Helix acquires Chilean mine

THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Minerals exploration company Helix Resources has announced the purchase of the Blanco Y Negro Mine and surrounding mining leases in Region IV, Chile.

Blanco Y Negro is hosted in a regionally significant shear situated 21 kilometres north east of Glencore’s Punitaqui operations and 10 kilometres south west of a large service town, Ovalle in Region IV Chile.

Helix has agreed to purchase the mining concessions from a private vendor for US$80,000, giving the company 100 per cent ownership of approximately 128 hectares of exploitation concessions within the regional Huallillinga Project.

Geological due diligence, carried out as part of Helix’s regional exploration program, has identified Blanco Y Negro Mine to be part of a large Copper/Gold system.

The associated gold was not previously identified, nor was it credited in the limited production from the mine area.

Mapping has isolated at least two mineralising events in the mine area, with several structural directions mineralised with both copper and gold.

First-pass rock-chips have returned up to 1.1 per cent Copper (over 4.5 metres) and up to 1.3 grams per tonne (over 4.2metres) in channel samples taken from outcrop.

Of 43 channel samples collected, the results averaged 0.4 per cent Copper, 0.2 g/t Gold and 47ppm Molybdenum, over a strike exceeding 900m, providing evidence that a large Copper/Gold target is present.

More detailed sampling is planned to define drill targets.