Strike Resources Limited

Geology

Print Page

Text Only

The principal iron ore deposits in Peru are located in two metallogenic belts - the first is in the lower parts of the Cordillera Occidental near to the coast (which includes the Shougang Hierro Peru Marcona Iron Mine); and the second is within the mineralised belt of sedimentary rocks in Andahuaylas – Yauri, the polymetallic sub-province of the Altiplano.

Strike Resources holds the view that the Apurimac and Cuzco projects are contained within an iron ore province in which only minimal historical geological work has occurred. Such work has been principally focused on known iron ore outcrops, with little or no geophysical work conducted to delineate the existence of sub-surface deposits.

The company therefore believes that the Apurimac and Cuzco deposits are not isolated instances of large iron ore bodies, and that significant potential exists for large bodies of iron ore to occur under cover.

: Click to enlarge

The Apurimac iron deposits are within the influence of the Abancay Deflection. The deposits are hosted within the Ferrobamba Formation, and Opaban I is one of the larger occurrences of iron mineralisation in Peru. In this area, a variety of formations of sedimentary rocks and igneous units are present, ranging in age from the Upper Palaeozoic (Copacabana Group) to the Quaternary.

The Apurimac iron skarn deposits are located in the high Andes in Central Peru. The geology of the project area is characterised by the presence of limestone of the Ferrobamba Formation and diorite/granodiorite stock of the Apurimac Batholith. The skarn mineralisation has been produced by contact metamorphism generated by the intrusion of the granodiorite batholiths into the limestone, forming iron rich skarn contact zones and re-crystallising the minerals to form iron oxide mineralisation. The skarns are typically magnetite and appear to be endo-skarn occurring within the Ferrobamba Formation. Iron oxide mineralisation is present in outcrop and float and typically occurs as magnetite and hematite with minor limonite.

The Peruvian Skarn deposits are some of the largest as yet undeveloped iron ore deposits in the world.