Cristal
Prospective for: Porphyry Copper-Molybdenum.Location:
The 46 sq km Cristal property is located along the West Fissure in northern Chile, near the border with Peru. The West Fissure is host to the majority of Chile's large porphyry copper deposits, including the nearby Collahuasi, Ujina and Quebrada Blanca porphyry copper mines.
Ownership:
100% owned. In October 2012, Condor's Chilean subsidiary, Minera Condor Limitada, completed a definitive agreement (the "Agreement") with BHP Billiton regarding the Cristal project. Under the Agreement, BHP Billiton have an exclusive option to earn 65% ownership of a joint stock company created to hold the Cristal concessions by completing cumulative exploration expenditures of US$18.0 million over four years, with defined minimum annual work expenditures. The Agreement stipulates a mandatory first year work commitment of US$500,000, which includes an initial cash payment of US$60,000. BHP Billiton have the option to extend the initial earn-in period by one year by making a one time cash payment of US$300,000.
Upon earning their initial 65% interest, BHP Billiton have the additional option to increase their ownership in the joint stock company to 75%. In order to exercise the second option, BHP Billiton are required to complete a further US$7.0 million in exploration at Cristal (for a cumulative exploration expenditure of US$25.0 million) within two years of acquiring their 65% ownership.
BHP Billiton, at their option, may satisfy any or all of the US$25.0 million exploration expenditure commitments by making cash payments to Minera Condor Limitada in lieu thereof.
Geology/Mineralization:
The Cristal target is covered by young volcanics (ignimbrites) which have been eroded by two deeply incised N-S trending valleys (quebradas), interpreted to be strands of the West Fissure fault system. Immediately to the south of the property, on the east side of the eastern-most valley, the Quebrada Palmani, is an exposure of a classic Chilean porphyry copper outcrop comprising altered quartz feldspar porphyry (QFP) intrusive rock exhibiting abundant stockwork quartz veining, at least 3 phases of brecciation, and limonites after pyrite and copper minerals. A 'relict sulphide' study conducted in the early 1990's on this outcrop (nicknamed the Red Wall) revealed abundant bornite and chalcopyrite along with pyrite encapsulated within quartz grains in the QFP. Exposures of propylitic alteration in the surrounding andesites, and a silver-lead-zinc vein district with historical small scale production are located to the southwest of the Cristal claims and in the western-most quebrada. All of this information points to the existence of an extensive mineralized porphyry copper system at Cristal.
Past drilling by others in the 1990's to the south of the Cristal claims encountered abundant disseminated pyrite along with uneconomic copper values. This area has been interpreted to be the pyritic halo surrounding a potentially enriched porphyry copper system, the centre of which is postulated to be located to the north of the Red Wall, under the ignimbrite cover on the Cristal claims. This project is contiguous with claims owned by Codelco to the east and Mantos Blancos (Anglo American) to the south.
On the Cristal property, the West Fissure undergoes an abrupt change in direction from N-S to N45W, precisely where it is intersected by a NE-SW regional structure. Condor geologists believe that the intersection of these deep seated structures is the centre of the target at Cristal.
Update:
In late 2012, BHP Billiton conducted an airborne geophysical survey that encompassed the Cristal project. Subsequently, a drill program commenced at Cristal in March 2013, and the first drillhole was completed to a depth of 905m on March 27th. This vertical hole was located on the southern part of the property, at an elevation of approximately 3,600m. The second drillhole is located approximately 5km due north.
This region of the Chilean porphyry copper belt has been an area of increased activity recently. Anglo American is the holder of record on the concessions immediately south of Cristal, and were reported to be drilling there in late 2012.
Unconfirmed verbal information was obtained in early 2010 concerning a drill program conducted by another major company in the mid-1990's in what is now within or very close to the southern boundary of the Cristal claims. This source reported drill intercepts of 40 to 50m grading 0.7% to 0.8%Cu in one drillhole and approximately 80m of 1%Cu in another, with mineralization remaining open to the north under the ignimbrite cover. If true, this would confirm Condor's interpretation of the main mineralized target lying to the north within Condor's Cristal claims.
In late 2006, a 10km long, one line conventional IP survey was completed on the Cristal concessions along their southern border. It is doubtful that this IP survey reached the required depth to test for copper mineralization. As a result, and with the unconfirmed information referred to above, Condor geologists recommend a 'deep-seeing' geophysical survey to check below the ignimbrite cover at Cristal, such as Quantec's Titan 24 system, followed by 2 to 3 vertical drillholes to a depth of up to 600m to test our interpretation of the target.