Asia Minerals discovers high-grade copper-zinc-gold target

A first-phase exploration program by Asia Minerals (amp-a) has resulted in a copper-zinc-gold discovery at the Aurora property in the Sierra Madre mountains of Luzon province, in the Philippines.

The company says channel sampling of the Villa showing returned values of up to 3.1% copper, 11.4% zinc and 0.35 gram gold per tonne. A high-grade section of this showing returned grades of 3% copper and 9.1% zinc over a true width of 5.5 metres, within a 28-metre-thick zone of mineralization grading 0.9% copper and 4.1% zinc.

The showing is described as

a “high-sulphidation”-type, base-metal-plus-gold-lode target. The interpretation is based on geological mapping which shows a lode system occurs beneath the hangingwall contact of a 90-metre-thick zone of quartz-pyrite-clay alteration.

Asia Minerals also reports the discovery of mineralized float boulders at Lamig Creek, 4 km north of the Villa showing. Alteration similar to the Villa showing was observed, while a soil geochemical survey in the area identified a zinc anomaly surrounding zones of anomalous copper and gold. A similar alteration zone was mapped at Labi Creek, 1.5 km west of the Villa showing.

The outcrop of the Villa-Lamig-Labi alteration zone is believed to bear similarities to those typically associated with underlying porphyry copper-gold-type mineralization.

The company is encouraged by results to date, and plans to conduct more exploration to determine the extent of the Villa-Lamig-Labi massive sulphide copper-zinc-gold mineralization, as well as to define drill targets for an underlying porphyry copper-gold deposit.

This phase of work will include geological, geochemical and geophysical exploration. Meanwhile, a reconnaissance exploration program is in progress on the southwestern part of the property, where previous work had identified copper-gold showings and geochemical anomalies.

Asia Minerals has the right to earn a 90% interest in the 55,000-ha Aurora property.