|
 |  |
 |   | | Introduction
The San Antonio Gold-Copper Project lies within the well-known Guadalupe y Calvo Mining District in southwest Chihuahua. It comprises 5 exploitation concessions that total 643.7 hectares and 2 exploration concessions encompassing 11,666 hectares. The property is 375 km by road from the city of Hidalgo del Parral, one of Mexico's major mining centres. Access is via paved highway for 255 km from Parral to the town of Guadelupe y Calvo, and north on an unsurfaced road for 90 km to the town of Baborigame. The property lies 25 kilometres north of Baborigame and accessed via logging and ranch roads. Guadalupe y Calvo is the municipal government and commercial centre for the region, and Baborigame contains all of the basic services such as phone, food, lodging and fuel. History The earliest recorded mining activity in Guadalupe y Calvo District was in 1835 witrh the discovery of silver-gold bearing veins in the San Juan Nepocemo area west of Baborigame. Other silver-gold vein deposits were subsequently discovered, and commercial mining continued without interruption until 1940. Only small-scale artesenal mining has taken place since that time. Published estimates of historical production for the area vary widely from 1M oz of gold and 8M oz of silver, to 2M oz of gold and 28M oz of silver. The San Antonio property lies outside the areas of significant mine development, and little is known of its exploration history. High-grade gold-copper veins were the focus of numerous mine workings covering a 3-km2 area. Based on the size of the workings, it is estimated that up to 50,000 tonnes of material was extracted. Prior to Great Panther optioning the property, San Antonio had never been explored by modern methods and, more particularly, never tested by drilling. Mineralization High-grade gold-copper +/- silver-lead-zinc mineralization at San Antonio is hosted within a NW-trending window of Tertiary-age Lower Series Volcanic rocks. This package extends for at least 17 kilometres along strike, up to 6 kilometres in width and several hundred metres in vertical extent, most of which lies on Great Panther's property.
The majority of mineral occurrences on the property are found in the Arroyo San Antonio, a steep-walled canyon that runs through the centre of the property. All of the known mineralization occurs within high-angle veins and mineralized structures spread over an area more than two km in width. The veins locally exceed 300 metres in strike length before disappearing under cover and are believed to have a vertical extent of at least 200 metres. At least 12 mineralized structures or veins have been explored or exploited within the project area, and numerous others of unknown extent and importance are present. Locally intense silica-clay-iron oxide alteration of the volcanics is typical of a volcanic-hosted, low-sulphidation, epithermal system. Within the Sierra Madre Occidental, the Lower Series Volcanics are host to numerous epithermal deposits including El Sauzal to the northwest, and Guadalupe y Calvo to the southeast. At San Antonio, a strong, positive correlation between gold and copper also suggests that mineralization in the area may be influenced by a porphyry-related hydrothermal system. Santo Niño Vein: Santo Niño is a WNW-trending, brecciated and quartz-veined fault zone in porphyritic andesite. The mineralized fault zone is 8.5 metres wide,
El Córdon:
Gossan Zone: The Gossan zone extends for several kilometres in the northwest of the property. First-pass reconnaissance-scale mapping and PIMA sampling have identified the presence of alunite (a high-temperature clay mineral), extensive silica and iron oxide alteration, as well as stockwork and disseminated sulphide mineralization, indicating correct conditions for precious metal deposition in a volcanic-hosted epithermal system. Detailed mapping and sampling is underway to interpret the geological controls on mineralization and develop drill targets. Quartz-barite vein:The ongoing field program has also identified a new style of mineralization for the property; a quartz-barite vein from which preliminary sampling has returned assays of 538 g/t Ag and 0.24% Pb over 1.0 metre and 420 g/t Ag and 0.65% Pb over 0.5 metres. This new discovery in the the NW corner of the property led the Company to stake an additional 2,219 hectares of ground. Current Program Mapping and sampling in the area of a new silver-lead-zinc discovery, has assisted in generating additional drill targets for the 2007 drill program which began on November 13th, 2007. A minimum of nine holes are planned to test mineralization at 7 occurrences on the property. Great Panther hopes to demonstrate the potential for the San Antonio Property to host a deposit containing at least a million ounces of gold. Great Panther, through its wholly-owned Mexican subsidiary, Minera Mexicana el Rosario, SA de CV (MMR), has an option to earn 100% interest in the five core claims by making staged cash payments over three years totalling US$1,130,000. There is no Net Smelter Royalty and no work requirements. The two exploration concessions were acquired by staking and are 100%-owned by MMR. The San Antonio gold-copper project is under option to Altair Ventures Incorporated (TSX-V: AVX) who is funding the program in order to earn a 70% interest. Great Panther is the operator. Exploration work at San Antonio is carried out under the supervision of consulting geologist, Matthew D. Gray, PhD, CPG, of Resource Geosciences de Mexico, SA de CV and Robert Brown, PEng, Vice President of Exploration for Great Panther Silver Limited. Robert Brown, PEng is the Qualified Person responsible for all technical information obtained and reported on. Technical Reports
Photo Gallery | | |||||||
)
)
)