Antilles Gold Ltd (ASX:AAU, OTCQB:ANTMF) has begun ground magnetic and Induced Polarisation surveys at the El Pilar copper-gold porphyry deposit in central Cuba.
The company is expected to complete the interpretation of survey data in approximately two months.
The ground IP and magnetic surveys will help Antilles determine the extent of porphyry copper-gold mineralisation by locating primary sulphide mineralisation at depth and mapping the distribution of porphyry intrusive phases already identified in drilling.
An historic aeromagnetic survey indicates a large anomalous area related to this porphyry copper-gold system.
Once the company has finished the surveys, it will move its attention to drilling five cored holes 700 metres into the porphyry deposit.
A recent cored hole into the outer zone of the porphyry deposit grading 1.23% copper over its 134 metres length and open at depth indicates the potential of the deposit.
Working closely with government
The 17,800-hectare Concession covering the El Pilar copper-gold porphyry system and the overlying gold-copper oxide cap is currently held in an Exploration Agreement with the Cuban Government’s mining company, GeoMinera.
Antilles has started negotiations with GeoMinera on the terms of a second joint venture, whereby the concession will be transferred prior to conducting additional exploration and possible future development.
The company will form a new Cayman Islands registered subsidiary, Antilles Copper Inc (ACI), to hold its interest in the El Pilar joint venture. It will also work with the government to increase the level of foreign ownership in order to make the potentially significant copper project more attractive for future possible participation of a major international mining group.
Antilles Gold executive chairman Brian Johnson said: “With the proposed La Demajagua open pit mine nearing the stage of being ‘development ready’ within the existing 49:51 Minera La Victoria joint venture with GeoMinera, the company will progressively increase its focus on the exploration of the major copper targets available to it in Cuba.”
Subject to the results from the upcoming 3,500-metre drilling program at El Pilar, the company will undertake a 20,000-metre program as part of the new joint venture from around July 2023.
Antilles is also working on a funding package for its equity contribution to the second joint venture, which will be applied to the cost of the expanded program, while minimising the dilution of existing shareholders.
What Antilles sees in the project
- El Pilar is a highly prospective advanced exploration project with multiple copper-gold porphyry targets.
- The porphyry systems are fertile (copper-gold) and for the first time confirmed in diamond drilling of the sulphide zone.
- The porphyry systems are outcropping in an area of excellent access and infrastructure.
- The level of erosion is low indicating that the porphyry systems should extend vertically over 1,000 metres.
- Shallow drilling (less than 75 metres vertical) had taken place historically.
- A detailed ground geophysical program is in progress (IP and magnetics) over a 3 x 2-kilometre grid.
- Diamond drilling of the generated targets will follow immediately.