The mineralization is outcropping and has been mapped over 2.3 km of strike.. It is located in a new area 45 km west from the recently approved drill permit area at Tabalosos East.
Highlights: Outcropping copper-silver mineralization has been mapped for over 2.3 km of strike including 5.8 m at 3.1% copper and 65 g/t silver from surface.
Copper mineralization is locally high-grade and chalcocite dominant. Surface outcrops are strongly leached suggesting higher-grade copper mineralization may exist below the weathered surface outcrops.
The host rock is a medium grained reduced sandstone and sedimentary breccia. Hypogene copper minerals are dominated by chalcocite, but locally bornite, chalcopyrite and pyrite are observed in hand samples. Copper sulfides have precipitated on the rims of carbonate concentrations (interpreted to have formed from methane and CO2 rich gases) and on organic carbon clasts within the host rocks.
Geological discussion
The new discovery at San Martin West was made during follow-up of BLEG samples during 2023. To date mineral prospecting has been focusing on surface sampling and mapping in ravines and systematic soil samples on topographic ridge lines. Outcropping is scarce in the area and the whole area is covered by dense vegetation.
The mineralization is hosted by a 10 m to 30 m thick stratigraphic unit composed of medium to coarse grained sandstone and sedimentary breccia which has been traced for >2.3 km that remains open along strike to the North.
The unit hosts rich disseminated iron oxide concentrations after carbonates (siderite and ankerite). The concentration varies from 10% to >50% of the volume of the host rock. Stratigraphically it is situated some 50 m from the contact to the Cretaceous Cushabatay Formation. Both the hanging-wall and the foot-wall of the sandstone is composed of fine-grained red siltstone of the Sarayaquillo Formation.
Carbonate concretions may form under a variety of geological conditions. However, the mapped outcrop shows a composition and texture similar to mapped paleoflows of ancient carbon dioxide (CO2) driven gas systems (Loope 2015). Therefore, Hannan interprets the concretions to be remnants of methane and CO2 rich gases that have participated carbonates in a water saturated host rock. Reduction of the host rock occurred during gas and host rock interaction resulting in bleaching of a red oxidized sandstone to the current white and reduced sandstone host.
Supergene copper mineralization is common and dominated by neotocite, tenorite and malachite. Hypogene copper minerals are dominated by chalcocite, but locally bornite, chalcopyrite and pyrite are observed in hand samples. Copper sulfides have precipitated on the rims of carbonate concentrations and on organic carbon clasts within the host rocks. Paleomicrobial activity feeding on the primary carbonate concretions may have formed an important part of the trap for the oxidized copper rich fluids and explain why chalcocite is rimming the carbonate concretions.
The copper mineralization at surface is strongly leached and copper sulfides are dominantly preserved in weathering resistant silicified zones. The company expects that high grade copper mineralization extends into zones of less intense weathering at depth.
Detailed geochemical sampling by handheld pXRF units has commenced and results will be released once the program has been completed. Weighted averages of twelve channels sampled over 2.3 km averaged 13.2 m @ 0.3% Cu and 9 g/t Ag. Max 13.4 m @ 1.4% Cu and 29 g/t Ag, min 7.2 m @ 0.0 % Cu and 0 g/t Ag.
Compared to the Tabalosos project area, which is located 45 km to the east, the new discovery is hosted 200 m to 300 m higher in the stratigraphy.
Sediment-hosted stratiform copper-silver deposits are among the two most important copper sources in the world, the other being copper porphyries. They are also a major producer of silver.
To provide context, Hannan's widths and grade (0.9 m @ 1.9 % copper and 27 g/t silver) from 105 channel surface samples reported at Tabalosos East (lower cut 0.5% copper), within an area about 9 km long and 1 km wide, compare with those found during the initial modern-day drill discovery of the Kupferschiefer copper-silver deposits .
In 1957 the discovery drillhole (Sieroszowice IG 1) intersected 2.0 m @ 1.5% copper at the depth of 657 m.
In 1959 the Lubin-Sieroszowice deposit, based on the results from 24 drillholes contained 1,365 Mt @ 1.4% copper and 26 g/t silver in indicated resources, with a thickness ranging between 0.2 m to 13.1 m in an area about 28 km long and 6 km wide between 400 m and 1,000 m depth.
Hannan's sampling, to date, has been confined to surface channel sampling, although mineralization at Tabalosos East is interpreted to extend with shallow dips to the west for between 2 km to 4 km, with a target depth ranging from surface to 500 m.
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Technical Background
All samples were collected by Hannan geologists. Samples were transported to ALS in
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