LA CAROLINA

Technical Details

The area forms part of the Sierra Pampeanas, an early to mid-Paleozoic metamorphic terrane comprising Cambrian to Devonian metamorphic and intrusive rocks that have been intruded by a Northwest trending belt of Mio-Pliocene volcanic centers with which gold mineralization is associated. This belt is approximately 80 kilometres long and about 10 kilometres wide in the Province of San Luis but extends a further 400 kilometres Northwest along the Pascua trend that hosts over 30 million Oz of gold in the Pascua and Veladero (Barrick) deposits.

The San Luis extension of the volcanic rock represents the easternmost expression of potassic magmatism associated with the eastern edge of the Tertiary flat slab subduction process under the Andean belt that generated significant mineral deposits in Argentina including Xstrata's Bajo de la Alumbrera (600 Mt@ 0.55 % Cu and 0.5 gr/t Au); Northern Orion's Agua Rica (731 Mt@ 0.62 % Cu, 0.037% Mo and 0.23 grt Au, Northern Orion), YMAD's Farallon Negro (500,000 Oz @ 8 grt au) and Barrick's Famatina District (porphyries and High sulfidation system, undeveloped) north of Carolina District.

The La Carolina Project hosts low sulphidation epithermal gold mineralization associated to diatremes and dome complex, similar to that at Montana Tunnel (Montana) and Baguio (Phillipines). The Property contains disseminated gold mineralization associated with pyrite-silica alteration in the diatreme breccias related to Tertiary porphyritic dacite and trachyte domes as well as vein-style gold mineralization hosted by the Paleozoic country rocks. Gold porphyry mineralization is also reported from the Diente Verde prospect some 15 kilometres to the southeast.

Historically the district has seen small, but significant mineral production. Alluvial gold has been produced from placers and is still in production today, and minor hard rock production has been won from narrow Au-Ag-Pb-Zn vein deposits such as Esperanza and La Estancia which lies on the Property. Modern mineral exploration started in 1986 by Direccíon de Fabricaciones Militares (DGFM) which identified gold-bearing breccias in Cerro el Porongo and La Estancia. An early drilling program of 1300 metres in 13 holes identified gold anomalies, but the results were never recovered. In 1987-88 DGFM entered a JV with Anglo Gold and completed 6804 m in 52 holes. Some interesting results are:
 
DDH-38: 18 m @ 2.44 g/t Au
including 9m @ 4.06 g/t Au
DDH-36: 6 m @ 1.34 g/t Au
DDH-45: 10.5 m @ 2.4 g/t Au
DDH-33: 19.5 mts @ 2.17 g/t Au
DDH-21.5/68.5: 138 mts @ 2.72 g/t Au
DDH-49: 1.5 mts @ 59.2 g/t Au

Anglo left the property in 1990 after the discovery of Vanguardia, a project they developed and converted into a mine (3 M Oz).

Subsequently, Cameco (1991) drilled 3 shallow holes in the La Estancia Area and the best hole returned 8 m @ 1.16 g/t Au. The property remained in a "Provincial Mineral Reserve" until 1996 when it was released and staked by Solitario/TNR who entered into a Joint Venture agreement with Geocom Resources in 2003. Geocom proceeded to drill in 2004 a total of 2500 metres in 15 holes and their best intersections were at the Mogote Target (hole M-04 intersected 4m @ 5.96g/t) and El Camino Target (25 m @ 4.2 gr/t).

Drilling Intercepts