Location
Within the Eastern Andes of San Juan Province, in Argentina, South America, El Tapau is strategically located just 50 km from TNR's El Salto property and 130 km from San Juan city. El Tapau is accessible year-round by paved and gravel roads.
Technical Details
Geologically, the property occurs within the "Yellow Belt" district of San Juan Province, representing intrusion-related,
high-sulphidation gold-copper system. The property is predominantly underlain by fine- to medium-grained quartzites of the
Carboniferous Agua Negra Formation, which has been intruded by composite granitic plutons and related dikes and sills. The
youngest and economically important phase is the feldspar-phyric biotite granite to quartz monzonite of the Triassic-age Tocota
stock occupying most of the property.
Alteration within and proximal to the stock is weakly to strongly potassic but tourmaline with sericitic and argillic
zones have also been developed adjacent to cuprous and auriferous quartz tourmaline veins and breccias. The veins are
variably mineralized with chalcopyrite, pyrite, galena, arsenopyrite, bornite-covellite with crysocolla, malachite, azurite,
specularite and other ferrous oxides as secondary minerals. Quartz vein stockwork and stringer zones occur locally and are
variably mineralized with chalcopyrite, pyrite, bornite-covellite with crysocolla, malachite-azurite as secondary minerals.
The veins and breccias are apparently controlled by structures, occurring within and/or adjacent to faults.
The lithology, alteration and mineral assemblage are suggestive of the porphyry-type copper-gold system on the property. Drilling previously conducted intercepted 0.70% Cu in a porphyry-style while drilling a gold target. Systematic rock sampling in 2006 by TNR yielded gold values ranging from trace to 19 g/t gold, averaging 2.2 g/t gold from
157 rock sample sites. TNR currently completing a 3D IP survey on the property, which is designed to delineate a previously
discovered chargeability anomaly that was open ended beneath the anomalous gold area. This confirms the potential for vein hosted gold on the porphyry. The survey has recently been extended
to cover an additional 300 metres to the north and west. The company is planning to drill the property in 2008.