Cascadero Copper's 50% owned subsidiary Salta Exploraciones SA (Salta) has mobilized a diamond drill, crew and support staff to the Las Cuevas gold prospect in north western Argentina. The planned program consists of seven (7) NTW core holes for a total of 1,500 metres over 30 to 35 days.
Las Cuevas was discovered by Salta prospectors in 2004. It is located about 100 kms northwest of Salta City. Prospecting, sampling and trenching on the 1,500 hectare property have identified the presence of three gold bearing outcrops controlled by a regional fault-fold structure. The Discovery Zone outcrop and the two Hilda Zone outcrops occur on the flank of a prominent hill. Importantly, gold bearing quartz veins outcrop along the ridge of the hill some 250 metres above and between the Discovery and Hilda outcrops. This suggests the two zones may be related and a more extensive gold system may exist.
The Discovery Zone, the more northerly area of interest, is prospective for gold over an area of 500 metres north south by 600 metres east west. The Hilda Zone, 1,200 metres due south, consists of two gold bearing zones. The combined area of interest of the Hilda zones is about 800 metres north south by 800 metres east west. The geochemistry of the three outcropping areas shows strong anomalies and high-values of gold and copper.
The mineralization is hosted in Cambrian sedimentary rocks and significant gold values occur in structurally controlled quartz veins, quartz stock work, silica breccia and areas with dense arrays of gold bearing quartz-sericite veinlets that intrude the sedimentary assemblage. The trend of the regional structures is north-east, north-south and north-west, which conforms to the local fabric.
Four trenches on the Discovery Zone reveal an area with a dense array of gold bearing veins, veinlets and stock work, which is the focus of the initial drill program. Due to the faulting and folding of the host rocks, determining the geometry of the mineralized zone as early as possible is important. Gold mineralization is present in veins in structurally prepared rocks and in permeable horizons in the host sediments. Trend movements in this environment produces rhombus type fractures formed by sets of northwest and northeast faults.
The seven drill pads are positioned at 25 metre intervals and core holes will be drilled consecutively starting from the most northerly trench. The first core hole LC11-01 will be drilled west-to-east and LC11-02 from east-to-west and each of the drill pads LC11-03 to LC11-07 will alternate azimuth accordingly. Each hole will be drilled at -55o with an average down hole length of 220 metres. The initial target zone is approximately 225 metres north south by 150 metres east west and the vertical extent of the deepest drill hole is expected to be 175 metres. The property was not subject to previous drilling.
Minerals present in the Discovery Zone trenches are pyrite, chalcopyrite, chalcocite, covelite and native gold. Alteration consists of silicification, sericite, FeOx and quartz. The style of mineralization is dominantly mesothermal.
The Las Cuevas infrastructure is excellent as the property is road accessible. A high-voltage power line to Chile passes through the property's southern extreme, the natural gas line to Pocitos is within 6kms, and the railway to Antofagasta, Chile is approximately 14 kms to the east. There are qualified local field support personnel and a small supportive indigenous local community. The property is between 3,000 to 3,600 metres elevation and can be worked year round.
The area is part of the south eastern extension of the Colama-Olacapato-El Toro (COT) mega transverse structure, which generates structural compression and dilation zones, called pull-apart basins, that provide the faults and fractures that permit deposition of precious and base metal hydrothermal fluid in surrounding host rocks. The COT lineament has generated great mineralized areas such as Chuquicamata and El Laco in Chile and Taca Taca, El Oculto, El Quevar, Concordia, Pancho Arias, Las Burras and many other mineral deposits and showings in north western Argentina.
Bill McWilliam
Chief Executive Officer
Cascadero Copper Corp
604-999-0391
Email: bill@cascadero.com
ABOUT CASCADERO COPPER
Cascadero Copper is an integrated prospecting and mineral exploration business. The Company has offices in North Vancouver, BC, Sudbury, Ontario and Salta City in the province of Salta, Argentina. The Company generates, acquires and explores mineral properties. The Company has several copper-gold porphyry prospects in the Toodoggone region of British Columbia, a 100% INTERST volcanic and intrusive hosted gold properties in the Sudbury, Swayze and Timmins camps of Ontario and holds a 50% interest in a 46 property portfolio in north western Argentina. Exploration is currently active in Ontario and Argentina and exploration occurred in July 2001 in British Columbia on the MEX copper-gold porphyry.
Cascadero's commodity focus is gold, silver and base metals hosted in large-scale mineral systems. In 2011 and 2012, Cascadero and Salta plan to drill test a total of four copper-gold porphyry systems and four large-scale sediment hosted gold and silver-rich polymetalic systems and two sediment hosted gold-silver showings.
For more information please contact Allan or Janice Feldman at AJF Consultants:
1207 Beach Grove Road, Tsawwassen, BC Office = 604-948-9663 Cell = 604-377-2942
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