Rock samples confirm presence of gold and copper

Durrant Pate/Contributor

C3 Metals Incorporated, out of Canada, has got a drilling permit to prospect for gold and copper in Jamaica at its 100 per cent-owned Arthurs Seat Project.

The company has announced that Phase 1 of the drilling programme, comprising 25 holes and 5,000 metres, will commence immediately. 

C3 Metals will be drilling for copper-gold-silver mineralisation over an area of 8.0 km by 4.5 km with 161 rock chip assays grading greater than one per cent copper.

Arthurs Seat is a 6,000-hectare area in which C3 Metals has made a grassroots copper-gold-silver discovery with an 8.0 km by 4.5 km copper-gold-silver footprint. Within this larger system, a high-density, low-intermediate sulphidation epithermal vein swarm has been discovered over a 5.0 km by 3.0 km area.

Of the 1,775 rock-chip samples assayed to date, 161 rock chip samples have assayed greater than one per cent copper and 41 rock chip samples have assayed greater than 1.0 grams per tonne or g/t gold at Arthurs Seat. Assaying involves the testing of a metal or ore to determine its ingredients and quality.

There is no known record of any previous diamond drilling at Arthurs Seat.

New rock chip gold assays found

C3 Metals said it was also pleased to report new rock chip gold assays up to 58.1 g/t gold, the highest-grade sampled at the project to date (see visible gold in Figure 3). An initial 5,000m drilling programme comprising some 25 holes from 11 drill pad locations is planned.

The Canadian metal company is reporting that the first drill pad is now under construction with the first drill fans to test a quartz-rich structure that is up to 40m wide with surface rock chip samples assaying up to 43.2 g/t gold.

Arthurs Seat exploration highlights:

• Copper-gold-silver mineralisation over an area of 8.0 km by 4.5 km with 161 rock chip assays grading greater than one per cent copper;
• Epithermal quartz vein swarm over 5.0 km by 3.0 km with 41 rock chip samples grading greater than 1.0 g/t gold;
• Latest batch of rock chip samples assayed up to 58.1 g/t gold, 16.5 per cent copper and 4,890 g/t silver;
• Visible gold identified in sheeted quartz veins; and
• Discrete zones of interpreted redbed-style, high-grade copper-silver mineralisation discovered in the northwest project area completely separate from the vein hosted gold-copper-silver epithermal style mineralization in the southeast.

Upcoming 5,000 metre drill

Dan Symons, C3 Metals president and CEO, said: “The upcoming 5,000-metre drill programme will help us understand the grade distribution across these quartz structures and at depth. We thank the government of Jamaica and the local communities for their ongoing support.”

He noted that, since making the grassroots discovery at Arthurs Seat first announced during September, the company has moved swiftly to develop the project and obtain drill permits.

According to Symons, “the mineralised area has grown substantially since the initial discovery through our aggressive mapping and sampling programs. That program continues to return very high-grade copper, gold and silver in rock chip samples collected within an extensive mineralised footprint. This represents district-scale potential. Our sampling programme has shown the epithermal quartz structures are mineralised over a two km strike length at surface.”

Epithermal style quartz veins and quartz-rich breccias occur in three well defined zones in the southeast project area covering a 5.0 km by 3.0 km area. Recent assays from quartz veins in the most easterly zone reported up to 58.1 g/t gold (Figure 3) and 43.2 g/t gold from the most westerly zone.

The exploration team continues to follow up on three discrete and northwest trending zones of interpreted redbed style secondary copper mineralisation. Prospect scale mapping is ongoing to evaluate the structural and stratigraphic controls of this style mineralisation.

The latest batch of rock chip assays returned the highest-grade copper and silver results to date of up to 16.5% copper and 4,890 g/t silver.