Zeus
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Property Type
HSE Gold Project
Size
16,100 ha
Status
Available for Partnership
Exploration Stage
Pre-drillinng
Rock chip assay sampling, soil survey, geological mapping, Geophysical survey (CSAMT)Location
- Mio-Pliocene age mineral belt in northern Chile
- 40 km ESE of the multi million-ounce Salares Norte HSE discovery by Gold Fields
- Located in undulating high-altitude terrain with drive-up access to targets via gravel roads and tracks
Zeus is a high sulfidation epithermal (HSE) gold project covering 16,100 ha located 75 km southeast of Mirasol’s Gorbea project and 40 km east of Goldfields’ HSE Salares Norte project in northern Chile. It is set in an undulating high-altitude terrain with drive-up access to targets via gravel roads and tracks. Mirasol is targeting large-scale bulk-mineable HSE gold mineralization at Zeus.
In 2018, Mirasol partnered with Newcrest Mining and completed a detailed surface exploration program at the project, which however remains undrilled.
The Zeus project is well located on the major NW, cross-arc structural corridor which controls the Salares Norte Epithermal deposit and a series of Mio-Pliocene volcanic cones and domes, running subparallel to the Culampaja lineament. At the district scale, the structure is dominated by NW, WNW and NE structures; which is significant, as the main breccia at the Salares Norte deposit appears to be controlled by the intersection of NE and NW faults [1].
Zeus presents a large project area that has not been subjected to systematic exploration by Mirasol; there appears to be extensive areas of post alteration basaltic and dacitic flows that may conceal large centers of HSE alteration, which are currently exposed in small erosional windows.
The main target for Mirasol in the Zeus Project is the Artemisa prospect; a large breccia-hosted HSE gold target that has been defined in the north of the block.
Artemisa - Geology and Geochemistry
The Prospect consists of two phreatomagmatic centers; Artemisa and Leto, that are exposed on the east and west sides of a partially eroded volcanic edifice, capped by post-mineral dacitic lava flows. The breccia at Leto was controlled by a NW trending structure which outcrops as a zone of tectonic brecciation 200m wide in porphyritic dacites. A NW structural control is also evident at Artemisa, where NW trending hot spring gas escape structures, seen in outcrop, cut maar sediments on the northern margin of the 800m diameter phreatomagmatic breccia. Also represented is a NE trend in the elongation of the breccia at Artemisa and NE trending fractures on the breccia contacts.
The breccia bodies are strongly argillically (kaolin) altered with alunite present, interpreted as a steam heated to advanced argillic zone. Mineralization in the breccia consists of jarosite, probably after pyrite, which is seen locally in tectonic breccia clasts of dacite at Leto. Late gypsum fills fractures and interlaminations in maar sediments.
The rock chip geochemical signal of weakly anomalous Au, Ag and epithermal pathfinders (Hg, Sb, Bi, S) along with the alteration assemblage and paleosurface indicators indicate a setting at a high level in the epithermal system.
Artemisa - Geophysics.
Two lines of CSAMT were completed at Artemisa. A generally conductive host rock is cut by more steeply dipping, more resistive features which show some correlation between IP sections 400m apart. These are interpreted as silicified feeder zones under the outcropping breccias.
The Artemisa and Leto prospects provide an opportunity to drill - test defined targets in an epithermal system that has been only partly eroded.
[1]Azevedo, F., Brewer, N., Santos, A., Huete Verdugo, D., Baumgartner, R., Roncal, L., Trueman, A. & Foley, A. (2015). The discovery and geology of the Salares Norte epithermal gold-silver deposit, northern Chile. In NewGenGold 2015 (p145-157). Perth, Australia.
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