Ilovitza

• Summary
• Description
• Logistics
• Geology
• Geophysics
• Exploration Results
• Resources
• Documents

SUMMARY

Ilovitza is a newly discovered porphyry copper-gold-molybdenum deposit.  Mapping and drilling has defined an intrusive complex 1.2 wide and more than 1.3 kilometres long.  The project is located close to road, rail, water and power and importantly there are two smelters within 400 kilometres via heavy rail.

An independent Mineral Resource Statement has just been announced.  The Inferred resources is 303 million tonnes containing 1.6 billion pounds of copper, 2.6 million ounces of gold and 34 million pounds of Moly.

Recent 3D modelling (see below) has identified an undrilled portion of the intrusion.  This is coincident with a strong magentic high and surrounding gold, copper and molybdenum soil geochemical anomalies.  Drillholes around this feature have the highest grade of all holes drilled at Ilovitza.  A geophysical program plus ongoing diamond drilling is planned.

DESCRIPTION

Ilovitza Panorama + Geology Click to View

Ilovitza is a newly discovered porphyry copper-gold-moly system. Mapping and drilling has defined an intrusive complex 1.2 wide and more than 1.3 kilometres long. The main Ilovitza hill can be seen in the images to the left.  Ilovitza was known historically for minor Pb-Zn(Cu) and Au occurrences, confined to distal and peripheral silica-iron oxide and silica-alunite bodies outside of the pervasively-altered intrusive complex.   Numerous shallow pits and small dumps both in bedrock and colluvium in the area of proximal quartz-alunite-iron oxide alteration, may represent Au workings. Visible evidence of copper mineralization at surface includes traces of enargite, rare green copper oxides, and thin chalcocite coatings on unoxidized pyrite exposed in a creek drainage westward below the leached cap.  Deep oxidation and leaching of the topographically-elevated intrusive complex obscured its sulphide content. A short adit excavated in the early 1900s on a Au-bearing peripheral vein located south of the intrusive complex encountered pyrite-vuggy-silica breccia grading 0.3% Cu and 3.2 ppm Au. The main mineralised granodiorite, the target of current exploration drillling, is poorly exposed as it preferentially weathers due to its strong alteration.  Careful mapping quickly recognised the potential for a large porphyry copper-gold deposit.  Drilling soon commenced followed by soil geochemistry and ground magnetics.  No other geophysics has been conducte don the property.  EurOmax has drilled the southern and central portion of the copper-gold mineralised granodiorite and has announced an independent resource of 303 million tonnes containing 1.6 billion pounds of copper and 2.9 million ounces of gold plus moly and silver.  Further work will include a 25 line kilometre geophysical program, diamond drilling of the undrilled magnetic core of the system  and metallurgical testwork.

LOGISTICS

Regional Logistics   Click to view

Ilovitza is ideally located for a project of this size.

A paved road crosses the property and it is less than 20 kilometres to power and heavy gauge rail.

Via rail it is 85 kilometres to a deep water port and 350 kilometre to a smelter.

GEOLOGY

Ilovitza Geology Click to view

Regional Geology and Mineralisation

Ilovitza is located between north-northwest-striking Tertiary magmatic-related mineral belts of the Lece-Chalkidiki zone, and the southward projection of the parallel Besna Kobila belt located immediately east. Although lead and zinc are abundant in both belts, deposits of the Lece-Chalkidiki zone are notably enriched in gold and copper. Alteration and mineralization at Ilovitza are hosted in a roughly circular altered intrusion and intrusive breccia complex of probable Tertiary age, emplaced in lower Palaeozoic granite. The lower Palaeozoic granite is weakly foliated, coarsely porphyroblastic and forms a roughly northwest-elongate body some 4 kilometres by 12 kilometres in size.

Ilovitza is one of several porphyry systems in eastern Macedonia and northern Greece associated with exposed magmatic complexes. Typical of these deposits is Skouries in Greece which hosts reserves of 146 million tonnes at 0.54% copper, 0.83 g/t gold for 4 million ounces of gold and 800kt of copper.

Local Geology
The Ilovitza Tertiary intrusive complex is 1.3 kilometres in diameter and is cored by a variably textured medium grained granodiorite. The granodiorite grades vertically into a fine grained dacite. To the east and south an aerially extensive diatreme breccia has been mapped. This intrusive suite is cut by numerous dacite-granodiorite porphyry bodies and minor fine-grained andesite dykes. This complex is centred on a hill of more than 400 metres relief, surrounded at lower elevations by numerous small dikes and irregular bodies of dacitic tuff/breccia as well as non-brecciated intermediate volcanic rocks, cutting the basement granite and metamorphic rocks. The highest topography along the eastern side of the intrusive complex is dominated by an extensive silica-alunite lithocap with extensive ancient pits. Only a single short drillhole has tested the lithocap.  

Ilovitza Geology Click to view

Two small outcrops of dacite-granodiorite porphyry are mapped at surface within the main intrusive complex, but their limits are obscured by poor exposure and intense hydrothermal alteration. Recent track construction has provided exposure of the granodiorite across 500 metres in the central part of the intrusion revealing an intensely altered granodiorite over-printed by magnetite and and quartz-iron oxide (after sulphides) stockworks. Numerous isolated outcrops of dacitic porphyry commonly have vertical flow laminations. Drilling demonstrates that dacite/granodiorite porphyry expands at shallow depths into a fairly continuous body, which is itself locally intruded by a late-mineral biotite latite-andesite porphyry.

 

Mineralization
Subsurface porphyry Cu-Au-Mo mineralization is expressed at surface by a limonitic, leached stockwork zone approximately 900m by 600m in size with anomalous Au, Cu and Mo. At highest elevations, central portions of this leached cap contain up to 50-100 quartz and limonite-quartz veins per meter, comprising up to 25% of rock volume, within a sericitzed and intensely clay-altered matrix.

Quartz-dominant veinlets have textures of both discontinuous ‘A' veins as well as linear, center-line ‘B' veins. Small exposures at lowest elevations on the western side of the stockwork zone contain 3-7% veinlet and disseminated magnetite, ~1% goethitic limonite, and lesser quartz-magnetite veinlets, within a silicified, chloritized matrix, likely representing intermediate argillic overprint of former K-silicate alteration.

Although magnetite is present at surface only in isolated outcrops, recent road construction has revealed a magnetite-hematite zone at least 500 metres wide in the central granodiorite intrusion. Ground magnetic surveys clearly define subsurface magnetite alteration as a roughly NNE-elongated, 80-1600nT magnetic high.

Surface rock chip sampling, drilling, and to a lesser extent soil sampling, define a large body containing 0.1-1ppm Au coinciding with the zone of stockwork veining. Hypogene Cu grades occur largely as disseminated chalcopyrite. Stockwork veining in the eastern and higher-elevation part of the zone is characterized by higher py:cp ratio, more intense phyllic/argillic alteration, and the absence of magnetite. Magnetite and hematite dominate in the western portion of the intrusion. Molybdenum is present largely as coarse molybdenite in quartz veinlets.

 

Ilovitza Geochemistry Click to view

 

Geochemistry

Soil sampling defines a classic, low-level Cu anomaly displaced laterally and down-slope from the topographically-high leached cap. Soil Au values >0.1ppm only partially delineate the underlying mineralized stockwork. Moly appears to peak in the central portion of the complex.

Alteration
Alteration related to Tertiary magmatic activity at Ilovitza is variably present over an area of about 8 square kilometres. Pervasive alteration is largely confined to a roughly 1.5 square kilometres area in and adjacent to the main intrusive complex. Smaller areas of pervasive and structurally-controlled alteration extend somewhat asymmetrically to the south and west of this intrusive complex.

GEOPHYSICS

A ground magnetics program was completed during 2005. This defined a more magnetic portion of the intrusion which appears to be related to higher grade mineralisation. Until the completion of exploration track construction in 2007 this magnetic phase was only evident in a few isolated outcrops. Along these recent explroation tracks magnetitie in strongly altered granodiorite is obvious. 

In the image to the left the 3D image shows the magentics and surface geochemistry.  The magentics is coloured red and purple. 

 

EXPLORATION RESULTS

Exploration during the period from 2004 through 2006 included, mapping, surface geochcmistry, ground magnetics and diamond drilling.  The mapping defined a large intrusive system cored by strongly altered and stockworked dacite porphyry and granodiorite.  Soil geochemistry defined a strong central anomaly defined by gold, copper and moly.  Magnetics confirmend the prospectivity of the central portion of the intrusive complex.  Until 2008 only a very small exposure of magnetitie stockwork (with elevated gold) had been located within the intrusive due to poor outcrop.  With construction of a new access track extensively altered granodiorite with magnetitie stockwork was exposed. 

EurOmax commenced drilling in August 2007 following the acquisition of the property in July 2007. All drillholes have intersected strongly altered intrusive rocks with quartz-sulphide stockwork and disseminated pyrite and chalcopyrite or chalcocite.  Lead and silver minerals, galena and sphalerite were rarely observed and levels of arsenic and bismuth are very low.   These holes intersected up to nearly 600 metres of quartz-sulphide stockwork, intense alteration and disseminated and vein copper minerals. 

Recent drillhole results are tabled below:

Note: Copper and gold equivalent calculations use metal prices of USD 1.25/lb copper and USD 550/oz gold. No adjustment has been made for metallurgical recoveries and net smelter returns both of which are assumed to be 100%.

3D Modelling

3D modelling of the explroation data using Leapfrog has allowed a far better understanding of the geometry of the intrusive.  As can be seen below:

Ilovitza -  Geochemistry topography, geophysics  and diamond drillholes Click to view	Ilovitza -  Geochemistry topography, geophysics  and diamond drillholes View towards the NE Click to view

To summarise the above:  the magnetic high (the red-purple central area) is surrounded by anomalous gold and copper geochemistry and the nearest holes have elevated levels of copper and gold compared with more distal diamond drillholes.  The closest drillhole to the magnetic high  intersected +0.6% copper over the last 92 metres but failed to test the core of the magnetic anomaly.  This feature is now a high priority target for EurOmax.

 

RESOURCES

Broad Oak Associates of Toronto, Ontario ("Broad Oak") undertook an independent Mineral Resource estimate on the Ilovitza copper-gold-molybdenum project. The results conclude that the Ilovitza deposit contains an inferred resource of 303 million tonnes grading 0.23% copper, 0.31 grams per tonne gold and 0.005% molybdenum. This resource contains approximately 1.6 billion pounds of copper, 2.9 million ounces of gold and 3.5 million pounds of molybdenum. In copper equivalent terms this equals 3.5 billion pounds of copper.

Highlights

Broad Oak's Mineral Resource Statement confirms:

• An inferred resource of 303 million tonnes grading 0.23% copper, 0.31 g/t gold and 0.005% molybdenum containing approximately 1.6 billion pounds of copper, 2.9 million ounces of gold and 34.6 million pounds of molybdenum, below the base of oxidation.
• An inferred resource of 41 million tonnes grading 0.26 grams per tonnes containing 326,000 ounces of gold above the base of oxidation.
• The resource estimation process has also highlighted that while the deposit is open in all directions particular attention should be paid to drilling to the north and west.
  
  

The Mineral Resources below the base of oxidation is presented in the table below:

Mineral Resources - Ilovitza Deposit, Macedonia

 

Broad Oak is a Toronto, Ontario based independent engineering consulting firm. EurOmax engaged Broad Oak to initially audit the Ilovitza project and prepare an independent NI 43-101 complaint report which was dated October 3, 2007. The scope of the work was expanded to include completion of an independent NI 43-101 compliant Mineral Resource Statement.

The mineral resource estimate was prepared by EurOmax staff and consulting personnel using a sectional method and a grade cutoff of 0.2% copper or 0.2 g/t gold. Volume was estimated to the base of drilling and not greater than 100 metres from any section. A density factor of 2.42 tonnes per cubic metre was used to convert volume into tonnage, based upon 60 specific gravity determinations conducted at Eurotest Control AD in Sofia, Bulgaria an ISO 9001 accredited laboratory.

Mineral resources do not have demonstrated economic viability and future in-fill drilling and scoping, pre-feasibility and feasibility studies will be needed to determine the viability of this resource. EurOmax is not aware of any environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-political, marketing or other issues which may materially affect this estimate of mineral resources.

DOCUMENTS

A Surfeit of Riches - 321Gold (211 KB)
October 21, 2009
According to Bing, Mae West was quoted as saying "Too much of a good thing can be wonderful." That sounds about right to me. I just came back from an incredible trip to Eastern Europe where I visited a number of copper and gold mines going back to Bronze Age times and later mined by the Romans.

EurOmax Announces Amendments to Agreements with Freeport (38 KB)
June 28, 2009
EurOmax Resources Ltd. ("EurOmax" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has entered into amending agreements with Freeport-McMoran Exploration Corporation in relation to acquisitionsin Macedonia and Serbia.

Ilovitza Inferred Resource Estimate 43-101 Report Filed on Sedar (104 KB)
August 12, 2008
EurOmax has filed the NI 43-101 report on the initial inferred resource on the Ilovitza copper – gold – molybdenum project in Macedonia with an inferred resource of 303 million tonnes grading 0.23% copper, 0.31 grams per tonne gold and 0.005% molybdenum. This resource contains approximately 1.6 billion pounds of copper, 2.9 million ounces of gold and 3.5 million pounds of molybdenum. In copper equivalent terms this equals 3.5 billion pounds of copper.

Ilovitza 43-101 Report (2.59 MB)
August 12, 2008
Independent 43-101 resource report on Ilovitza with an inferred resource of 303 million tonnes grading 0.23% copper, 0.31 grams per tonne gold and 0.005% molybdenum. This resource contains approximately 1.6 billion pounds of copper, 2.9 million ounces of gold and 3.5 million pounds of molybdenum. In copper equivalent terms this equals 3.5 billion pounds of copper.

Euromax Commences Ilovitza Geophysical Survey (101 KB)
July 24, 2008
EurOmax has commenced a 30 line kilometre IP and resistivity geophysical survey over the 303 million tonne Ilovitza copper-gold-moly porphyry in Macedonia. This will be the first IP/resistivity survey over the Ilovitza porphyry and will cover the entire intrusive complex.

Ilovitza Inferred Resource Estimate 303 Million Tonnes Containing 1.6 Billion Pounds of Copper Plus 2.9 Million Ounces of Gold (107 KB)
June 26, 2008
EurOmax announces independent Mineral Resource estimate by Broad Oak Associates of Toronto, Ontario (“Broad Oak”) on the Ilovitza copper-gold-molybdenum project in Macedonia. The results conclude that the Ilovitza deposit contains an inferred resour