Sobek
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Property Type
Porphyry Cu Project
Size
11,140 ha, 100% owned Sobek Property
11,500 ha, 80% earn-in Rosita Property with SQM
Status
Self funded Exploration
Exploration Stage
Pre-drilling
Field evaluation underway with geochemical sampling and detailed geological mapping
Helicopter supported aeromagnetic (“MAG”) survey completedLocation
- Mio-Pliocene age mineral belt in northern Chile
- 5 km west of Filo del Sol and 3 km west of new Lunahuasi discovery by NGEx Minerals
The Sobek Cu project (“Sobek”) was staked by Mirasol in 2016 based on prospective local structural architecture hosted within a highly prospective and productive geological terrain. An important north-northeast trending mineralized structural corridor encapsulates a large part of the Sobek package, that is crosscut by a series of north-northwest trending deep seated trans-cordilleran lineaments evident through the entire property. In addition, the tenure is host to prospective Miocene/Pliocene aged geological units and intriguing satellite image ASTER alteration responses.
The Sobek land position was expanded in 2021 and 2022 following significant results reported by Filo Mining Corp. from its Filo del Sol project located 5 km to the east of Sobek, which included a remarkable intercept of 858m at 1.80% CuEq (including 163m at 5.43% CuEq)[1]. The high-profile Vicuña Copper-Gold-Silver District is developing in the Sobek area with multiple deposits located in close proximity, including the Josemaria and Los Helados porphyry Cu-Au deposits located 10 km east-northeast and 20 km north of Sobek, respectively. The recent NGEx discovery at Lunahuasi (formerly Potro Cliffs) is just three km directly east of the southeast corner of Sobek North Block. Mirasol controls 22,840 ha of exploration claims in this district in four strategic blocks, the North, Central and South blocks and the Rosita Property, that are all on the Chilean side of the border with Argentina.
Strategic Expansion of the Sobek Property with the Addition of the SQM Rosita Property
Mirasol signed a landmark option agreement with Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile SA (“SQM”) doubling the size of the flagship Sobek Project in the Vicuña Copper-Gold-Silver District of northeast Chile (news release February 14, 2024). The SQM Property (“Rosita”) covers 11,500 ha extending the Sobek Project to the west and to the east, and importantly unifying the Sobek Central block with the Sobek North block. The combined property has doubled Mirasol’s land holding in the district for a total of 22,840 ha. The eastern portion of the Rosita property positions Mirasol within 3 km of the giant Filo Del Sol Project and the Sobek North block is 3 km from Lunahuasi discovery both within the heart of the Vicuña Copper-Gold district. SQM has granted Mirasol the exclusive option to earn 80% of the Rosita Project, subject to a 2.0% NSR royalty, by Incurring US$4 million in exploration expenditures and making annual option fee payments for a total of US$3 million scheduled over 6 years.
[1] Reference: Filo Mining – May 13, 2021 News Release
2023/2024 Exploration Program Continues to Advance Towards Drilling
Located in the southern portion of Sobek Central, 7 km west of the Filo del Sol Project, the VN-Zone was previously identified as a high-priority porphyry target. Progress made from this season’s exploration activities suggests that the VN-Zone may represent the northernmost expression of a much larger hydrothermal porphyry system than previously recognized, that extends for more than 3 km to the south. The alteration and mineralization footprint of the VN-Zone extends across the consolidated SQM Rosita property onto new claim blocks recently staked by Mirasol (“Sobek 46 South”) (see news release May 13, 2024).The completion of the new access road into the priority prospect at the VN-Zone has substantially improved the Mirasol exploration crews’ access into this important area to continue field evaluation at a much more detailed scale. The improved access has enabled an induced polarization (“IP”) pole-dipole geophysical survey to be conducted over the VN-Zone which has generated compelling Resistivity and Chargeability anomalies (see news release May 13, 2024) . A total of 2.4-line km were completed to refine targets for the upcoming drill program which is anticipated to commence early next season in September/October. Geological evaluation of the VN-Zone extension across Rosita and onto Sobek 46 South has to date included reconnaissance exploration, systematic grid-based soil sampling, detailed geological mapping and collection of stream sediment samples. Results will be compiled and interpreted to help refine drilling.
At the El Potro prospect, located 3 km southwest of Lunahuasi, within the Sobek North block, a new magnetic high target (“Potro SE”) was identified from an IP survey (see news release May 13, 2024). The IP survey conducted over the original El Potro prospect detected the new Potro SE high chargeability anomaly that is coincident with and adjacent to a magnetic high anomaly from the original airborne-mag survey conducted in 2021. The new target at Potro SE appears to be at a shallower depth than the target at El Potro.
Exploration activities at El Potro accelerated with the construction of a new access road mid-season. Several robust anomalies were generated from a detailed IP Gradient Array geophysical campaign, followed up by 14.5-line km of detailed IP survey lines. Detailed geological and structural mapping and geochemical grid soil sampling were also conducted. Prospecting directly over the magnetic anomaly at Potro SE has returned results ranging from 500 ppm to 18,000 ppm Cu with accompanying highly anomalous Mo from select grab surface samples. A systematic soil grid across the target also returned a coincident 300 by 500 m copper soil anomaly with adjacent soil line results still pending. Once the weather conditions allow, a final IP survey will be conducted over Potro SE to refine drill targeting and will be the first priority for drilling at the start of the next season.
Abnormal weather throughout the season has caused difficult working conditions and significant delays. At least four weeks of the prime exploration season were lost due to unseasonable heavy rain and snowfall mid-season washed out access roads that required repair. Untimely and heavy snowfall, almost two months earlier than last season, has halted plans to advance towards drilling at El Potro and also delayed the construction of a new road to support the exploration and evaluation of the VN-Zone expansion onto the new Rosita and Sobek 46 properties.
2022/23 Exploration Program and Launch of Maiden Drill Campaign
The 2022/23 exploration program included property-wide follow-up geochemical sampling and geological mapping, a 500 line-km airborne mobile MT geophysical survey and construction of a 7 km access road to support drilling. Targets generated from the airborne Mobile MT survey and the coincident polymetallic soil anomalies derived from the soil sampling grid results, along with the high-grade Cu samples collected on surface, strengthen the geological model and reinforce the potential discovery of mineralization (news release May 15, 2023).The maiden drill program at Sobek Central started late in the season when road construction was completed and allowed for access. The results from the first drill holes were inconclusive and will require follow-up as the drilling did not reach the intended targets and drilling was suspended with the onset of winter weather (news release August 21, 2023).
At Sobek Central, drill hole SB-DDH-001 was a structural target, testing for the source of the surface soil grid anomalies over and around the Central Breccia Zone, and also the source of the intensely phyllic altered porphyry clasts hosted within the breccia (news release August 21, 2023). The drill hole was stopped at a depth of 352m when it passed through a structural fault zone hosting strong calcite/gypsum stockworks. Follow-up drilling will aim to test the target from the opposite direction. Interpretation suggest that the structural source of the breccia may have flattened out resulting in the hole being drilled parallel and underneath the structure, or the structure may have pinched-out at depth within the fault zone.
The second hole at Sobek Central, drill hole SB-DDH-002 targeted the northern cusp of the massive northern-most MT anomaly (news release August 21, 2023). For safety reasons, drilling was halted at a depth of 586m before it reached the intended target. Based on the weak to moderate “green rock” peripheral propylitic style of alteration and the lack of consistent mineralization, the target has been refined and future follow up drilling will be repositioned to start at a lower elevation to reach the center of the target more efficiently. The massive MT anomaly is elongated in a NW-SE direction and is 2km by 1km in size. The drill hole only reached the outer fringes of the target when it was halted.
Airborne Mobile MT Geophysical Survey Outlines Several High-Priority Targets: Mirasol completed a 500-line km Airborne Mobile MT survey (75 sq.km) covering the entire Sobek Central area and a small area of Sobek North (13 sq.km) prior to demobilization of the MT system. The Airborne Mobile MT has high-definition depth penetration to greater than 800m depth below surface and has been proven effective in defining targets in HSE and porphyry systems elsewhere in Chile. The survey has outlined a very striking cluster of MT anomalies and the interpretation suggests they may represent intrusive centers. The Central Breccia, and both the VN-Zone and VN-Zone North targets lie on the peripheral rims of these oval shaped MT responses (news release June 27, 2023).
Sobek Central – VN-Zone and Other Priority Targets: The VN-Zone was elevated as a high priority target late in the season when high gold grades were recovered from prospecting, with results up to 5.0 g/t Au and 2,200 ppm Cu being sourced from select grab samples (news release dated June 27, 2023). The VN-Zone sits on the northern outer cusp of a second very large oval shaped Mobile MT anomaly, with dimensions of 1.5km x 2.0km which is interpreted to represent a prospective intrusive center. To determine the best location and orientation of the first holes to drill test the massive anomaly multiple line-based 3D sections of the data have been generated and analyzed.
Sobek North – Expansion of the Mineralization El Potro Prospect: Mineralization at the El Potro East Zone located at the southeast corner of Sobek North was extended further to the east and is now within 3 km west of NGEx´s recent Lunahuasi discovery. The newly encountered areas of interest within the El Potro Zone appear to host an area of “lithocap type” alteration and mineralization. Select rock chip samples have returned values ranging from 0.10 to a high of 4.3 g/t Au with associated Ag from 0.30 up to 25.9 g/t from HSE type intensely altered and silicified areas, located above the more porphyry Cu-Mo style of mineralization which returned 0.65% Cu and 105 ppm Mo (news release June 27, 2023).
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