|
Exploration
The same professional geologic expertise that lead to the discovery - and later development - of the San Jose silver/gold mine, and to the discovery of the large Los Azules copper porphyry system, is being used to make other silver, gold and copper discoveries in Argentina.
Minera Andes is active in San Juan and Santa Cruz provinces, the two most mining-friendly provinces in Argentina. Its primary copper properties are located in San Juan, and include Rincon de Los Chochones, and the San Juan Project area.
Santa Cruz is an emerging, highly prospective silver/gold province that is still in the early stages of the discovery cycle. Minera Andes is one of the largest land owners in this province and has made a number of new silver/gold discoveries.
In northern Santa Cruz the Deseado Massif, a major rock formation, has revealed quartz-vein hosted silver and gold. Minera Andes' co-owned San Jose silver/gold mine is one of four producing mines in this region. Anglo, Pan American Silver and Coeur d'Alene Mines also have operating mines in this high-potential region.
"Look-alike" Targets
Minera Andes' geologists have made a number of new, "grassroots" discoveries in the Deseado Massif. All are silver/gold properties and all are owned and controlled 100 percent by Minera Andes. Drilling is scheduled for three of these targets. Known as "look-alike" discoveries, these three targets have similarities to San Jose in that the silver and gold is hosted in epithermal quartz veins, and has relatively simple metallurgy. These targets include:- Celestina -- Several kilometers of quartz veins replacing carbonate; strong barite veining. Strong geochemical and geophysical anomalies over the veins.
- Martes -- Quartz veins, gold and silver trace elements; and anomalies in rock and soils on the veins.
- Telken -- Epithermal quartz veins and hydrothermal breccias, on trend with the Eureka vein in the northwest portion of the Deseado Massif. The Eureka vein, held by another company, is in prefeasibility study and so far in known to contain 2.5 million ounces of gold equivalent.
|
