Matteo Project

Matteo

The property has been slowly building as we have added new ground through auctions, direct purchase and by laying down exploration licenses on open ground.  The Matteo property is now made up of 3400 hectares of combined mining and exploration licenses.  Three of the mining licenses cover ground with a history of artisanal mining and some exploration work, the Irene, Margarita and Santa Therese. 

The Matteo copper gold project is an advanced exploration project within the Candelaria IOCG Belt, just a 15 minute drive east from the city of Vallenar and a 15 kilometre drive to the closest Empresa Nacional de la Mineria (ENAMI) processing plant. Geologically the Matteo property is located within the brittle-ductile NS trending Atacama Fault System that is known to host many of the major deposits in the Candelaria IOCG Belt.  Known mineralization is hosted in an andesitic volcaniclastic sequence assigned to the Bandurrias Formation. Widespread iron oxide and potassic alteration indicate an IOCG mineralizing system, further supported by copper oxide and gold mineralization seen in multiple zones on surface.

Irene

The Irene property is approximately 10 kilometres east of Vallenar and consists of two mining concessions covering approximately 70 hectares.  Irene is on strike to the east of three recently active mining properties and is adjacent to Red Metal’s Margarita property. The area is known to have oxide mantos which give way to sulphides at depth.  Both oxides and sulphides have been mined at the site. Grab samples from Irene workings returned results of up to 7.4% copper and 1.1 grams per tonne gold.

The deposit is formed by at least 2 mineralized bodies hosted in calc-silicate volcanics, striking N-NW and dipping at 38 to 50 degrees east varying from 1 to 3 meters of width. Drilling has intersected mineralization to a depth of 70 metres down dip. Historic mining activity on the Irene has four exploited levels, and also surface workings and small trenches.

The economic mineralization is formed principally by copper oxides and sulphides with secondary mineralization of silver and gold. The oxides of copper include chrysocolla, atacamite, malachite and cuprite. At depth chalcopyrite, chalcocite and covellite are encountered and are derived by secondary enrichment processes.

ENAMI completed an initial exploration program on the Irene property in 1994.  Work completed then included 490 metres of RC drilling in 4 surface drillholes and 220 metres of diamond drilling in 4 underground drillholes.  From the drill results, ENAMI inferred a non-NI 43-101-compliant resource of 68,000 tonnes grading 3.6 % copper, 78 grams per tonne silver and 0.7 grams per tonne gold.  According to ENAMI’s reports from 1994 through 1997, it mined approximately 16,144 tonnes of rock averaging 3.2 % copper, 43.7 grams per tonne silver, and 0.72 grams per tonne gold.

Margarita

The Margarita property is made up of one mining and exploration concession totaling approximately 56 hectares. The property is adjacent to the Irene property.

The deposit is hosted in volcaniclastic rocks belonging to the Upper Cretaceous Bandurrias Group. Two stratified manto bodies, between 1 and 2 meters thick with pyrite), bornite and chalcocite. Grab samples frogive way to disseminated sulphides at approximately 40 meters depth. Copper sulphides include chalcopyrite (associated m workings on the Margarita property returned results of up to 6.9% copper and 3.7 grams per tonne gold.

ENAMI completed an exploration review of the Margarita property in 1995. Work completed then included reconnaissance geology, surface mapping and interior mapping. They also identified methods for exploiting the identified resources, including recommending drill targets. Based on the exposed workings and averages of sampling taken ENAMI estimated a non-NI-43-101 compliant resource of 16,500 tons of copper oxides grading 1.75% total copper and 1.56% copper oxides. An additional 16,500 tons of rock in the sulphide zone grading 2.17% copper were similarly estimated and it was noted that the bottom of the sulphide system was not identified.

Santa Theresa

The Santa Teresa property is approximately 7 kilometres east of Vallenar and consists of eight mining concessions covering approximately 10 hectares.  Geology shows a two to four metre wide, sub-vertical, manto zone in dacitic rocks. The exposed work area appears to have a length of approximately 50 meters and a height of approximately 5 – 10 meters. Only sulphides have been mined at the site. Grab samples from the Santa Teresa workings returned results of up to 2.4 % copper and 0.9 grams per tonne gold. A gold high grading area is present on the site and a gold sample of the powder ran 39 grams per tonne gold.