Pirquitas
That’s been the guiding principle of Artha company since its inception and the rationale behind the acquisition of its Pirquitas property. Artha’s Pirquitas property forms almost a full doughnut around Silver Standard’s massive mine of the same name and the exploration potential there is staggering.
The company has recently received an exploration permit for its ground, and subsequently announced a C$1.2 million private placement to fund the first phase of drilling.
Exploration already completed by Artha suggests that the Noeilia Breccia target is an extension of the same structure which hosts Silver Standard's main Pirquitas deposit. But just as things start to heat up at Pirquitas, Todd and the team at Artha have put the moves on another property they’ve had their eyes on for quite some time: Aguilar.
“When we went into this area originally there were two main mines, Pirquitas and Aguilar”, says Todd. “We were shocked that there’s been very little exploration around here. If these two mines were in Canada, the whole area would have been completely explored a long time ago.” In the far northwest of Argentina though, where Pirquitas is located, it seems the tough operating environment has kept all but the most hardy away. So far, Todd and his team have had virtually free reign to explore one of the most prospective and untouched mining jurisdictions in the world.
“That’s part of why we like it”, he says. “We’d rather be a leader than a follower.” That pioneering spirit has now taken Artha to new heights.
In the first week of November, Artha announced an option/JV agreement with Teck Argentina whereby Artha has been granted the option to acquire a 100 per cent interest in Teck's 118,000 hectare Aguilar property.
The property is located immediately adjacent to Glencore’s Aguilar-Esperanza lead-zinc-silver mine, which is not only one of the largest mines in the region, having produced well over 25 million tonnes to date, but also one of the largest sedimentary exhalative deposits (SEDEX) in history.
When asked what points made the deal particularly attractive to Artha, Todd was very clear. “The early commitment for us this year is very little so it gives us a chance to wrap our heads around the geology and get familiar with the communities. We just look at this in a very similar way to Pirquitas. There’s a high probability that the structure [hosting Glencore’s deposit] continues along. Of course, it’s going to take a significant amount of exploration work - which is what we’re good at - to uncover it.”
Todd isn’t kidding when he says that the exploration phase is Artha’s strong suit. In fact he highlights it as one of the driving factors behind Teck’s decision to option the property.
Some in the industry think that Teck was simply uninterested in spending the money to explore Aguilar, but Todd says that’s only partly true. “Teck is focused elsewhere, particularly in Chile. Because of our experience in permitting and operating in Jujuy Province, they chose us to be their partner there.”
To further illustrate Teck’s continued interest, the deal is structured so that, in addition to a two per cent net smelter royalty, Teck retains the right to earn back a 60 per cent stake in the property from Artha. If Todd and his team can work their magic on Aguilar, in the long term they may have a big joint venture partner already lined up.
Todd and his team are now setting the groundwork to begin exploration at Aguilar. But in the short-term though, emphasises Todd, “our focus is on Pirquitas, there’s no mistake about that”.
“We were able to do a minor exploration program at Pirquitas quite some time ago and much of it ended in mineralization. Our goal is to get on the ground, and while we’re building the camp and getting ready for drilling, we want to be in there doing some basic follow-up work from the discoveries that we made a couple of years ago”, he adds.
“The Pirquitas mine is operating by mining an area that swells up and is bisected by a dry river valley. If you follow that structure up, that’s our ground. What we were looking for was the extension down dip, then – boom! - we found two big classic induced polarization (IP) anomalies, one of them bigger than Pirquitas, right down dip at the same level based on the angle.”
The last hurdle to clear before getting the drills turning at Pirquitas is financing and, on that front, the company has arranged a non-brokered private placement to raise gross proceeds of up to C$1.2 million.
The lion’s share of the funds will go towards a C$1 million work program that will consist of follow-up detailed mapping at key prospects to refine and extend the current drill targets. There will also be a limited amount of spending on, minor infrastructure, access development for drilling, and up to 1,500 metres of diamond drilling.
Artha has a varied portfolio of projects in Argentina, including silver, base metals, and rare earths properties, but drilling Pirquitas has always been the priority for investors.
It’s really a no-brainer: the targets look good, but the property almost completely surrounds Silver Standard’s Pirquitas mine, which many in the industry reckon sits on far too small a land package.
If all goes according to plan, Todd and his team will finally be able to oblige their investors and drill the Pirquitas property while simultaneously beginning to apply the very same formula to the new Aguilar option.