Summary
Twelve near-surface porphyry targets have been identified on the Bellas Gate mineral concession to the north and east of 62 adits and shafts where the British were mining copper/gold epithermal veins in the 1800s. Drilling in 2022 intersected multiple, near surface porphyry-style copper/gold targets including, 309.0m at 0.44% copper & 0.33 g/t gold, 178.5m at 0.37% copper & 0.16 g/t gold and 108.0m at 0.42% copper & 0.26 g/t gold – all within 15m from surface. Geophysics could be an important targeting tool, as anywhere on the Bellas Gate mineral concession there is a coincidental magnetic and chargeability anomaly, porphyry-style mineralization has been confirmed. C3 Metals plans to source a larger drill rig to test the depth extension potential of these porphyry targets. The Company is also undergoing an extension mapping program in the areas of the past producing mines from the 1800s where 62 adits and shafts have been located in order to identify copper/gold epithermal targets. The Bellas Gate mineral concession is located along the Crawle River Fault Zone and is contiguous to the southeast with the Arthurs Seat mineral concession.
Geology
Bellas Gate is located within the Cretaceous Central Inlier of Jamaica which has a geologic history of subduction, crustal thickening and tectonism that produced extensive mineralization throughout the Caribbean such as the Pueblo Viejo deposit containing more than 20 million ounces of proven and probable gold reserves (Barrick Gold Corp. website as at March 31, 2023). The Cretaceous rocks in the Caribbean are host to copper porphyries in Panama, Puerto Rico and Haiti, VMS copper, gold and silver in the Dominican Republic and epithermal gold systems in the Dominican Republic.
Significant Deposits within the Eastern Caribbean Plate
Target Concept
Copper/Gold Porphyry systems with associated high-grade copper, gold and silver epithermal veining are the targets at Bellas Gate. Multi-element geochemistry, high resolution magnetics and induced polarization surveys have helped develop and verify the model at Bellas Gate.
Porphyry Ore Deposit Model for the Bellas Gate Project
Camel Hill Porphyry Target
Targets
Twelve porphyry targets have been identified to date.
62 adits and shafts used to mine high-grade copper/gold epithermal by the British in the 1800s have been located to the west and south of the 12 porphyry targets. An extensive mapping program is underway to identify high-priority drill targets.
Recent Results
During the second half of 2022, C3 Metals drilled three holes to test two of the twelve porphyry targets. Assays returned 309.0m at 0.44% copper & 0.33 g/t gold, 178.5m at 0.37% copper & 0.16 g/t gold and 108.0m at 0.42% copper & 0.26 g/t gold – all within 15m from surface. Drilling encountered the pyrite shell of a porphyry target as well as intermediate-style epithermal veins, including 1.3m at 4.58% copper, 0.18 g/t gold & 82.80 g/t silver and 4.0m at 2.15% copper, 0.39 g/t gold & 32.00 g/t silver. While chalcopyrite has been confirmed in the drill core, no bornite has been confirmed. The data collected to date leads C3 Metals to believe it is near the upper edges of porphyry and deeper drilling could potentially significantly increase the size of the target. The Company plans to source a drill rig capable of drilling deeper to test this theory.
Past Results
Drilling results have been returned excellent grade over significant lengths at numerous target areas at multiple porphyry targets. A summary can be seen in the table below. See Press Releases for further information. An incredible amount of copper in soil anomalies greater than 600ppm have been collected within the Bellas Gate mineral concession. Several walk-up drill targets exist, many without any previous drilling.
| HOLE ID | FROM | TO | LENGTH | Cu (%) | Au (g/t) | Project |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAM92-01 | 0.00 | 137.16 | 137.16 | 0.56 | 0.25 | Camel Hill |
| CAM92-02 | 0.00 | 111.25 | 111.25 | 0.43 | 0.25 | Camel Hill |
| CAM92-05 | 3.35 | 88.39 | 85.04 | 0.52 | 0.25 | Camel Hill |
| CON-14-001 | 91.00 | 214.00 | 123.00 | 0.43 | 0.26 | Connors |
| CON-14-001 | 257.00 | 280.00 | 23.00 | 0.66 | 0.22 | Connors |
| CON-14-002 | 11.00 | 70.00 | 59.00 | 0.55 | 0.49 | Connors |
| CON-14-002 | 88.00 | 123.00 | 35.00 | 0.43 | 0.16 | Connors |
| CON-14-003 | 57.00 | 141.00 | 84.00 | 0.59 | 0.46 | Connors |
| CON-14-003 | 279.00 | 306.00 | 27.00 | 0.85 | 0.32 | Connors |
| CON-14-004 | 28.00 | 142.00 | 114.00 | 0.69 | 0.52 | Connors |
| CON-14-005 | 14.00 | 98.00 | 84.00 | 1.00 | 0.77 | Connors |
| CON-14-005 | 188.00 | 242.00 | 54.00 | 0.55 | 0.25 | Connors |
| CON-14-007 | 80.00 | 120.00 | 40.00 | 0.46 | 0.19 | Connors |
| CON-14-010 | 136.00 | 185.00 | 49.00 | 0.55 | 0.26 | Connors |
| CON92-2 | 13.72 | 100.58 | 86.86 | 0.68 | 0.42 | Connors |
Gallery
Bellas Gate
