La Falda Gold Project, Region III Chile
Minera IRL Limited has signed a Letter of Intent (“LOI”) with Catalina Resources on the La Falda Project in Chile. The intention is to convert this into a formal agreement by 31 August 2009following final due diligence.
La Falda is a new discovery of two Maricunga-style gold-porphyries. These type of deposits can have multi-million ounce potential, plus associated epithermal gold -typical of the Maricunga Belt
MIRL advanced Catalina Resources US$200,000 upon signing the LOI, to be used for pending vendor and mining lease payments and an immediate follow-up geophysical program to be completed prior to the onset of the winter season. MIRL will also pay Catalina Resources an immediate US$50,000 signing fee.
After signing of a definitive agreement, MIRL will undertake an exploration program including drilling, during the 2009-2010 field season, with a minimum expenditure commitment of US$700,000, prior to an Option exercise date of 31 July 2010. Upon exercising the Option, MIRL will commit another US$2.3 million to be used for the final vendor payment and/or exploration, plus a final payment of US$200,000 to Catalina Resources in order to perfect a 75% interest in the project.
Letter of Intent
Catalina’s Current Land-Holdings at La Falda
The La Falda Project comprises mining and exploration permits totalling 15,425 ha in the prolific Maricunga Belt, III Region, north-central Chile. Due to the prospectivity of the La Falda area, Catalina has expanded its land-holdings over time to cover areas with a potential for further mineralisation and also possible mine infrastructure.
Catalina now holds the following groups of concessions:
The La Falda 1-245 Exploration Concessions 1 1,225 ha
The Catalina Exploration Concessions 4,600 ha
The Catalina 2008 Concessions 7,500 ha
The Catalina 2009 Concessions 2,100 ha
Catalina’s current land-holding at La Falda
The original La Falda concession is the irregularly-shaped block in the centre of the plan and the surrounding rectangular blocks are mostly 300-hectare claims controlled by Catalina. These have been pegged to cover areas with the potential to host further mineralization or mine future infrastructure.
A second geophysical survey is currently underway. Three Induced Polarisation (IP) survey lines, 3 to 4 km long and spaced 400 m apart, are being surveyed over the porphyry bodies and should reveal any sulphide mineralisation to a depth of 350 – 400 m. Similar surveys on other Maricunga gold porphyry systems has shown that IP chargeability measurements can identify sulphide mineralisation occurring as haloes around zones of gold mineralisation while resistivity measurements carried out at the same time can outline more central zones with silicification and potentially gold-bearing quartz veins.
A view looking south onto two of the porphyry intrusives at La Falda
A view looking east over the altered volcanic rocks (lithocap) at La Falda
The La Falda lithocap includes a well-preserved, very high level, high-sulphidation epithermal alteration system.The lithocap displays widespread advanced argillic alteration of an andesitic strato-volcanic pile. The abundant native sulphur at surface and very high levels of Hg in rock samples (>50ppm) indicate that most of the system remains buried in-situ in a near-total degree of preservation. The extensive development of gypsum above the 4500m level both as stockwork veins and as alteration is unusual for acid-sulphate type epithermal systems but is a feature of both La Coipa and Marte in the Maricunga belt and the El Indio gold deposit farther south.
Mineralisation
Catalina has discovered a porphyry intrusive with gold-bearing banded quartz veins. The banded quartz veins carry highly anomalous gold values. These veins are identical to those which host resources in the large gold-porphyry deposits of the Maricunga belt in Chile. The main exploration target at La Falda is thus a multi-million ounce near-surface gold-porphyry with associated epithermal gold-silver mineralisation. All the geological indications are present. The district hosts several similar deposits, currently in production and/or under exploration –Kinross’Maricunga Mine, Andina Minerals’Volcan Project.
Geophysical Surveys at La Falda
A ground magnetic survey was completed in November 2008 over the main area of interest at La Falda where Catalina has discovered three porphyry intrusives, two of which host banded quartz veins carrying highly anomalous gold values. These veins are very similar to those mined and explored in some of the other large gold porphyry deposits of the Maricunga belt in Chile.
Magnetic
The magnetic data show a number of anomalies in and around the porphyry intrusives identified to date. Weak magnetic highs (pink) are probably due to a mildly elevated content of the mineral magnetite which is formed as part of the mineralising process. These are flanked and cut by strong magnetic lows (dark blue) indicating where magnetite has been destroyed by other volcanic processes. Strong magnetic lows often correlate with flanking structures and argillic alteration.
Of particular interest is the 800 m wide circular feature which may be due to a later intrusion.Similar anomalies are observed to be associated with precious metal minearlization elsewhere in the Maricunga District.
An isolated 200 x 200 m pink-coloured magnetic high to the northeast of the Porphyry Central may represent a third body with no surface expression.
Pole Reduced Magnetic Map of the La Falda area. Each square covers an area 200x200 m
Other Geophysical Result