February 1, 2021 -- InvestorsHub NewsWire -- via AheadOfTheHerd -- Max Resource Corp (TSX.V:MXR; OTC:MXROF; Frankfurt:M1D2) has procured a major
section of new ground at its CESAR copper-silver project in
Colombia.
The Vancouver-based company reported acquiring 140 kilometers of
an area it considers highly prospective for copper-silver
mineralization. Under the deal, Max agreed to pay USD$175,000 to
secure 20 mineral applications. The vendor retains a 3% net smelter
returns royalty (NSR) and Max has the exclusive right to purchase
100% of the NSR for $4 million any time before production.
“CESAR West was identified through surface structural mapping,
interpretation of available seismic sections and drill core review.
The Max in-country field crew have commenced sampling and mapping
for Jurassic host rock and copper-silver mineralization along this
new continuous 140-kilometer-long landholding,” says Max’s CEO,
Brett Matich, in the Jan. 27 news
release.
“Max has achieved a major milestone, expanding its landholdings
in the Cesar Basin by over 300%. The newly discovered area lies
along the central-western part of the Cesar Basin, and together
with the recent copper discovery at depth, supports the
regional-scale potential of the CESAR project,” he concluded.
140-km-long CESAR West was identified through
surface structural mapping, interpretation of available seismic
sections and drill core review.
District scale opportunity
I must say, it is extremely rare for a junior resource company
the size of Max — valued at just $23 million as of Wednesday, Jan.
27 — to come by this much ground in a greenfield (no mining has yet
taken place) project.
Max Resource is developing a large sedimentary system, with
high-grade discoveries over a 200-km belt. Grades of up to 34%
copper and 656 grams per tonne silver have been assayed from
surface outcrops. The company now has an additional 140 km to
explore, at CESAR West. This year Max plans on sampling and mapping
for Jurassic-age host rock and copper-silver mineralization along
this new 140-km-long landholding.
In a recent AOTH
video Max’s CEO Brett Matich points out the scale of the
project, showing on a map how it is of a similar size to Poland’s
immense “Kupferschiefer” copper-silver deposits. (read more about
the Kupferschiefer comparison below).
Since November 2019, Max has been identifying stratabound copper
and silver zones within a 100 by 20-kilometer area (Kupferschiefer
is 20 km by 15 km), at their CESAR copper silver project in
northeastern Colombia.
Max continues to expand the surface “Kupferschiefer-style”
mineralization at CESAR, using continuous rock chip panel samples
and composite grab samples to identify structures, continuity of
thickness, strike length and potential size, prior to
drilling.
In Poland’s Kupferschiefer deposits, continuous mineralization
extends down dip and laterally for many kilometers. Could the
mineralization at CESAR do the same? If so, Max could be looking at
a district-scale, even a regionally extensive copper-silver
mineralized system.
Though early-stage, CESAR is one of the few copper projects that
is demonstrating the massive scale needed to interest a major.
(three large mining companies have already come into the project,
more on that below)
Moreover, and this is really important, Max doesn’t have to
drill it, not at this stage. The whole idea is to identify the
mineralized horizons and dips, then partner with a larger company,
or companies, to further develop the deposit, sell the project, or
get bought out.
So far, Max has managed to identify extensive
copper-silver mineralization through rock chip sampling because
rivers, streams and creeks cut across and expose the multiple
horizons for a considerable depth.
Copper at depth
In fact, Max has gone a step further in verifying the
exploration model at CESAR, based on analysis of recently obtained
historical drill core.
Earlier this month the company reported that stratabound
copper-silver mineralization found at surface, extends for over
400m down dip.
In the Jan. 12 news
release, Max notes that “The copper enriched intervals of the
historic drill core are hosted in grey sandstone that changes to
red (hematite rich) outside copper enrichment (refer to Figure 2).
This zonation from red hematite enriched sandstone to grey is very
characteristic of Poland’s Kupferschiefer and represents reducing
environment where copper was precipitated from solution to form the
Kupferschiefer copper-silver deposits.”
Drill core from the Cesar Basin, Colombia with grey
sandstone enriched with copper identified with XRF. The drill core
study involves core logging, XRF analysis, binocular microscope
studies and photography.
“Over the past year Max has demonstrated the regional scale and
lateral continuity of the CESAR stratabound copper-silver
mineralization, already traced for over 200 kilometers along strike
and now encountered in historical drill core extending down dip to
depths in excess of 400 meters,” says Matich.
The finding is critical for Max, which is quietly
advancing one of the
world’s most promising copper-silver projects in
northeastern Colombia, along the Andean Copper Belt that is
world-renowned for its porphyry deposits.
This sedimentary basin is a massive geological feature that
extends for over 1,000 km from the northern tip of Colombia
southwards through Ecuador and Peru. The basin was a seabed trapped
behind the uplifting Cordillera mountain ranges, and the model
suggests that rich copper and silver-bearing fluids flooded up into
the basin and deposited as they encountered organic matter on the
seafloor.
As such, CESAR represents a type of sediment-hosted copper
mineralization that is typically flat-lying, near surface, and is
known to be extensive in Africa, Poland and Colombia. These types
of deposits are generally higher grade than copper porphyry
deposits.
The CESAR project area enjoys major infrastructure thanks to
existing oil, gas and coal mining operations including Cerrejon,
the largest coal mine in Latin America, jointly owned by global
miners BHP, XStrata and Anglo American. However, this area has only
seen limited copper exploration.
Recognizing the prospect of a major copper discovery in the
Cesar region, Max Resource acquired full
ownership of the CESAR property shortly after its
discovery in the fall of 2019, and embarked on a first-pass
exploration program focused on identifying surface outcrops.
Exploration is happening on multiple fronts within the CESAR
target zone, along a major part of a 200-km-long sediment-hosted
copper-silver belt.
Historical drill core analysis
In December, MXR began an
analysis of historical drill core and seismic data from
the Cesar basin to determine the extent of mineralization down dip
from surface.
This analysis is part of a study conducted in collaboration with
the Ingeniería Geológica Universidad Nacional de Colombia (IGUN) at
the Colombian Geological Survey Facility.
The abundance of historical
diamond drill core and related seismic data from oil and
gas operations in the sedimentary Cesar basin, will allow Max to
model the paleo-topography of the mineralized stratabound horizon
at CESAR. This will help to identify prospective areas for
drilling.
Typical mineral exploration doesn’t drill 2,000-meter holes and
conduct seismic surveys as it is far too expensive, even though
this oil and gas type of exploration is the best method for
exploring sedimentary-hosted mineralization. By analyzing existing
drill hole data, Max is likely saving tens of millions in
exploration costs.
According to the company, the oil and gas drill cores, which are
securely stored at the Colombian Geological Survey Facility as
required by the Colombian government, have never been studied from
a metals perspective.
The analysis concentrates on drill core intersecting the
prospective Jurassic stratigraphy, focusing on XRF measurements,
binocular microscope studies, and photography of both selected
mineralized intervals and stratigraphic contacts. The results and
seismic sections are being integrated with the company’s existing
database to help build a 3D structural model.
According to Matich, “The importance of the archived IGUN
historic drill core cannot be understated. The modelling should
confirm the continuity of Jurassic stratigraphy and the
copper-silver horizons from surface to considerable depths down
dip. In addition, the study will greatly assist our targeted land
expansion.”
Kupferschiefer comparison
This was the same method used by global miner KGHM for its
sizeable Kupferschiefer copper deposits in Poland.
Kupferschiefer is Europe’s largest copper mine, with production
in 2018 of 30 million tonnes copper, and 40 million ounces of
silver in 2019, from an orebody 0.5 to 5.5 meters thick grading
1.49% copper and 48.6 g/t silver. The silver yield is almost twice
the production of the world’s second largest silver mine.
Based on the CESAR North (AM North and AM South) to CESAR South
discoveries at the opposite ends of the 200-km-long CESAR target
zone, Max believes that this large surface footprint represents
another “Kupferschiefer-type” mineralization on the other side of
the Atlantic.
![](https://aheadoftheherd.com/app/uploads/2021/01/image-60.png)
CESAR Copper-Silver Project, NE Colombia
- AM North: recently
expanded to 29 km2 of continuous copper-silver
mineralization, open along strike and down dip, containing a
high-grade area with varying intervals grading 4.0 to 34.4% Cu and
28 to 305 g/t Ag;
- AM South: discovered along the same
stratabound mineralized trend, about 40 km south-southwest of AM
North covering an area of 16 km2. Highlight values of 6.8% Cu and
168 g/t Ag from 0.1 to 25 m intervals suggest that these horizons
could be of significant size;
- CESAR South: a newly
acquired 340 km2 property hosting stratabound
copper-silver over at least 15 km of strike with highlight grab
sample values of 11.4% Cu and 656 g/t Ag (see below).
CESAR South rock samples
Exploration
continues on the CESAR property, with outcrop samples
repeatedly returning high grades and new discoveries leading to
expanded copper holdings. Max believes the mineralization at CESAR
is stratabound — meaning confined to a single stratigraphic (rock
layer) unit — and Jurassic-age.
The fact that CESAR Cu-Ag stratabound mineralization appears to
be large sub-horizontal sheets that repeatedly outcrop at surface,
adds credibility to the Kupferschiefer comparison. Average grades
of 1.0% copper and 20 g/t silver at CESAR also make a compelling
case.
In a recent presentation, leading Kupferschiefer expert,
Professor Adam Piestrzynski, highlighted numerous similarities
between CESAR and
Kupferschiefer including basin
characteristics, lithology, mineralogy, deposit parameters, metal
grades and origin of sulfur.
Given these similarities, it makes sense for the company to
apply the Kupferschiefer exploration model to CESAR.
Kupferschiefer copper-silver mine in Poland:
- Bulk underground mining starts from 500 meters below
surface
- Average mining thickness of 2m
- Annual production of 30 million tons of copper at average grade
of 1.49%
- and 40 million ounces of silver at average grade of 48.6 grams
per tonne
![](https://aheadoftheherd.com/app/uploads/2021/01/image-62.png)
Conceptual model of Kupferschiefer
CESAR stratabound copper-silver project in Colombia:
- Mineralization starts at surface and extends down dip and
laterally
- Mining can potentially start from surface followed by
underground
- Bulk tonnage target grades of 1.0% copper and 20 g/t
silver
![](https://aheadoftheherd.com/app/uploads/2021/01/image-63.png)
Conceptual model of CESAR
A notable difference is that the Kupferschiefer orebody starts
at 500m below surface, whereas the CESAR mineralization starts at
surface.
The company plans to continue drill core analysis, further
advancing the structural model by superimposing drill holes and
identified core intervals with copper, on to seismic sections and
projecting the mineralized horizon to surface (see diagram below).
All observed data is being recorded into the company’s database to
construct a 3D model.
The structural study also provides a guide for Max’s land
expansion strategy, and its ongoing CESAR copper-silver exploration
programs.
Copper-silver stratabound horizon based on XRF
readings and seismic sections projecting the horizon to
surface.
Though still early-stage, Max’s exploration at CESAR has, in
less than a year, led to three non-exclusive confidentiality
agreements: one with a leading global copper producer, a second
with a major mining company, and a third with a mid-tier copper
explorer.
The first phase of the partnership with one of the
yet-to-be-named companies, involves a technical study by Fathom
Geophysics, currently underway.
The aim of the study is to map stratigraphic (rock layers)
features that can help to pinpoint additional stratabound
copper-silver mineral horizons at CESAR.
Concurrently, the ongoing structural study between IGUN and the
Max team involves an analysis of historical drill core and seismic
data on the Cesar basin, to determine the down-dipping extent of
mineralization identified at surface.
If Max can demonstrate the potential “district scale” of CESAR,
its possible, in our opinion, that a major may jump in early and
buy out CESAR, as the prize could be far too big to ignore.
The company’s current priorities include regional geochemical
sampling, structural modeling interpretation of seismic data,
analysis of oil & gas drill cores and expansion of
landholdings.
All of these efforts, combined with ongoing surface sampling at
CESAR, a geophysical study, and analysis of oil and gas drill cores
in pursuit of copper-silver mineralization at depth, practically
ensures a steady flow of news from Max in the coming months.
Max Resource Corp.
TSXV:MXR, OTC:MXROF, Frankfurt:M1D1
Cdn$0.285, 2021.01.27
Shares Outstanding 87.6m
Market cap Cdn$24.9m
MXR website
Richard (Rick) Mills
aheadoftheherd.com
subscribe to
my free newsletter
Legal Notice / Disclaimer
Ahead of the Herd newsletter, aheadoftheherd.com, hereafter known as AOTH.
Please read the entire AOTH/Richard
Mills Disclaimer carefully before you use this website or
read the newsletter. If you do not agree to all the AOTH/Richard
Mills Disclaimer, do not access/read this
website/newsletter/article, or any of its pages. By reading/using
this AOTH/Richard Millswebsite/newsletter/article,
and whether or not you actually read this Disclaimer, you
are deemed to have accepted it.
Any AOTH/Richard Mills document is not, and should not be,
construed as an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to
purchase or subscribe for any investment.
AOTH/Richard Mills has based this document on information
obtained from sources he believes to be reliable but
which has not been independently verified. AOTH/Richard Mills makes
no guarantee, representation or warranty and accepts no
responsibility or liability as to its accuracy or completeness.
Expressions of opinion are those of AOTH/Richard Mills only and are
subject to change without notice. AOTH/Richard Mills assumes no
warranty, liability or guarantee for the current relevance,
correctness or completeness of any information provided within this
Report and will not be held liable for the consequence of reliance
upon any opinion or statement contained herein or any omission.
Furthermore, AOTH/Richard Mills assumes no liability for any direct
or indirect loss or damage or, in particular, for lost profit,
which you may incur as a result of the use and existence of the
information provided within this AOTH/Richard Mills Report.
AOTH/Richard Mills is not a registered broker/financial advisor
and does not hold any licenses. These are solely personal thoughts
and opinions about finance and/or investments – no information
posted on this site is to be considered investment advice or a
recommendation to do anything involving finance or money aside from
performing your own due diligence and consulting with your personal
registered broker/financial advisor. You agree that by reading
AOTH/Richard Mills articles, you are acting at your OWN RISK. In no
event should AOTH/Richard Mills liable for any direct or indirect
trading losses caused by any information contained in AOTH/Richard
Mills articles. Information in AOTH/Richard Mills articles is not
an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security.
AOTH/Richard Mills is not suggesting the transacting of any
financial instruments but does suggest consulting your own
registered broker/financial advisor with regards to any such
transactions
Richard owns shares of Max Resources (TSX.V:MXR, OTC:MXROF, Frankfurt:M1D1). Max is a
paid advertiser on his site aheadoftheherd.com
SOURCE: AheadOfTheHerd
Max Resource (TSXV:MXR)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jul 2024 to Aug 2024
Max Resource (TSXV:MXR)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2023 to Aug 2024