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Firm puzzles out Chile project’s geology

8th July 2022

     

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Mineral exploration and development company Montero in its blog last month noted that it is assembling the geological puzzle of its Avispa copper project thorough its exploration work.

According to the company’s website, the project is located in the Atacama region of northern Chile, west of the town of Calama and 220 km north east of Antofagasta, Chile’s largest commercial deep-water port. The project is connected by asphalt road to the ports of Tocopilla and Antofagasta.

Montero had been awarded 170 km2 of exploration mining concessions in an almost contiguous area south of the main highway between Calama and Tocopilla. Part of the area was previously held by Spence Mining, a subsidiary of BHP. 

The developer noted that the major and junior companies that previously held the area will not share their exploration results. “[This] means that we have no geological information to build on. As a result, publicly available information from many sources played a fundamental role in this first phase of exploration, as it helped us broadly understand the local geology, structure and geophysics of the Avispa area.”

The fieldwork team’s primary objective is to make a commercial mining discovery at Avispa.

“Our initial milestone is to develop a thorough understanding of the geology so we can develop drill targets. We completed the orientation through remote sensing work, using satellite images to combine different bands in order to make lithological discriminations, and by using public geological and geophysical map information and reports and academic papers. This work provided valuable information and enabled us to identify areas of interest for the field studies currently under way.”

The team has found alteration minerals and mineral assemblages that are known to indicate mineralisation potential and may show the proximity to a mineral deposit.

“Minerals and mineral assemblages such as jarosite-goethite-hematite, sericite, disseminated pyrite, chlorite-epidote, copper oxides and copper sulphides have been seen at Avispa. The alteration minerals found in the volcanic and intrusive rocks observed by our team at Avispa allow us to deduce that we are in an interesting geological environment in which to make a mineral discovery.”

The company stated that its team of Chilean geologists and field assistants has field experience in mountainous and desert environments and a good technical background in Chilean geology, mineral deposits and mines. This ranges from surface geological and structural mapping, remote sensing, geochemical sampling, microscope petrography, through to all aspects of diamond drill campaigns.

The team uses geographic information systems to develop pre-field maps and information and uses this to deliver output maps and sections as the programme advances towards the final product.

Day-to-Day

Describing its field activities, the company notes that it holds daily vehicle checks and security talks concerning the potential risks and minimum-security measures for each member of the team, which usually comprises two geologists and one or two field assistants, depending on the programme.

The routes and objectives are planned in the evening; this includes deciding on sites to be visited, samples to be taken, and determining way points. “This helps ensure the team’s safety and provides a thorough understanding of the work to be performed as part of the greater exploration objective.”

The team drives for 40 minutes on tar from Calama to the entrance of the project area, whereupon a further vehicle and safety check occurs. As the project is located in the hyper-arid Atacama Desert where sun exposure and drinking water are major concerns, plentiful sunblock, water and food supplies are key.  

Further, owing to limited cellular network coverage, emergency communication procedures are implemented and checked.

The team drives to the areas of interest on the property and then maps and samples the area on foot. In certain areas access is difficult and long walks are necessary, such as in the San Salvador river valley located in the south of Avispa where several steep ravines allow access only by foot. Sometimes it can take up to three hours to reach an area of interest with traverses over rocky outcrops and dry valley creeks.

Once the team reaches the area of interest, it assess the geology as it builds a geological map and take samples for geochemistry and rock classification. The team also takes panoramic photographs to provide a visual record, which aids the geological understanding of the project area.

Montero stresses that all of its teams always work in a sustainable manner. “On the ground, we meet the ‘leave no trace’ standards and avoid disturbing the flora and fauna as far as possible. Also, we try to consume our foods and field supplies and dispose of waste at sites in Calama to limit our ecological footprint.”

When Montero is working in a region, it always tries to include local people in its team and works with local companies so that the town or region benefits from its presence, “just as we benefit from exploring there”.

“We are always sensitive to relevant environmental, cultural or historical sites that could be affected by the project. To date, we haven’t found any sites or communities that could be affected by Montero’s work at Avispa.”

Edited by Nadine James
Features Deputy Editor

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