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El Paso Prospect: Abundant Copper Showings and Two Large IP Anomolies
Main features of El Paso are shown below on the El Paso Compilation. The El Paso EP, covering 6,315 hectares, was granted in 2007. It is located 11 kilometers southeast of Freeport McMoRan's Taysan porphyry copper-gold deposit and seven kilometers northeast of Mindoro's Pica porphyry copper-gold prospect.
El Paso is immediately north of the major west-northwesttrending structural boundary that separates older northeastern batholithic terrain (San Juan Diorite), and the younger southern volcanic terrain. This major boundary is an especially favorable structural setting, which served to localize mineralizing intrusions, including Taysan. The area is underlain largely by San Juan Diorite with islands of metavolcanics, intruded by younger hornblende quartz diorite to hornblende diorite and andesite porphyry intrusions, and overlain in places by younger Quaternary volcanic tuff. Extensive porphyry-related phyllic and intermediate argillic alteration has been mapped, as well as potassic alteration in places.
EL PASO COMPILATION
EL PASO TRENCH / CHANNEL RESULTS
Widespread copper-gold mineralization occurs associated with the younger andesite porphyry and hornblende quartz diorite to hornblende diorite intrusions, as well as the older, more-eroded San Juan Diorite. The mineralization associated with the former is the principal target. In the southwest part of the El Paso prospect, copper ± gold mineralization had been known historically and was tested with shallow drill holes by a previous operator in the mid-nineties. Results are unknown. However, the area tested by drilling is not associated with significant IP anomalies and is considered to represent copper ± gold mineralization on the periphery of the porphyry copper-gold system.
Subsequent IP surveys by Mindoro defined two large and strong chargeability anomalies, known as Calantas and Mulawin, approximately two kilometers east of the drill-tested copper ± gold showings. Each is about two kilometers by one kilometer in extent with chargeability values ranging from 20 to over 50 msec, against a background of 4 to 8 msec.
A thin cover of volcanic ash obscures much of the area, but scattered outcrops indicate geology consists of stocks of younger fine-medium grained hornblende quartz diorite, hornblende diorite and andesite porphyry intruding metavolcanics. Independent petrology confirms that alteration consists of quartz-sericite-chlorite±epidote and sericite-clay-chlorite. These alteration assemblages are common to Philippine porphyry systems and are usually transitional to the core potassic zone at depth. The petrology also confirms the presence of quartz veining with magnetite and the copper minerals chalcopyrite and bornite. A channel sample from the metavolcanics yielded 0.24 percent copper over 15 meters. Recent trenching within the medium grained hornblende quartz diorite to hornblende diorite at the central part of the area, northwest edge of Mulawin, gave 0.88 percent copper, 0.14 g/t gold and up to 57 parts per million molybdenum over 15 meters. These suggest the strong chargeability anomaly below is of considerable potential. High molybdenum values of 806 parts per million over a 10 meter trench are associated with a younger quartz diorite stock at Calantas, and also suggest a porphyry source. The results of a trenching and channel sampling program at El Paso appear in the compilation map and table on page 31. High copper values in the one percent plus range were outlined in most trenches excavated southwest of the prospect, over lengths from three meters to 30 meters.
Molybdenite mineralization in SCC-altered, medium-grained diorite, Calantas Target, El Paso Project.
ZZ El Paso Project Priority Moly bearing SCC altered medium grained diorite from Calantas
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