Century Mining Corporation: New Data Substantiates Porphyry Potential at San Juan in Peru
Tuesday July 11, 9:30 am ET
BLAINE, WASHINGTON--(CCNMatthews - July 11, 2006) - Century Mining Corporation (TSX VENTURE:CMM - News) announced today that it has completed the purchase of an exploration data package for the recently acquired San Juan Mine and related exploration properties in southern Peru.
Century purchased the data from an international gold mining group. The group had been negotiating for the purchase of the San Juan properties and completed geochem sampling and mapping for the Santa Clarita and Erika prospects in 2005 and 2006.
The purchased data include base maps, surface geologic maps, cross-section interpretations, surface geochem samples analyzed for copper, gold and molybdenum, and third-party property reports; including an initial investigation by renowned porphyry expert John Hunt. The data will assist in delineating bulk mineable copper/gold porphyry deposits. It will expedite the evaluation of the property and will be the basis for establishing drill targets.
Preliminary assessment of the data by Century's geologists suggests that the Santa Clarita and Erika prospects host potentially sizable porphyry deposits.
Santa Clarita
The Santa Clarita prospect is located approximately 5 kilometers south of the San Juan mine site. The prospect displays an area of intense biotite-limonite alteration in conjunction with anomalous values of copper, gold and molybdenum in rock geochem sampling. The surface alteration zone covers an area of approximately 1 km by 2 km.
The alteration, combined with the surface rock geochem results, suggest that a porphyry system exits that may host a large copper/gold deposit.
The data include 33 surface chip and channel samples taken from the Santa Clarita prospect. The samples range from 11.2 to 33.2 ppm copper, 1.0 to 1601.5 ppm molybdenum and 0.005 to 5.62 g/t gold.
Erika
The Erika prospect is located approximately 10 kilometers south of the San Juan mine site. Geological mapping identifies the prospect as a porphyritic intrusion hosted in the granodiorite coastal batholith. A thin altered layer of Yura Group sedimentary rocks caps the area. Outcrops of quartz sulfide stockwork and disseminations are evident along with propylitic alteration. The mapping and outcrop sampling suggest that a porphyry stock is present at a shallow depth of 100-200 m below the altered sediments. The Erika target covers an elongated area of at least 1 km by 2 km.
The data include 46 surface chip and channel samples taken from the Erika prospect. The samples range from 15.7 to 1668.8 ppm copper, 2.0 to 989.0 ppm molybednum and nil to 0.48 g/t gold.
The Company's Vice President of Exploration, Ross F. Burns, P.Geo., L.G. prepared the technical information contained in this news release and reviewed the press release in its entirety.
Margaret Kent, President & CEO, commented: "The purchase of this data set has expedited the evaluation of the Santa Clarita and Erika prospects. We knew that other companies were actively negotiating with the owners prior to Century's completion of the purchase of the San Juan shares and bank debt. We are in the preliminary stages of exploration, however, the geochem indicators for the Santa Clarita and Erika prospects are excellent. These data have allowed us to establish drill targets for the Santa Clarita prospect. We are currently applying for drilling permits for the Erika, San Juan, Santa Clarita and Golden Champune prospects. We think the data may indicate that the Santa Clarita and Erika prospects are in the northern extension of the well known Paleocene Porphyry Belt (Toquepala & Cerro Verde) of southern Peru. Moreover, we now understand why major companies were focused on acquiring the Santa Clarita and Erika prospects." |
