Andina Copper Corporation (TSX-V: ANDC) has announced the discovery of a new porphyry copper-gold system at its Piuquenes North target in San Juan, Argentina, following assay results from diamond drillholes PIU12 and PIU13. The findings confirm a significant mineralized system that remains largely untested, highlighting the prospectivity of the emerging San Juan Miocene porphyry belt.
Drillhole PIU13 intersected 468 meters grading 0.50% copper, 0.30 g/t gold, and 3.04 g/t silver from 700 meters downhole, including a higher-grade interval of 164 meters at 0.70% copper, 0.44 g/t gold, and 4.19 g/t silver from 924 meters. Mineralization is hosted within a multiphase porphyry system characterized by intense quartz veining and potassic alteration, with chalcopyrite and bornite as the primary copper minerals. Gold is a significant co-product, with lesser silver credits.
The discovery was made by testing a large magneto-telluric (MT) geophysical anomaly measuring approximately 800 meters by 700 meters, which trends north-northeast. PIU12, collared about 600 meters east-northeast of PIU13, intersected only short intervals of mineralization on the periphery of the system, confirming the anomaly's potential. Andina Copper President and CEO Joseph van den Elsen stated, 'High-grade Cu-Au values from PIU13 confirm a new discovery, proximate to the high-grade, near surface Cu-Au mineralization at Piuquenes Central. Only a fraction of the large geophysical anomaly has been tested, and we are designing the next phase of drilling to expand on this significant new porphyry discovery.'
The Piuquenes project now comprises three porphyry centers: the newly discovered Piuquenes North, along with previously identified Piuquenes Central and Piuquenes East systems. These lie immediately adjacent to the north of Aldebaran Resources Inc.'s Altar copper-gold porphyry project. Other notable porphyry deposits in the region include El Pachon (Glencore) 30 kilometers to the south, Los Pelambres (60% Antofagasta plc) in Chile, and Los Azules (McEwen Copper) 50 kilometers to the northeast. The company plans to integrate assay results with geological modeling to design a follow-up drill program targeting down-dip and along-strike extensions of the newly identified system.
The qualified person for the technical information, Gustavo Zulliger, a Certified Professional Geologist, has reviewed and approved the disclosure. Andina Copper, listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV:ANDC), Frankfurt (FSE:FIR), and OTC (OTCQB:PMMCF), holds significant discoveries along the Andean porphyry belt in Colombia and Argentina.
