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02<br />
Geology & Tectonics<br />
The RABIA property encompasses 13 licenses. Seven of them are mining<br />
licenses, two are exploration licenses, and four of them are mining licenses<br />
being in transition from the previous owner into RABIA ownership, on base<br />
of a legal option contract.<br />
The RABIA mine property covers a local belt or corridor of 5<br />
km from north to south and 1.7 km from west to east along<br />
the contact zone between the early Cretaceous Retamilla<br />
intrusion (ca. 126 Ma) with tonalite and granodiorite,<br />
emplaced as a tabular plutonic rock on the about 1,000 m<br />
deep �oor of the eastern hanging wall along the subregional<br />
master fault Las Lenas, and the Bandurrias formation<br />
composed predominantly of intermediate volcanics with<br />
intercalated clastics and calcareous marine sediments.<br />
Dominant rock types are continental andesitic lavas.<br />
Associated sediments include arenaceous rocks, calcareous<br />
arenites, breccia and conglomerates.<br />
The Atacama Fault (AF) passes less than 10 km east of the<br />
mine. Numerous NNW-NNE trending faults with reported<br />
high-angle dips (< 50°) along the AF axis; dilational stress<br />
vector to east. In addition, there are numerous local brittle<br />
faults and other secondary fracture systems. The width of<br />
the tectonically controlled corridor with clastic component<br />
and brecciation ranges from 200 to 1,200 m.<br />
The Geología del Área Freirina – El Morado (Sernageomin,<br />
2006) map assigns the mineral occurrences of the corridor<br />
to the IOCG type (depósitos de Fe-Cu-Au). The depth of<br />
this zone is indicated by 80 to 400 m. Disseminated veins<br />
thickness ranges between 1 and 9 m. There are probably<br />
two IOCG subtypes: A replacement type with skarni�ed<br />
clastic calcilutites and calcarenites intercalated by a<br />
volcanoclastic component, and a tectonic and/or hydrothermal<br />
breccia.<br />
A supergene oxidation zone of about 30 m is developed,<br />
containing malachite, azurite, chrysacolla and atacamite as<br />
mineable minerals. At deeper layers chalcocite and<br />
covellite are reported. Beneath, chalcopyrite and pyrite are<br />
supposed.<br />
Since the successful history of Candelaria, it is known that<br />
geologically young IOCG deposits too, such as the RABIA<br />
mine, can generate pro�table mining because of their<br />
generally attractive size, quite simple metallurgy, and<br />
relatively high grade of copper and gold.<br />
CORPORATE BROCHURE - 2011
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