Andina Copper Corp. (TSX-V:ANDC) (FSE:FIR) (OTCQB:PMMCF) has reported a wide intercept of copper-gold-silver mineralization at its Piuquenes East project in San Juan Province, Argentina. Drill hole PIU09, the third hole at the target, intersected 126 meters at 0.46% copper, 0.53 g/t gold, and 2.14 g/t silver from 529 meters depth, within a broader 402-meter interval grading 0.25% copper, 0.21 g/t gold, and 1.19 g/t silver from 253 meters. The results significantly expand the vertical extent of the mineralized envelope and confirm increasing gold grades and intensity of porphyry stockwork veining laterally and to depth.
The mineralization is hosted within strongly veined dioritic porphyry with intense sericitic alteration overprinting potassic assemblages. Well-developed A-type veins coincident with chalcopyrite and bornite mineralization were observed, and higher gold grades and increasing intensity of A and B-type veining at depth suggest proximity to the porphyry core. The company noted that bornite-rich potassic alteration with higher gold grades may be preserved beneath the sericitic overprint, indicating potential for a gold-rich core at deeper levels.
Follow-up drilling is underway at Piuquenes East with hole PIU11, designed to test the northern continuity of the Cu-Au mineralized porphyry system. The hole targets a geophysical chargeability anomaly identified by Induced Polarization (IP) surveying and a coincident conductive feature from Magnetotelluric (MT) data. The spatial relationship between these geophysical features and the mineralized dioritic porphyry intersected in PIU06 and PIU09 represents a priority target within the evolving geological model.
Additionally, a second drill rig has commenced testing a strong, deep-seated low-resistivity anomaly at Piuquenes North, immediately adjacent to the Piuquenes Central deposit. The anomaly, identified by an MT survey, has significant vertical extent commencing about 600 meters below surface. The company interprets that conductive features of this scale and depth are commonly associated with deep intrusive activity or magmatic-hydrothermal sources in Miocene-aged porphyry systems of the southern Andes. Integration of MT data with IP datasets suggests that mineralization at Piuquenes East and Central may represent upper-level expressions related to a deeper source at Piuquenes North.
The company’s Qualified Person, Gustavo Zulliger, a Certified Professional Geologist, has reviewed and approved the technical information. Andina Copper holds two significant discoveries along the Andean porphyry belt in Argentina and Colombia, and a copper-gold target in Chile.
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