Slide 1: A GIS Makeover of a Classic Silver District; Real de Minas de Zacualpan, Mexico
A GIS Makeover of a Classic Silver District; Real de Minas de Zacualpan, Mexico Brian V. Hall George A. Gorzynski
Slide 2: Agenda
Agenda • Historical aspects of the Royal Mines of Zacualpan District • The cataloging of old mine workings as one of our exploration methodologies • District scale structural features • Geological factors affecting the distribution of silver and gold within the Zacualpan District
Slide 3: Zacualpan Location Map
Zacualpan Location Map Epithermal Silver Belt
Slide 4: Current Operations
Current Operations GUADALUPE PLANT CUCHARA-OSCAR NOCHE BUENA EL CHIVO (Inactive) CAPIRE PLANT SAN RAMON & MINE
Slide 5: Pre-Hispanic Mining Centers in Latin America
Pre-Hispanic Mining Centers in Latin America (From Cathro, R. J. , 2000)
Slide 6: Zacualpan - 1890's and Today
Zacualpan - 1890’s and Today
Slide 7: This Map is Thought to be Over 200+ Years Old
This Map is Thought to be Over 200+ Years Old Before digitizing After digitizing
Slide 8: Zacualpan – Taxco Districts: Major Veins
ZACUALPAN – TAXCO DISTRICTS MAJOR VEINS
Slide 9: Zacualpan – Taxco Districts: Major Veins with Old Map
ZACUALPAN – TAXCO DISTRICTS MAJOR VEINS WITH OLD MAP INCLUDED
Slide 10: Zacualpan's Old Mills and Smelters
Zacualpan’s Old Mills and Smelters La Zorra Cruz Blanca El Calvario Nombre de Dios San Carlos La Cadena Santa Efigenia
Slide 11: Zacualpan – Mamatla District Old Mill & Smelter Locations
ZACUALPAN – MAMATLA DISTRICT OLD MILL & SMELTER LOCATIONS
Slide 12: Obras (Old Mine & Exploration Workings)
OBRAS (OLD MINE & EXPLORATION WORKINGS)
Slide 13: Zacualpan Exploration Database
ZACUALPAN EXPLORATION DATABASE • In 2009, IMPACT Silver announced the successful launch of the GIS Database using the computer program ArcGIS • One aspect of ArcGIS is the ability to document 3,092 Historical Mine Workings, which continues to grow with the addition of ten each week • It has been fou
Slide 14: Zacualpan – Mamatla District Old Mine and Exploration Workings
ZACUALPAN – MAMATLA DISTRICT OLD MINE AND EXPLORATION WORKINGS
Slide 15: Zacualpan – Mamatla District Old Mine and Exploration Workings
ZACUALPAN – MAMATLA DISTRICT OLD MINE AND EXPLORATION WORKINGS
Slide 16: Noche Buena Area Obras – Nov. 25, 2007
NOCHE BUENA AREA Obras – Nov. 25, 2007
Slide 17: Noche Buena Area Obras – Nov. 25, 2012
NOCHE BUENA AREA Obras – Nov. 25, 2012
Slide 18: Noche Buena Area Obras & Mapping Areas – Nov. 25, 2012
NOCHE BUENA AREA Obras & Mapping Areas – Nov. 25, 2012
Slide 19: Status of Current Fieldwork
STATUS OF CURRENT FIELDWORK As of Nov. 25, 2012
Slide 20: Regional Geology
REGIONAL GEOLOGY Cuernavaca Geology Mapsheet E4-6 (Rivera C.E., De La Teja S. M.A., Miranda H., A., Lemus B. O., and Motolinia G. O.)
Slide 21: Zacualpan Veins: Vein Measurements
ZACUALPAN VEINS VEIN MEASUREMENTS
Slide 22: Zacualpan Veins: Dip Direction
ZACUALPAN VEINS DIP DIRECTION
Slide 23: District Scale Observations: Transpressional Shear
DISTRICT SCALE OBSERVATIONS THE NORTH-SOUTH STRIKING VEINS HAVE A VERTICAL SENSE OF DISPLACEMENT THE NORTHWESTERLY STRIKING VEINS TEND TO HAVE A LATERAL SENSE OF DISPLACEMENT WITH THE OVERALL STRESS REGIME BEING “TRANSPRESSIONAL SHEAR”
Slide 24: Types of Silver – Gold Veins
ZACUALPAN DISTRICT TYPES OF SILVER – GOLD VEINS Mesothermal Gold-Copper-Arsenic Vein Epithermal Silver-Lead-Zinc Vein
Slide 25: Factors Affecting Mesothermal vs Epithermal Veins and Gold-Silver Contents
FACTORS AFFECTING THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE MESOTHERMAL vs EPITHERMAL VEINS AND THEIR GOLD – SILVER CONTENTS
Slide 26: Structural Setting: Precious Metal Content
PRECIOUS METAL CONTENT === Principally Silver NUMBER OF VEINS oe Silver with Gold 587 === Principally Gold 0 1,250 2,500 5,000 7,500 10,000
Slide 27: Factors Affecting the Distribution for the Silver – Gold Veins
FACTORS AFFECTING THE DISTRIBUTION FOR THE SILVER – GOLD VEINS • A general bias toward the N-S Veins having a higher gold content, which in turn occupy structures having a vertical sense of displacement (“normal faults”)
Slide 28: Structural Features Within Veins
STRUCTURAL FEATURES WITHIN VEINS EXTENSIONAL PULL-APART REGIONS BETWEEN VEINS CAN RESULT IN DEEPER CHANNELWAYS CROSS SECTION A B
Slide 29: Minor Structural Features
MINOR STRUCTURAL FEATURES VEIN MINERALOGY DIFFERING WITH STRUCTURAL SETTING OF VEIN b a a) Colloform breccia, with hematite, b) geopetal breccia clasts with colloform textures, c) manganese oxide alteration, surrounding a sphalerite vein c
Slide 30: Factors Affecting the Distribution for the Silver – Gold Veins
FACTORS AFFECTING THE DISTRIBUTION FOR THE SILVER – GOLD VEINS • A general bias toward the N-S Veins having a higher gold content, which in turn occupy structures having a vertical sense of displacement (“normal faults”) • Different types of structures contain different metal contents with the exten
Slide 31: Veins in Relation to Coloured Topography
TOPOGRAPHY VEINS IN RELATION TO COLOURED TOPOGRAPHY
Slide 32: Factors Affecting the Distribution for the Silver – Gold Veins
FACTORS AFFECTING THE DISTRIBUTION FOR THE SILVER – GOLD VEINS • A general bias toward the N-S Veins having a higher gold content, which in turn occupy structures having a vertical sense of displacement (“normal faults”) • Different types of structures contain different metal contents with the exten
Slide 33: Depth of Vein Emplacement: Nochebuena vs Carlos Pacheco Veins
DEPTH OF VEIN EMPLACEMENT NOCHEBUENA VS CARLOS PACHECO VEINS
Slide 34: 550 Meters of Stratigraphic Offset
DEPTH OF VEIN EMPLACEMENT 550 METERS OF STRATIGRAPHIC OFFSET
Slide 35: Factors Affecting the Distribution for the Silver – Gold Veins
FACTORS AFFECTING THE DISTRIBUTION FOR THE SILVER – GOLD VEINS • A general bias toward the N-S Veins having a higher gold content, which in turn occupy structures having a vertical sense of displacement (“normal faults”) • Different types of structures contain different metal contents with the exten
Slide 36: Felsic Intrusions of the Tilzapola Formation
FELSIC INTRUSIONS OF THE TILZAPOLA FORMATION
Slide 37: Construction of Vein Segment Maps
CONSTRUCTION OF VEIN SEGMENT MAPS 1 2 3
Slide 38: Construction of Vein Segment Maps
CONSTRUCTION OF VEIN SEGMENT MAPS 3 4 2 5
Slide 39: Felsic Intrusions of the Tilzapola Formation
FELSIC INTRUSIONS OF THE TILZAPOLA FORMATION
Slide 40: Felsic Intrusions of the Tilzapola Formation
FELSIC INTRUSIONS OF THE TILZAPOLA FORMATION Felsic Intrusions
Slide 41: Nochebuena Vein Breccia Features
NOCHEBUENA VEIN BRECCIA FEATURES
Slide 42: Nochebuena Vein Long Section - Silver Grades (g/t)
NOCHEBUENA VEIN LONG SECTION - SILVER GRADES (g/t)
Slide 43: Nochebuena Vein Long Section - Gold Grades (g/t)
NOCHEBUENA VEIN LONG SECTION - GOLD GRADES (g/t)
Slide 44: Nochebuena Vein Long Section – Gold / Silver Ratio
NOCHEBUENA VEIN LONG SECTION – GOLD / SILVER RATIO
Slide 45: Intersection of Nochebuena Vein with Silver-Bearing Abalone Vein
NOCHEBUENA VEIN INTERSECTION OF NOCHEBUENA VEIN WITH SILVER-BEARING ABALONE VEIN
Slide 46: Nochebuena Vein Breccia Features
NOCHEBUENA VEIN BRECCIA FEATURES North End Z09-29 (North End) Z09-25 (South End) • High Gold Grades • > 50% Rhyolite Porphyry Clasts (angular) • Few Soft Clasts South End • Low Gold Grades •< 10% Rhyolite Porphyry Clasts (rounded) •Large Soft Clasts
Slide 47: Factors Affecting the Distribution for the Silver – Gold Veins
FACTORS AFFECTING THE DISTRIBUTION FOR THE SILVER – GOLD VEINS • A general bias toward the N-S Veins having a higher gold content, which in turn occupy structures having a vertical sense of displacement (“normal faults”) • Different types of structures contain different metal contents with the exten
Slide 48: District Metal Zoning: Gold Soil Geochemistry
DISTRICT METAL ZONING GOLD SOIL GEOCHEMISTRY
Slide 49: District Metal Zoning: Silver Soil Geochemistry
DISTRICT METAL ZONING SILVER SOIL GEOCHEMISTRY
Slide 50: District Metal Zoning: Arsenic Soil Geochemistry
DISTRICT METAL ZONING ARSENIC SOIL GEOCHEMISTRY
Slide 51: District Metal Zoning: Copper Soil Geochemistry
DISTRICT METAL ZONING COPPER SOIL GEOCHEMISTRY
Slide 52: District Metal Zoning: Antimony Soil Geochemistry
DISTRICT METAL ZONING ANTIMONY SOIL GEOCHEMISTRY
Slide 53: District Metal Zoning: Manganese Soil Geochemistry
DISTRICT METAL ZONING MANGANESE SOIL GEOCHEMISTRY
Slide 54: Southeast Tilt of the Zacualpan District Post Vein-Emplacement
DISTRICT METAL ZONING SOUTHEAST TILT OF THE ZACUALPAN DISTRICT POST VEIN-EMPLACEMENT
Slide 55: Factors Affecting the Distribution for the Silver – Gold Veins
FACTORS AFFECTING THE DISTRIBUTION FOR THE SILVER – GOLD VEINS • A general bias toward the N-S Veins having a higher gold content, which in turn occupy structures having a vertical sense of displacement (“normal faults”) • Different types of structures contain different metal contents with the exten
Slide 56: Drilling Success Rate Using ArcView
DRILLING SUCCESS RATE USING ArcVIEW PREVIOUS SUCESS RATE 31% DATA BASE DRIVEN SUCCESS RATE (as of 2009) 61% ECONOMIC INTERSECTION DEFINED AS > 125 g/t Silver across 2.0 meters
Slide 57: The End
The End
Slide 58: Noche Buena Vein Breccia Features
NOCHE BUENA VEIN BRECCIA FEATURES
Slide 59: Noche Buena Vein Breccia Features
NOCHE BUENA VEIN BRECCIA FEATURES
Slide 60: Noche Buena Vein Breccia Features
NOCHE BUENA VEIN BRECCIA FEATURES
Slide 61: Noche Buena Vein Breccia Features
NOCHE BUENA VEIN BRECCIA FEATURES