Arena Minerals: 3 Prospective Copper Porphyry Areas Identified at

Arena Minerals (TSXV:AN) reported that Teck Resources Chile has completed its initial drill program at its Paciencia North claim blocks. Drilling has identified three prospective copper porphyry areas, and additional follow-up drilling has been scheduled.
As quoted in the press release:

A total of 31 RC drill holes were completed covering Paciencia North with a spacing of approximately 1 to 2 kilometres. All holes except one were drilled through the overlying pediment and at least 10 metres into bedrock. Paciencia North comprises part of the Company’s Atacama copper property located in Antofagasta, Chile. Under the terms of the US$19.5 million dollar option agreement (please refer to the News Release dated October 23, 2015), Teck can earn a 60% interest in the Paciencia North property.
The drill program was successful in identifying three zones of anomalous alteration and geochemistry prospective for copper porphyry deposits. Towards the southern portion of Paciencia North a tourmaline breccia was identified and is very similar in characteristics to those found within the neighbouring Sierra Gorda copper porphyry deposit. Copper values up to 577 ppm and coincident molybdenum values of up to 55.8 ppm were intersected in drilling. In conjunction with surface mapping, drill holes PAC-014 and PAC-016 in this South Zone defined a 3 km corridor of interpreted high temperature tourmaline/magnetite/k-feldspar breccias and veining, in many respects analogous to the early high temperature breccias and alteration that occur at Sierra Gorda. The limited drilling to date into this zone returned anomalous copper, molybdenum and zinc over the 3 km corridor within lower temperature sericite-pyrite-tourmaline alteration. Further work is required in this zone to define the limits of these alteration zones and target mineralized sections of the breccia complex analogous to Sierra Gorda.

Arena Minerals President and CEO, William Randall, said:

We are encouraged by the work Teck has completed and results achieved to date. Having discovered three prospective areas, with highly positive characteristics, is a huge first step with only half of the total property optioned by Teck covered by reconnaissance drilling. We are pleased that further drilling is planned on Paciencia North. In its evaluation of the entire property, Teck plans to proceed to a first phase of drilling at Solitario and will then proceed to follow up on the three prospective copper porphyry areas within the Paciencia North claim block.

Click here for the full press release.