Belararox moves to snap up zinc-rich copper porphyry project in Argentina

Belararox is expanding its exposure to zinc with its agreement to acquire the Toro-Malambo-Tambo (TMT) base metals and copper-gold porphyry project in Argentina.

And it is not hard to see why the company was drawn to this project when one considers that drilling carried out on the Toro target in southern part of the project returned some very thick, rich and shallow intercepts of zinc and silver with traces of other elements.

Hole ARRLSDD00001 returned a standout intersection of 266m grading 0.76% zinc, 14.6 parts per million (or grams per tonne) silver, 0.05ppm gold, 0.04% copper and 0.09% lead from a down-hole depth of just 56m.

This included a number of higher grade zones such as 2m at 8.59% zinc, 112ppm silver, 0.63ppm gold, 0.25% copper and 0.63% lead from 58m and 2m at 4.41% zinc, 41ppm silver, 0.34ppm gold, 0.05% copper and 0.12% lead from 186m.

Older intercepts such as 24m at 2.4% zinc, 38.8ppm silver, 0.18ppm gold and 0.07% copper from 24m and 60m at 2.4% zinc, 118ppm silver, 0.32ppm gold and 0.28% copper from 114m within hole DDH1 from the Sonoma drill holes completed in 1996/1997 at Toro just adds further to why Belararox (ASX:BRX) is so keen on the TMT project.

“Our due diligence has identified historic core drill results undertaken at the southern end of the TMT project. These finds add further credence to our belief that this asset, located in a region known to be mineral-rich, is highly prospective for zinc, an in-demand clean energy metal used in processes to reduce carbon emissions,” managing director Arvind Misra said.

“We will continue to progress our Toro-Mambo-Tambo acquisition process over the coming weeks with the aim of closing the transaction soon after obtaining shareholder approval.

“Once this work is done, the on-the-ground team we have assembled with Condor to undertake exploration activities in Argentina will get to work.”

TMT project details

The TMT project in Argentina’s San Juan Province consists of the Toro, Malambo and Tambo targets.

Toro – located in the south of the project – was the subject of historical exploration activities completed by Sonoma Resource Development Argentina during 1995 to 1999 and Votorantim Metais Argentina from 2012 to 2014.

Mineralisation observed in the historical drill core during the due diligence process strongly supported the potential of the project to contain a significant system rich in base and precious metals.

While the bulk of the historical exploration at Toro was focused on the North Zone, rock chip sampling of the Central and Southern Zones also supported the delineation of distinct zones of significant mineralisation.

Individual samples produced assay grades that ranged up to 13.3% zinc, 12.1% lead, 2.56g/t gold, 1.9% copper and 1,980ppm silver, a strong indicator of potentially economic zinc mineralisation – particularly in the Central Zone.

Belararox noted that the historical exploration combined with its own onsite due diligence supports the interpretation of a minimally eroded zinc-lead mineralisation system with high zinc grades in an extensive vein system and related stockworks associated with igneous units.

Further differentiation of the structure and mineralisation has also been observed across the Toro target making it possible that this is related to a porphyry system at depth.

Jason Ward to lead exploration in Argentina

As part of the transaction Condor Prospecting, which is associated with prominent exploration geologist, will be responsible for the management and execution of exploration activities at the TMT project. Condor Prospecting has agreed to be paid in shares of Belararox instead of cash, a move which Jason Ward has said shows his belief in the project and the company.

Ward has over 25 years’ experience working around in countries such as Oman, Laos, Papua New Guinea and most recently – Ecuador.

During his stint in Ecuador, he was instrumental in the discovery of several copper-gold deposits including the Tier-1 Cascabel copper gold porphyry deposit for SolGold.

He also has an extensive track record of successfully working with local communities and safely managing exploration teams, working with people from diverse cultures in challenging social and physical terrains.

Looking to the future

A number of Environmental Impact Assessments have already been submitted with the remainder being finalised for submission.

The company will also upgrade the existing access track to the Toro target, then progressively establish access to the Malambo and Tambo targets while work will be carried out to refit camp facilities and existing dome structures at the Toro target base camp.

It has proposed to carry out surface mapping and sampling at Malambo and Tambo as well as a magnetic survey and induced polarisation survey at Toro and Malambo.

Belararox will then move on to carry out diamond drilling at Toro to twin the historical holes and extend mineralisation along with inaugural diamond drilling at Malambo.

This article was developed in collaboration with Belararox (ASX:BRX), a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.