Copper Mountain Property
- Solitaire Minerals Inc. has acquired a land package near Copper Mountain (TSX: CUM) of six separate blocks totalling 10,254 acres.
- One of the blocks, "Block 6" (2,547 acres) immediately borders the property hosting the Copper Mountain deposit south of Princeton, BC.
- Solitaire Minerals Inc. has an option to earn a 100% undivided interest in the entire land package.
Map of Area
http://www.solitaireminerals.com/pdf/pdf_projects/princeton.pdf
Exploration Progress
Surface exploration programs consisting of geological mapping, prospecting, rock, soil and silt geochemical sampling have been completed on five of the six blocks, resulting in the identification of sizable alteration systems in three of these. Geological mapping on Block 1 (the most western block) identified a kilometric-scale system of strongly developed alteration suggesting an epithermal system, which includes several strongly pyritic occurrences hosted in outcrop as well as recently excavated road cuts.
Exploration in Block 4 (the most eastern block) led to the identification of a pyritic altered volcanic unit, with sub-zones of stronger alteration and increased pyrite emplacement. Outcrop exposures have been identified 300 metres apart; however, abundant similarly mineralized glacial float suggests a much larger extent of mineralization. Solitaire added two claims totaling 1,816 acres to this block to cover this zone.
Exploration on Block 6 has identified a zone of strongly altered granitic rock, commonly pyritic, as well as small mineralized occurrences elsewhere. Exploration on all blocks is aided by improved access resulting from recent logging activity, including newly exposed rock cuts and pits providing road fill. The majority of occurrences identified by Solitaire's geological ground crew to date show no sign of past sampling or exploration.
About the Copper Mountain Deposit
The large copper deposit owned by Copper Mountain (TSX: CUM) is an open pit porphyry copper mine that operated from 1972 to 1996 and produced 1.74 billion pounds of copper, 730 thousand ounces of gold and 9.1 million ounces of silver. The current resource is estimated at five billion pounds of copper at a 0.15-per-cent-Cu cut-off. The resource estimate incorporates data from over 4,400 historical drill holes totaling approximately 400,000 metres, and 370 new drill holes, totaling 107,000 metres from the company's 2007 and 2008 exploration programs.
Copper Mountain (TSX:CUM) plans to re-open the mine, and it is estimated that the project will provide employment for 200 construction workers at its peak and the continuing operations will create 257 full-time positions. Over the 17-year life of the project, it is estimated that the mine will produce 1.47 billion pounds of copper, 452,000 ounces of gold, and 4.5 million ounces of silver.
