Vancouver, British Columbia -- Artha Resources Corporation (TSX.V: AHC) is pleased to announce that the company has continued to add significant value to its large precious and base metal property portfolio in Jujuy Province, NW Argentina (Map 1).
- Large multi-metal geochemical anomaly within a 4.5km by 1.5km zone of quartz veining and alteration at the Ivan Alberto prospect where further assays have enhanced prospectivity.
- Detailed mapping and trenching at the Ivan Alberto prospect will begin in October to define drilling targets for Q4 program.
- Pirquitas NW prospect contains a large, 1.7 km by 1.0 km target zone with coincident geochemical, geological, structural and geophysical anomalies suggesting it could be a satellite system along strike from the Pirquitas mine mineralization.
- Drilling program planning underway, expected to begin in mid Q4 on Ivan Alberto and Pirquitas NW targets.
IVAN ALBERTO PROSPECT (VALLECITO PROPERTY).
Final assays and accompanying technical report have now been received from the mapping and surface sampling program recently completed on the Ivan Alberto prospect in the southern half of the Vallecito Project. Vallecito lies approximately 40 km east of Silver Standards Pirquitas mine. As previously announced, the program delineated a 4.5 km x 1.5 km mineralized zone defined by quartz veins and stockworking with associated metal-sulphide mineralization and hydrothermal alteration consistent with a large mineralized system (Map 1).
The mineralization in the veins consists of chalcopyrite, sphalerite, galena, arsenopyrite, pyrite and bismutinite, which are occur as fracture filling, disseminations and banded textures in the shear structures. Gold and silver are associated with iron oxides, in native form (as gold) and as argentojarosite (containing silver). Iron oxides such as goethite, hematite and jarosite in disseminated form, as infilling in boxworks and as impregnations in the fractures is abundant. The gangue consists of quartz in three generations (milky quartz, hyaline quartz and drusic quartz), barite and calcite. The main alteration is intermediate argilization as a halo around the veins, and is characterized by the occurrence of sericite, clay, kaolin and silica (Map 2).
Mapping has identified at least seven principal veins with a dominant trend of N40 E to N55E, consistent with other large scale mineralisation in the Puna region of the Andes. Individual veins are continuous and lengths range from 0.9 km to 1.2 km with widths ranging from 0.3m to 2.5m -- the veins occasionally develop bi-fications that considerably increase their width in places.
The geochemical sampling reported highly encouraging anomalies over the sampled area (Map 3):
|
Element |
Anomalous Range |
Percentage of Samples in Anomalous Range |
|
Gold |
10ppb - 6350ppb Au |
14.7% |
|
Silver |
3.5ppm - 49.9ppm Ag |
6.05% |
|
Copper |
103ppm - 3750ppm Cu |
27.7% |
|
Lead |
105ppm - 4320ppm Pb |
29.1% |
|
Zinc |
103ppm and 11.25% Zn |
40.6% |
The style of mineralization and alteration, in conjunction with the elevated precious and base metals covering such a large area suggests the target contains a base metal epithermal system (Zn-Cu-Pb) with variable contents of gold and silver. This prospect will be fast tracked to drilling, planned in Q4. Detailed surface trenching to ascertain the true widths of the mineralized veins and determine their attitude will assist in targeting the drilling.
PIRQUITAS NW PROSPECT.
The Pirquitas NW prospect lays to the NW of the Pirquitas mine and consists of a 1.7 km x 1.0 km target zone hosted in Ordovician sedimentary rocks (shales and sandstones) where a range of mineralization indicators have been identified including breccias, veins and stockwork systems oriented E-W and NNE-SSW, consistent with the mineralized trend of the region. The target zone is partly covered by quaternary soil however a quartz-sericite core with iron oxides (OxFe) and metal sulfide mineralization surrounded by an argillic halo exists. The main observed mineralization is hematite and limonite in fractures with quartz veins and breccia matrix. Sulphides such as pyrite, chalcopyrite, arsenopyrite, galena, sphalerite have been observed associated with stockwork quartz veins and some old workings explorations.
Rock chip sampling recently completed has reported high priority anomalies with coincident gold (up to 2100 ppb), silver (up to 23ppm), arsenic (over 10,000 ppm), antimony (up to 433ppm), zinc (up to 17,350 ppm), lead (up to 5,350 ppm), mercury (up to 4.0ppm) and bismuth (up to 27.9ppm). The combination of these metals, in particular the high gold and silver at surface, make this prospect a very promising target with detailed work to continue in October 2010 to delineate drilling targets.
An induced polarisation geophysical survey was also recently completed consisting of six lines of resistivity, dipole-dipole totaling 10.2 line km. Results indicate a chargeability anomaly of 40-60 mV / V over an area 700m x 300m in size. The chargeability anomaly is coincident with a moderate resistivity zone and continues at depth. The anomaly is open to the west and northwest from the survey area. Follow up IP is planned to close off the anomaly and assist in defining drilling targets.
Artha's geological interpretation suggests that the Pirquitas NW anomalies could be caused by the same hydrothermal system responsible for the mineralization in the Pirquitas mine and as such may be a satellite mineralised system from Pirquitas deposit (Map 4).
Charles Straw, B.Sc., is the qualified person under NI 43-101 responsible for the technical information in this news release.
Artha was founded by a team of mining industry professionals with a proven track record in project generation, exploration, mining and finance. The Company's principle exploration target adjoins Silver Standards Pirquitas Mine, one of the largest primary silver mines in the world located in the province of Jujuy in NW Argentina. Artha is one of the largest mineral explorers in this region with over 1500 square kilometers of properties prospective for silver, gold, base metals and rare earths.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors,
"Todd McMurray"
President
For Information Contact:
Todd McMurray
President, Director
Tel: 1 604 648 1530
Email:
Carey Lotz
BK Consulting
1-888-648-6242
Email:
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