GEOLOGY
The Breccia Valentina prospect is centred over a 200m x 300m, NNW trending, brecciated and stockwork veined and intensely clay-pyrite altered, sub volcanic rhyolite dome over which a coincident zone of Au-Ag-As-Sb-Hg anomalous surface geochemistry has been defined.
The brecciated dome is encompassed within a package of pervasively clay-pyrite altered, interbedded ash to lapilli tuff and dominantly rhyolitic flow-banded lapilli-block tuff which locally exhibit fluidized breccia and injection textures.
Peripheral outcropping, silica replaced 1-2m thick fossil plant bearing horizons are interpreted to comprise zones of distal paleosurface hydrothermal outflow, indicative of a shallow paleo-hydrothermal setting, based on highly anomalous pathfinder As-Sb-Hg geochemistry.
Both the rhyolite dome and volcanic stratigraphy are cross cut by a series of at least four steep north easterly dipping, 10-50m wide silicified zones hosting 3-6 m wide, quartz-pyrite matrix hydrothermal breccias enveloped by stockwork to sheeted, crystalline to chalcedonic, crudely banded veining with individual widths attaining up to 15cm.
The better mineralized portions within the zones commonly correlate with visible finely disseminated proustite (ruby silver) which occurs within the matrix of the hydrothermal breccias, within veins and as drusy lined vein cavity fill, lining hypogene kaolinite filled fractures and within the silica poor, clay-pyrite altered rhyolitic clasts and tuff matrix.
