Pursuit snaps up Argentinian gold-silver play similar to Newmont’s giant Cerro Negro mine

• Pursuit acquires Sascha Marcelina gold-silver project in Argentina’s world-class Deseado Massif region
• Project shows high-grade mineralisation up to 20.5g/t gold with significant untested depth potential
• Company raises $4.04m via oversubscribed placement to fund acquisition and aggressive drilling program

Special Report: Pursuit Minerals is spreading its wings with a binding deal to acquire the highly prospective Sascha Marcelina gold and silver project in the Deseado Massif region of Argentina’s Santa Cruz province.

Deseado Massif is recognised as one of the world’s most prospective regions for precious metals with widespread Jurassic-age volcanic activity shaping the ideal geological conditions for the development of large-scale gold and silver systems.

Highlighting this, the district in the country’s south has more than 50 known gold-silver deposits – including eight operating mines – and proven endowment of more than 30Moz gold equivalent, placing it amongst the richest epithermal provinces globally.

Notable examples include Newmont’s 4.9Moz Cerro Negro and AngloGold Ashanti’s 3.2Moz Cerro Vanguardia mines.

Pursuit Minerals (ASX:PUR) is counting on this prospectivity to be reflected in Sascha Marcelina, which covers a district-scale system of about 100km2 that hosts multiple subparallel vein corridors across the Valdivia, Sascha, Estancia, Pellegrini, Marcelina Silica Cap and Igloo trends.

Historical work including more than 7500m of drilling, trenching, rock chip sampling and geophysical surveys confirmed widespread alteration and high-grade gold-silver mineralisation across the project area that remains open at depth and along strike.

Notable drill assays include a 1.55m intersection at 9.23g/t gold equivalent at the Sascha Main target, 0.9m at 5.48g/t AuEq at Marcelina and confirmed mineralisation with multiple intercepts over shallow intervals at Estancia.

There has been no drilling below ~170m at Sascha Main while all drill holes at Marcelina have ended in mineralisation.

Lead-zine anomalies and low gold/silver ratios indicate proximity to a potential gold-rich boiling zone while a strong chargeability anomaly coincident with resistivity highs points to a potential feeder structure at depth.

Transformational acquisition

Managing director Aaron Revelle said the acquisition was “truly transformational” for the company as it delivered a prospective gold-silver project in the heart of the world-class Deseado Massif, positioning it as a diversified developer and pure play in Argentina across lithium and gold.

“With gold at record highs, we intend to advance exploration aggressively and quickly, targeting untested depth extensions and multiple walk-up drill corridors,” he added.

“This program provides a clear pathway to near-term discoveries capable of re-rating the company and unlocking substantial long-term value for shareholders.”

Chairman Tom Eadie, who had some involvement with the Cerro Negro epithermal deposit earlier in its history, said that despite limited exploration to date, the Sascha Marcelina project area had already demonstrated strong mineralisation.

“Importantly, drilling at both shallow levels and at depth has been insufficient to properly test the potential of these vertically zoned epithermal systems, leaving significant upside unassessed,” Eadie added.

“Finally, the presence of under-utilised processing facilities in the region provides a clear advantage for future development, helping to fast-track any new mining operation.”

PUR has entered into a binding agreement to acquire Andara Mining, which in turn has exclusive rights under a binding heads of agreement with TSX-listed Mirasol Resources to acquire the tenements that make up the Sascha Marcelina project.

The company has also received firm commitments from existing and new institutional and sophisticated investors for an oversubscribed placement of more than 53.89 million shares priced at 7.5c each to raise $4.04m.

Proceeds will be used to fund the acquisition and a high impact drill program.

Sascha Marcelina project

Key geological features mapped at Sascha Marcelina include preserved silica caps, sinter terraces and multiple low-sulphidation vein systems.

These are strongly analogous to the features seen at Newmont’s Cerro Negro mine about 100km to the north.

PUR notes that Cerro Negro’s resource was discovered by drilling below near-surface anomalies identical to those already mapped at Sascha Marcelina, providing strong evidence of the project’s potential.

Adding interest, several zones at the project are masked by post-mineral cover, creating opportunities for true blind discoveries that have not yet been tested by modern drilling.

With an extensive network of structural corridors, large-scale alteration and multiple walk-up drill targets already defined, Sascha Marcelina represents a rare opportunity to unlock a high-grade epithermal system in one of the world’s premier precious metals provinces.

The Sascha Main mineralised corridor extends over ~2km with multiple quartz veins hosted within a 200-metre-wide structural zone.

Trenching and drilling to date have returned values up to 20.5g/t Au and 320g/t Ag, with mineralisation remaining open at depth and to the northwest beneath post-mineral cover.

Marcelina covers ~11.1km2 of preserved high-level epithermal alteration with surface mapping outlining a silica “blanket” with strong arsenic and antimony anomalies, which are key indicators of an intact epithermal system.

PUR plans to carry out exploration focused on testing depth extensions, targeting the boiling zone and vectoring into potential high-grade shoots at Sascha Main and Marcelina.

Drilling at Sascha Main will test the untested boiling-zone window at depths of 150 to 300m, targeting thicker, higher-grade zones and extending mineralisation well beyond historical shallow drilling.

At Marcelina, drilling will test the strong chargeability anomaly that coincides with resistivity highs at depth.

At the same time, step-out drilling and further mapping across Estancia, Igloo and Valdivia will be used to expand the mineralised footprint.

The company has engaged Windfall Geotek to apply its advanced AI exploration platform across Sascha Marcelina to improve targeting efficiency and increase the probability of discovery.

This technology has already been validated through multiple discoveries worldwide, with partners such as Evolution Mining, De Beers and Codelco.

By generating predictive maps that narrow target zones by up to 90%, the platform reduces exploration risk, cuts costs and accelerates the discovery process.

This article was developed in collaboration with Pursuit Minerals, 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.