Historical Interpretation Suggests Larger Mineralized Zone
Prismo Metals (WKN A2QEGD / CSE PRIZ) has recently acquired historical data for the Hot Breccia project from previous owners. Based on this, the mineralization model for the project located in southern Arizona has been updated in recent weeks.
The historical data includes work conducted under the leadership of Bear Creek Mining Company between 1972 and mid-1974 on Hot Breccia. It contains a complete log and samples for drill hole OC-1, as well as a geological interpretation following the completion of drill holes OC-1 to OC-3. An important part of the acquired data shows the distribution of post-mineralization quartz diorite dikes and the location of shallow and deep IP anomalies from several different sources.
The Hot Breccia project is located in the world-class Arizona Copper Belt between several well-explored world-class copper mines, including Morenci, Ray, and Resolution, and consists of 1,420 hectares in 227 contiguous mining claims. Hot Breccia shares many similarities with these neighboring systems. Of particular interest are a swarm of porphyry dikes and a series of breccia pipes containing numerous fragments of well-mineralized copper-bearing rocks. Prismo Metals conducted a ZTEM survey last year, which identified a very large conductive anomaly directly beneath the breccia outcrops.
Samples taken from the project have now shown the presence of copper mineralization associated with polymictic breccia. This mineralization is believed to have brought fragments of sedimentary rock and ore from a depth of presumably 400 to 1,000 meters to the surface. Therefore, deep drilling appears promising.
Historical Interpretation Suggests Larger Mineralized Zone
Bear Creek’s interpretation of the historical IP data suggests that mineralization is present over a larger area than previously recognized. Notably, the deep IP anomaly and the distribution of copper-bearing xenoliths in quartz diorite dikes coincide precisely with the area of the conductive anomaly identified in Prismo Metals’ 2023 geophysical ZTEM survey.
As Prismo Metals previously only had access to a portion of the OC-1 drill log up to a depth of 295 meters, the acquisition of historical data has significantly deepened the understanding of the project’s geology. According to the new data, drill hole OC-1 intersected 403 meters of Cretaceous volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks, as expected from the geology in this area, followed by a 330-meter section of quartz diorite porphyry. It contains pyrite and copper-bearing material that does not outcrop at the surface.
Bear Creek assumed that this quartz porphyry contains an intrusive phase associated with the mineralization and is intersected by later adits. The mineralized porphyry includes a 23.5-meter pendant of skarn mineralization averaging 0.54 percent copper, including 1.8 meters at 1.81 percent copper. The drill hole was strongly copper-anomalous to the bottom and ended in mineralization.
A Systematic Approach as Key to Understanding the Deposit
Prismo Metals is currently taking a very thorough and scientific approach to developing the project. The historical data is therefore considered very important and has already contributed to deepening the understanding of the deposit’s geology. It is expected that the new insights will soon have a strong influence on the 2024 exploration program.
Prismo Metals has budgeted 3.0 million Canadian dollars (CAD) for the completion of this year’s drilling program. It aims to drill five holes with a total length of 5,000 meters. Each drill hole is intended to penetrate the entire prospective Paleozoic carbonate stratigraphy. Prismo expects 1,000 to 1,200 meters per drill hole. The exploration team will use the geological information provided by each drill hole to determine if further drilling is necessary.
