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Karavansalija

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

DESCRIPTION

Karavansalija Pronounced "karavan - sal - eya")

The 60 square kilometer Karavansalija property is located in southern Serbia in SE Europe. In this portion of Serbia mining has been an important local economic driver. The largest town in the area is Novi Passar - population 100,000.  Access to the Karavansalija area is readily available by road, from the capital Beograd, or from Skopje in Macedonia, or Sofia in Bulgaria.

The Karavansalija license lies within the regionally extensive Tertiary age, Kopaonik metallogenic zone well known for lead-zinc-silver and copper mineralization related to granodiorite volcano-intrusive complexes. This is a very strongly mineralised trend with some world class deposits. Reserves and resources for the Kopaonik metallogenic zone are tabled below:

Mining began in this district in ancient times and it has been estimated that the Trepcha deposit alone had original resources of more than 150 million tonnes at 10% lead+zinc - a major worldclass deposit.

LOGISTICS

Karavansalija is well located being crossed by a paved road and is close to rail.  The property is within 400 kilometres of several lead-zinc and copper smelters keen to acquire local sources of concentrate. 

The property is within 35 kilometres of the towns of Rashka (pop. 10,000) and Novi Pazar (pop. 100,000) in a region which has a long history of mining activity and consequently the basic infrastructure for exploration is excellent.The Karavansalja license is located at Rogozna mountain, which forms a plateau surrounded by the Raska, Josanica (west) and Ibar (south and east) rivers. Average elevation is around 1200 m and relief is about 250 m.

GEOLOGY

The Karavansalija licence is located in the Vardar suture within the Kopaonik metallogenic zone. The license covers Jurassic serpentine overlain by Upper Cretaceous flysch, limestone and Tertiary volcanic and intrusive rocks.

Volcanic activity within the licence was widespread from the Lower Oligocene throughout the entire Miocene. Tertiary magmatism occurred in at least two phases: an early andesite phase that is intruded by second-phase quartz latite and diorite-diorite porphyry. It produced large bodies of lava and pyroclastics along the Ibar valley, on Rogozna mountain (Karavansalija area) and around Trepca to the south east. The later quartz latite and diorite porphyry dykes were intruded along as dyke swarms along ENE-WSW faults perpendicular to the regional NNW structural fabric of the Vardar Zone.

During the Tertiary, widespread magmatic and hydrothermal activity produced the Pb-Zn-Au-Cu Karavansalija and Madenovatz deposits within the Karavansalija licence the extensive lead-zinc vein stockwork a few kilometres to the east at the Crnac mine and the world class 150 Mt Trepcha deposit 25 kilometres to the SE.

Mineraisation within the licence occurs within strongly altered andesite which overlies a 500-600 metre thick sequence of skarned carbonates. The skarns cover an area at least five by three kilometres.

The skarns at Karavansalija are garnet-pyroxene rich with accessory actinolite, wollastonite, tremolite and epidote. The main sulfide minerals present include chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite and pyrite. Gold mineralization in the skarns is widespread with locally high grade zones in (5-20g/t) in both intrusive rocks and skarn.

Mineralisation

There are two well defined mineralised centres on the property within a 60 square kilometer alteration zone: Karavansalija and Medenovatz Mineralised Centres

Karavansalija Mineralised Centre
The Karavanslija mineralised centre (KMC) covers an area of roughly 12 square kilometers where carbonates and strongly altered volcanics are intruded by a wide quartz latite dyke swarm. Central to the KMC is a coincident gravity, magnetic and topographic anomaly covering approximately 4 square kilometers. Strong lead and copper soil geochem anomalies surround this feature and are often related to ancient mining activity. Skarn mineralisation is widespread in outcrop and the subsurface possibly forming mantos around an unexposed intrusion.

Diamond drilling has focused on the southern well exposed skarn mineralisation with several holes in and around the gravity-magnetic anomaly. Four styles of mineralisation have been encountered within the KMC: copper-gold skarns, lead-zinc-copper-gold skarns, gold in volcanics and gold-nickel-cobalt silica breccias.

Copper-Gold Skarns
The copper-gold skarns within the KMC have been traced with drilling over a strike of more than 600 meters. The main 150 meter wide copper-gold skarn body is developed between thick quartz latite dykes. Geophysics suggests that this zone extends for another 1.5 kilometers to the southwest under marly limestone.

The skarns vary from predimantly garnet to garnet-pyroxene skarns with quartz ferroaxinite, and calcite and minor K-feldspar, plagioclase, chlorite, amphibole, epidote, and titanite. The clay content in both samples is relatively low (1-3%). Chalcopyrite is the only copper-bearing mineral observed with variable pyrrhotiite and pyrite. The chalcopyrite occurs as relatively coarse particles (up to 300 µm) associated with pyrrhotite and gangue. It also occurs as thin fracture fillings within gangue. This textural analysis was confirmed by QEMSCAN work on the -20/+500 mesh size fractions during metallurgical testwork. Optical observation revealed that no gold- or silver-bearing minerals were visible. Based on the modal mineralogy and analytical results it can be concluded that the gold is probably present as submicron particles within sulfide minerals. The silver is most likely associated as an alloy with gold and/or occurs as a substitutional element with sulfides.

Lead-Zinc-Copper-Gold Skarns
The lead-zinc-copper-gold skarns were the subject of ancient mining and more recent exploration and are locally high grade. Similar skarns are mined at the giant Trepca deposit (reported initial resources 60 million tonnes at 10% Pb+Zn and 100 g/t Ag) 20 kilometers to the south east. Within the KMC the lead-zinc skarns have not been systematically explored and their extent is unclear.

Volcanic Hosted Gold
Altered volcanics within the KMC overlie skarn and carbonates. Gold in the volcanics is hosted in silicified zones with massive and disseminated sulphides. Based on the results of only two drillholes the volcanic hosted gold mineralisation has a strike of at least 200 meters with a similar width. Diamond drillhole PDMC503 intersected 42 meters from surface at 3.1 grams per tonne gold including 28 meters at 4.37 grams per tonne gold.

Silica Breccias
Five diamond drillholes holes at the eastern end of the exposed copper-gold skarn mineralisation intersected epithermal textured silica breccia beneath altered volcanics. No hole has penetrated the silica breccia unit and it does not outcrop, consequently its areal extent is unclear. A high order geophysical anomaly at depth beneath the silica-breccia remains untested.

Madenovets Mineralised Centre

At Medenovatz a prominent 400 metre high ridge of altered andesite overlies skarned carbonates. Extensive ancient workings cross the ridge which is surrounded by a 2.5 by 1.5 kilometer soil multi-element geochemical anomaly best defined by a 1000 ppm lead-in-soil contour. Mineralisation is believed to be vein and stockwork related in close proximity to felsic dykes.

At depth and along the margins of the ridge polymetalic gold rich skarns have been identified.

Little modern explroaiton has been conducted in the Madenovetz area.

GEOPHYSICS

The State conducted a regional scale gravity survey in the Karavansalija area which has defined a elliptical 2.5 mGal gravity high covering 2 km by 3 km. This feature is coincident with an elliptical topographic anomaly defined by arcuate drainages.

Recently in the eastern half of the licence area the following surveys have been conducted:

• magnetic survey along 105 km on 15 sections each 7000 metres long
• geophysical survey pole-dipole and dipole-dipole 86.1 km and

The surveyed area can be divided into two distinct regions based on the patterns of IP/Resistivity response and the gravity field. To the south, large and strong IP anomalies are observed at a depths of 140 to 630 m from the surface. The IP anomalies are horizontally layered or almost vertical and are concentrated within the (2x3 km) 2.5 mGal gravity high. To the north the gravity field is clearly trending to the northwest, which is consistent with the presence of a regional NW striking structure possibly related to the regional significant Vardar zone. The northern area includes the Madenovatz mineralization and several IP/resistivity anomalies to the southeast.

Results of the ground magnetics survey have defined a number of discrete magnetic anomalies possibly related to unexposed intrusive centers.

The image to the left shows the geophysical survey lines and compilation of the IP, resistivity and gravity data. A survey - Line A - line across the Karavansalija copper-gold skarn shows the strong IP and low resistivity response of mineralised skarn. On this section diamond drillhole PDMC 620 intersected 115 meters at 1.37 g/t gold to the bottom of hole. A strong IP/resistivity anomaly to the SW of the main copper-gold skarn evident on this section is similar in character to the geophysical response of the mineralised skarn and remains untested.

EXPLORATION RESULTS

Geological Exploration Pre 2004

Occurrences of silver- and gold-bearing lead-zinc and copper ore at Rogozna were subject of exploration and mining that dates back to Roman time.

In Middle Ages there was surface mining activity along outcropping Pb-Ag(Zn) veins. The relicts of such activity are represented in the exploration area by dumps along local N-S and NW-striking ridges. In the 20th century underground exploration, geophysics and exploration drilling focused on Pb-Zn-Ag minerlization, largely carried out by exploration teams from Trepcha mines. Only intervals with visible base metal sulphides were assays and rarely for gold. Siginificant lead-zinc and copper intercepts are reported.

Geological Exploration - Recent

Recent explroation at Karavansalija has included:

• outcrop mapping,
• rock chip sgeochemistry 528 samples,
• road cut channeling totaling 880 m or 440 continual samples ,
• soil geochemistry 100x50 m or 3417 samples,
• magnetic survey along 105 km,
• geophysical survey pole-dipole and dipole - dipole 86.1 km
• 27 diamond drillholes
• Metallurgical testwork

The soil geochemistry program defined a number of high order anomalies for copper, lead, zinc and gold. A compilation of soil geochemistry and ground magnetics is provided in the image to the left.

DOCUMENTS

Four rigs drilling Euromax Gold Targets (26 KB)
October 19, 2009
VANCOUVER CANADA: EurOmax Resources Limited (TSX-V: EOX) (“EurOmax”) is pleased to announce that it will have four diamond drill rigs operating on several gold targets.

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.

EurOmax Intersects 542 metres of Skarn with Disseminated Chalcopyrite at Karavansalija (33 KB)
October 21, 2008
EOKSC 832 intersected 542 metres of chalcopyrite bearing skarn at the Karavansalija property in Serbia. This drillhole is located 1,600 metres to the north of recently reported diamond drillhole results including 235 metres grading 1.08 g/t gold and 120 metres grading 0.55 g/t gold, 0.48% copper and 3.2 g/t silver (1.4g/t gold equivalent, 0.86% copper equivalent).

EurOmax Intersects 235 Metres at 1.1 G/T Gold and 120 Metres at 0.86 % Copper Equivalent (45 KB)
October 14, 2008
The Company announces drilling results from the Karavansalija property including 235 metres grading 1.08 g/t gold and 120 metres grading 0.55 g/t gold, 0.48% copper and 3.2 g/t silver (1.4g/t gold equivalent, 0.86% copper equivalent).

Euromax Intersects 42 Metres at 2.05 G/T Gold, 0.76% Nickel and 0.06% Cobalt (31 KB)
August 14, 2008
EurOmax announces that diamond drillhole EOKSC 0828 at Karavansalija intersected 42 metres at 2.05 g/t gold, 0.76% nickel and 0.06% cobalt included in 111 metres at 1.30g/t gold, 0.43% nickel, 0.03% cobalt.

EurOmax Intersects 240 Metres of Disseminated Chalcopyrite in Karavansalija Copper-Gold Skarn (29 KB)
July 08, 2008
Diamond drilling intersects 240 metres of disseminated chalcopyrite in a copper-gold skarn and drilling of a silica-breccia diatreme has intersected 260 metres of silicified breccia with epithermal and boiling textures and sulphides at Karavansalija.