by Wally Graham, Resources Roadhouse
When Laconia Resources (ASX: LCR) first informed the market of its intention to acquire the Rasuhuilca high-grade gold-silver project in the Southern Andes of Peru, the company’s managing director Ian Stuart told The Resources Roadhouse the acquisition made, “extremely good sense for a company of our size.”
Twelve months later and Stuart’s enthusiasm for the project has grown in direct proportion to the exploration success the company has enjoyed.
The acquisition of Rasuhuilca was settled in June 2012. Since then Laconia has demonstrated a determination to bring an underground mine at the project into production as quickly as it is able.
The project currently has an Inferred Resource estimate of 360,000 tonnes at 1.97 grams per tonne gold and 179 grams per tonne silver (at a 2.5 g/t gold-equivalent cut-off).
Laconia has compiled and reviewed extensive historical data sets it inherited as part of the acquisition, which had been accumulated by companies that had previously owned and conducted exploration work on the project.
Particular attention was paid to available data of high-quality exploration conducted by Cominco from 1984 to 1987 and by Buenaventura between 1997 and 1999.
This work consisted prospect-scale mapping, channel sampling at surface and in underground adits, from which Laconia has developed a series of detailed targets to guide its 2013 exploration programs.
The new Exploration Targets have been identified over five areas of exposed and previously sampled – at surface and/or underground – high-grade epithermal gold and silver veins across the company’s 100 per cent-owned project licences.
Target 1 - Condor Zone (target: 60,000 tonnes to 167,000 tonnes at 1.1g/t to 1.45g/t gold, 184.5g/t to 244.8g/t silver): a zone of high-grade silver with sub-ordinate gold at the western end of the current Rasuhuilca Resource.
Target 2 - Hyallatas Prospect (target: 94,000t to 200,000t at 2.3g/t to 2.4 g/t gold, 37.7g/t to 78.2g/t silver): a series of gold-silver mineralised lodes in silicification alteration assemblages on the western extension of the vein system that hosts the Rasuhuilca Resource.
Target Area 3 - Olga Prospect (target: 42,500t to 50,000t at 2.4g/t to 2.55g/t gold, 81.1g/t to 90.5g/t silver): a vein, 1.5 kilometres to the northwest of the Rasuhuilca Resource that has surface sampling and underground development and sampling.
Target 4 - Española 1 Prospect (target: 54,000t to 154,000t at 3.75g/t to 3.9g/t gold, 57.7g/t to 79.2g/t silver): has surface sampling and sampling of underground development. It consists of two intersecting vein sets that host gold and silver mineralisation. This will be expanded in light of confirmation of copper assays at this prospect.
Target 5 - Marcelita Prospect (target: 114,500t to 220,000t at 2.48g/t to 4.4g/t gold, 71.9g/t to 127g/t silver): located 4.5km to the South East of the Rasuhuilca vein system. It consists of three parallel north-south trending veins, and one breccia pipe, that is the Elsa Breccia.
“We are extremely happy with the progress we have achieved so far with the ongoing review of the historical data,” Stuart told The Roadhouse recently.
“It has enabled us to identify five very good targets, which will be the subject of some detailed systematic exploration activities with the aim of adding to the project’s existing JORC Resource.”
Work was undertaken in February this year by Laconia’s senior exploration geologist at the Española 1 Prospect.
This verified copper mineralisation at the entrance of a 4810m level adit and on surface where veins and breccia outcrop.
The presence of copper mineralisation came as no surprise to Laconia, however the company does consider the confirmation to be highly significant as it corroborates the project’s earlier-owners’ published knowledge of the geology, mineralisation and alteration.
“We have been reviewing all the historical data and what we are finding is that data is in a lot better shape than what we could have hoped for,” Stuart explained.
The historic underground drive sampling results included:
- A composite sample over a total sample length of 23.05 metres of drive back samples for a mineralised length of 24.9 metres at 3.88 per cent copper, 2.98g/t gold and 66.63g/t silver; and
- This includes a composite sample over a total sample length of 13m of drive back samples for a mineralised length of 15.5m at 6.54 per cent copper, 4.77g/t gold and 103.86g/t silver.
Significant individual underground samples include:
- 2.1m at 8.4 per cent copper, 6.13g/t gold and 111.7g/t silver (entire width of drive);
- 2.2m at 6.8 per cent copper, 6.47 g/t gold and 141.8g/t silver (entire width of drive); and
- 1.1m at 9.7 per cent copper, 8.7g/t gold and 152.8g/t silver.
The recent work also expands the exploration model of Rasuhuilca to an ‘El-Indio style’ gold, silver and copper porphyry system.
Previous explorers were aware of the potential scale and size of the Rasuhuilca volcanic system and its porphyry copper-gold potential.
They identified geological similarities to the historic El-Indio deposit in Peru, which contained some 23.2 million tonnes at 6.6g/t gold, 50g/t silver and 4 per cent copper, including a bonanza gold zone of 200,000 tonnes at 209g/t gold.
Laconia has now expanded its compilation of historical data to include any available copper sampling undertaken across the project licences with the view the project could contain a buried and fully intact epithermal/porphyry system.
Stuart said the presence of significant copper mineralisation in conjunction with the gold and silver epithermal veins already identified adds significantly to the potential of the entire Rasuhuilca project.
“The initial reason we went to Peru was in order to find blue sky exploration properties with real substance,” he said.
“When I first looked at the deposit I thought there was clearly a porphyry deposit there it was just a matter of where it was.
“What we are seeing now is that – the indications we are getting from this copper – is that we may be a lot closer to it than what we had hoped.”
Laconia is now preparing an aggressive exploration campaign for Rasuhuilca and is making solid progress in regards to the necessary permitting and approvals it needs in place to commence exploration drilling.
These permits involve community agreements utilising the Declaración de Impacto Ambiental process of the Peruvian regulatory system.
The company has a preliminary 2,000m diamond drilling program planned to upgrade the existing Rasuhuilca JORC resource.
This is now under review in light of the recent copper results and will likely be expanded to include drilling in these areas.
The program will also be used to test the gold and copper targets the company has identified via its previous exploration activities.
Besides the proposed diamond drilling, Laconia is also planning further exploration programs for gold-silver and copper zones comprising surface and underground channel sampling and drill testing, which will be undertaken during 2013 and into the first half of 2014.
“What this copper result tells us is that we have an entirely intact high-sulphidation, porphyry system,” Stuart said.
“We have high-grade epithermal gold and silver veins and breccia pipes and now we’re looking at high-percentage-grade copper, which has changed our thinking quite a bit.
“We want to be a self-funded explorer – to that end we are very keen to get the Rasuhuilca mine up and running to get some cash flow.
“However, these latest copper results have made us think we had better have a good look at locating this larger system first.”
Laconia Resources Limited (ASX: LCR)
HEAD OFFICE
Level 1, 41 – 43 Ord Street
West Perth WA 6005
DIRECTORS
Matthew Howison
Ian Stuart
Vincent Algar
Dr Saliba Sassine
