Belararox Searches for a Copper Porphyry at Tambo South

Belararox (ASX: BRX) announced visual copper mineralisation in the second drill hole at Tambo South, part of the Toro-Malambo-Tambo (TMT) project. The hole, currently at 729 meters with a planned depth of 1,300 meters, showed copper sulphides above the main geochemical target, including supergene chalcocite, covellite, chalcopyrite, and hypogene chalcocite.

The company’s first drill hole assays show 30m at 0.13% copper (from 102m) and 30m at 0.10% copper (from 154m).  Assays for the remaining 804.6m will be reported in the coming weeks.

The second hole at Tambo South, at 692 meters, also showed visual copper mineralisation, particularly in a medium-grained, grey dioritic porphyry. While assays are pending, this visual confirmation has added to the recent interest in the project.

Rendering of exploration drilling in the San Juan Province, Argentina, adjacent the Atacama Mining Region of Chile.

Belararox’s CEO recently stated, “The visual copper intersected in the second hole at Tambo South is a significant milestone for Belararox. It validates our geological model and reinforces our belief in the potential for a large-scale copper deposit at the TMT project.”

Copper Porphyry System?

A copper porphyry system is a large, disseminated deposit of copper (often with gold) associated with intrusive igneous rocks, typically porphyritic in texture. These systems form when hydrothermal fluids, driven by magmatic activity, deposit metals in veins and disseminations throughout a large volume of rock.

Copper porphyries account for 60% of the world's copper production and are often mined via large-scale, open-pit operations due to their size (100 Mt - 1 Bt+ of ore) and relatively low grades (0.2–1% Cu).

Existence of a porphyry is confirmed by disseminated chalcopyrite, bornite, and other copper sulfides over wide intervals (hundreds of meters), consistent with porphyry deposit models.

Tambo South's Neighbours

Tambo South target within the TMT Project in Argentina’s San Juan Province within the Andes Mountains bordering Chile. It is considered an under-explored mineral-rich corridor between the world-class El Indio and Maricunga Metallogenic Belts and hosts major copper mines and discoveries, including the Caserones Mine, the Lunahuasi Discovery and the Los Helados Discovery.

Owned by the Canadian company called NGEx Minerals (market cap C$3.0B), the Los Helados discovery is a copper-gold porphyry deposit located in the Andes Mountains of Chile’s Atacama Region, approximately 17 kilometres from the operating Caserones mine, and adjacent to Argentina's San Juan province. The deposit was discovered in 2008 by NGEx’s predecessor and is considered one of the largest grassroots copper-gold discoveries of the last two decades. It's 2008 "discovery hole" was LHDH004, 762m from surface at 0.43% Cu and 0.22 g/t Au.