Bell Copper Finds Copper-Molybdenum Porphyry at Big Sandy

Bell Copper Corporation announced that it has drilled into a new, large, and truncated copper-molybdenum porphyry target at its Big Sandy project, the porphyry is located in northwestern Arizona, approximately 30 kilometers south of the Company's Perseverance Project.

Bell Copper Corp. is focused on the identification and exploration of copper porphyry prospects in Arizona. Drilling commenced in November at the Big Sandy Project and the Company anticipates drilling to begin in spring 2021. The minerals observed in the core of copper-molybdenum porphyry includes gossan veins (goethite, hematite, and jarosite), native copper, chalcocite, covellite, sphalerite, galena, disseminated pyrite, and quartz-molybdenite veinlets.

Geology of porphyry copper deposits image

Bell started BS-1 core drilling in early November 2020. At a depth of 889 meters, BS-1 cut a leaching cap composed of Gossang veins composed of sericitized quartz montmorillonite porphyry of suspected Lalamide age and precambrian chlorinated granite porphyry. In the weak supergene enrichment layer, diabase forms a margin around the pyrite grains and extends to the oxidized basement at 938 meters. Scattered small particles of natural (metallic) copper were found above the galena layer.

The presence of chlorite, sericite, molybdenite, sphalerite, and pyroxene in the same small core volume led Bell to believe that BS-1 had penetrated near the inner edge of propyne or "greenrocks" The porphyry copper system. If there is a copper rich shell, it is expected to be within a few hundred meters of BS-1.

The company will conduct two drilling studies in BS-1 in the coming weeks to take full advantage of the active drilling in the sulfur porphyry. These include acoustic television (ATV) logging and downhole radial induction polarization (IP) measurement.

The combination of information from these studies will help Bell understand the tilt of the porphyry system, the orientation of the main veins and faults, and the distribution of charged sulfides from the borehole. These studies are expected to be useful in targeting shallower, more sulfide-rich parts of the systems with the upcoming drillholes.

phorphyries plate tectonic processes image

Bell will use the results of the IP survey to determine the most suitable location for drilling any charged anomalies in the copper-molybdenum porphyry among the four currently permitted sites.

"Bell's first hole at Big Sandy intersected leached capping, weak native copper, a weak supergene chalcocite blanket, and quartz-molybdenite veinlets in sericitized quartz monzonite porphyry of suspected Laramide age. Big Sandy appears to be the newest addition to Arizona's prolific Laramide porphyry copper belt. Bell will be giving this green-fields, grassroots, blind discovery the serious drilling attention that it deserves," said Tim Marsh, the President and CEO of Bell Copper.

 

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