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PROSPECT
Location and access
The Bolsa del Diablo project area is located in northwestern Perú
in the Department of Piura, about 34 kilometres north of the town of
Las Lomas. Plexmar is in the process of obtaining the necessary agreements
with the local communities to guarantee permanent access.
The project area is accessible directly by road from a main paved road
(PanAmerican highway) that runs north-east from Las Lomas and continues
on through Ecuador. A gravel road heads northwest 11 kilometres east
of Las Lomas off the highway and extends for 23 kilometres until it
reaches the village of Chivatos. From there, the road continues through
the project area.
The ecoregion in northwestern Perú is known as the “dry
forest”. This consists of species which are adapted to the extremely
arid conditions of the dry season. Predominant plant species includes
ceiba, bouganvillea, some cacti and overo creating a landscape of mid-size
deciduous trees and limited undergrowth. The rainy season is from January
to March with rainfall varying in normal years between 100 and 500 mm.
Average annual temperatures vary between 24 and 27 degrees celsius with
highs up to 40 degrees. A severe drought has been in effect for the
last four years. Exploration work can be completed year round.
The property covers a series of low hills to the west of the Andean
foothills. Elevations vary from approximately 250 m on the flat valleys
to 500 m on the hills. The nearest obvious source of water is Rio Quiroz,
approximately 4 kilometres from the property. Water would need to be
hauled from here for drilling. A better option may be reverse circulation
drilling to minimize the need for water. Should the project advance
to a production stage, access to sufficient water rights will have to
be secured.
The nearest available power is along the highway, approximately 10 kilometers
(direct) south of the concession.
The property covers a large area with plenty of space for the building
of infrastructure for any advanced exploration or development including
potential tailings storage areas, potential waste disposal areas, heap
leach pad areas and potential processing plant sites.
Project Summary
The nearest known mineral deposits of significance are the undeveloped
Tambogrande volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposits (e.g., TG1:
56 Mt of 1.6% Cu, 1.0 % Zn, 0.5 g/t Au and 26 g/t Ag, plus 8 Mt of 3.6
g/t Au and 62 g/t Ag; Winter et al., 2004), approximately 55-70 kilometres
south-east of the subject property. After the Tambogrande discovery
was made, some exploration activity was conducted by Billiton in the
subject area, but no information is available relating to their work.
There has been no documented mining in the subject area except during
the last few years, when a number of small-scale artisanal mining operations
have been established on gold-bearing quartz veins. There has also been
past artisanal barite production from vein deposits. The artisanal mining
has prompted application for a number of concessions in the area. No
records of production are available for mining operations in the area.
The mining activity seems to be related to fact the area has been enduring
an extended drought for the past four years. The drought has negatively
influenced agriculture (mainly goat herding), resulting in economic
hardship for the local people. Additionally, the drought conditions
have resulted in serious die-back of the vegetation, allowing rocks
to be more easily observed.
These two factors have resulted in local farmers turning to prospecting
and small scale mining as a means of survival. Company geologists have
investigated reports of small scale mining activity in the subject area.
Subsequently, Plexmar applied for a number of concessions and reached
agreements with other concession holders and local community groups.
Geologic examination by Plexmar geologists revealed the presence of
widespread silicified and argillically altered volcanic rocks with numerous
associated gold-bearing quartz veins that are currently being exploited
by local artisanal miners. Although the area is within the highly prospective
Andean metallogenic belt, few previous gold/silver occurrences of significance
have been discovered in this area. The nearest substantial metalliferous
deposits are the undeveloped Tambogrande volcanogenic massive sulphide
deposits which occur approximately 60 kilometres southwest of the subject
property.
Widespread gold mineralization within the Bolsa del Diablo claims and
in the immediate area represent a previously unknown potential new gold
target in northernwestern Perú. The project targets epithermal
Au-Ag deposits. The high sulphidation Tertiary gold belt to the south
(i.e., Yanacocha, Pierina, Alto Chicama) and the low-sulphidation system
to the north in Ecuador (i.e., Portovelo) are, at our current level
of understanding, both possible models for these mineral occurrences.
The nearby Tambogrande VMS deposits occurring in the Cretaceous Lancones
basin represent a distinct and likely unrelated older metallogenic event.
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