If the old saying, "We're number 2, we try harder," rings true, that must mean that Centenera Mining Corp. (CT:TSX.V; CTMIF:OTCQX) is trying hardest of all because one of its drill holes returned the third best copper intersection reported in the first quarter of this year.
The company announced on May 8 the final batch of drill results from hole 18-ESP-025 at the Esperanza Copper-Gold Porphyry project in Argentina's San Juan province. Results for the entire hole grade 0.57% copper and 0.27g/t gold; 0.78% copper equivalent. The mineralization remains open at depth.
Keith Henderson, Centenera's president and CEO stated, "In a global context, the complete results from drill hole 18‐ESP‐025 compare well with drill results from peer copper deposits reported in Q1 this year; the drill hole would have ranked number three only being exceeded by two deep copper deposits (see table below)."
"Looking at the comparison table it is important to remember that Centenera's drill intersection is the only one starting from surface. Other factors such as location with respect to infrastructure also upgrade the Esperanza intersection relative to deposits in more remote locations," Henderson noted.
According to the company, seven holes were first drilled in the Esperanza project in 2007–2008 and "all drill holes intersected significant copper‐gold mineralization."
Centenera noted the following highlights:
- Mineralization is outcropping at surface with a pyrite halo extending over a 1,400m x 850m area
- Drill holes generally intersected mineralization at surface
- Mineralization is open in all directions
- Majority of drill holes terminated in mineralization and are open at depth
- Several drill holes demonstrate increasing grade with depth
Centenera has caught the attention of Peter Epstein of Epstein Research, who wrote in March regarding the Esperanza project, "based on exploration to date, the significant grade, and thickness of reported intervals, management believes there could be hundred(s) of millions of metric tonnes of mineralization. The area of interest is already 1,400m by 850m. If strong grade and wide intervals continue to be found, the deposit could host billion(s) of Copper Equivalent (Cu Eq) pounds. Make no mistake, it's still early days, but there's a real possibility for substantial scale to be unearthed here."
"Delineating hundred(s) of millions of tonnes is not a sure thing, and it won't necessarily come in the maiden mineral resource estimate," Epstein stated. "However, historical exploration, combined with the current drill program, could provide further evidence of grade, scale and continuity that attracts considerable attention."
"Centenera Mining Corp. is sitting on what could be a major copper-gold asset in San Juan," Epstein concluded.
San Juan province is also home to McEwen Mining Inc.'s (MUX:TSX; MUX:NYSE ) Los Azules project; the company has reported an Indicated and Inferred resource of 29.6 billion pounds of copper, as well as substantial gold and silver resources.
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Disclosure:
1) Patrice Fusillo compiled this article for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise reports as an employee. She or members of her household own securities of the following companies mentioned in the article: None. She or members of her household are paid by the following companies mentioned in this article: None.
2) The following companies mentioned in this article are billboard sponsors of Streetwise Reports: None. Click here for important disclosures about sponsor fees. As of the date of this article, an affiliate of Streetwise Reports has a consulting relationship with Centenera Mining.
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Additional disclosure for Epstein Research as of March. 12, 2018
At the time this article was posted, Peter Epstein owned shares and stock options of Centenera Mining and the Company was a sponsor of Epstein Research. Additional disclosures are available here.
