical and geological features. This project is situated near Antioquia batholiths’ northern end, in a series of Cretaceous marine sediments and basaltic volcanics and features cretaceous sandstone, hornfels and argillite of the San Pablo structure. This San Pablo structure is connected with the quartz dioritic Antioquia Batholith that is located directly to the eastern part of the mineralized outcrops.
The CEO and President of the company, has stated that CuOro has confirmed the presence of high-grade copper mineralization at shallow depths, at the Azufral outcrop and the Phase I drilling began on 10th July, 2011 and they expect to identify the real prospects of the Santa Elena project.