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Ichuña Copper Silver

Duran's 100% owned Ichuña Copper-Silver Project (1,000 hectares) is located 120 kilometres northeast of Arequipa in the Department of Moquegua in Southern Peru and adjacent to the Chucapaca Project of Gold Fields Limited ("Gold Fields") and Compañia de Minas Buenaventura S.A.A ("Buenaventura"). The initial published mineral resource by these companies showed that the Canahuire Zone within the Chucapaca Project area is estimated to contain 83.7 million tonnes of 1.9 grams of gold per tonne and 8.2 grams of silver per tonne, for an inferred resource of 5.6 million ounces of gold equivalent. The Canahuire Zone is located less than 3 kilometres from the southern boundary of the Ichuña Project.

The property is underlain by sedimentary and volcanic rocks which are cut by intermediate porphyritic intrusive bodies. Mapping and sampling has located at least seven mineralized zones on the property with a variety of styles of mineralization related to intrusive events. This includes porphyritic intrusive bodies with evidence of supergene copper enrichment, skarn zones at the contacts between intrusive and carbonate-rich sedimentary rock, and altered stockwork zones in intrusive, volcanic and sedimentary units. The evidence points to a widespread, well-mineralized hydrothermal system related to intrusive activity, with anomalous copper, silver, lead, zinc, arsenic, barium, and antimony. The mineralized areas stretch over an area larger than 1.0 X 2.5 kilometres.

The initial 2010 exploration program consisted of surface mapping and sampling. A total of 173 samples were taken by Duran`s geologists and the sample highlights from the initial phase are listed below. These samples were collected as 0.5 to 3.0 rock channel samples, as well as panel samples ranging from 0.5 X 1.0 metre to 3.0 X 3.0 metre areas. Silver values ranged as high as 1,645 grams Ag/T (47.9 troy oz/ton), with 19 of 173 samples assaying greater than 100 grams Ag/T and 50 of 173 samples assaying greater than 10 grams Ag/T. 35 of 173 samples had copper values of greater than 1.0%, with values as high as high as 10.2% copper. 68 of 173 samples had copper values greater than 0.1% copper, showing very widespread anomalous copper values. Lead and zinc values were elevated as well, with 40 of 173 samples assaying over 0.1% lead, with high values of 6.1% lead. 41 of 173 samples assayed greater than 0.1% zinc, with 5 samples returning over 1.0%.

Due to these positive results, the second phase exploration was completed late 2010. This phase included detailed geological mapping at a scale of 1: 2,000, detailed channel sampling and an extensive geophysical survey by VDG del Peru SAC. A total of 26.3 line kilometres of induced polarization (IP) and 97.8 line kilometres of magnetic (MAG) spectrometry (SPEC) and differential GPS (DGPS) were completed in late 2010.

Continuous channel samples were collected over a 2.5-kilometre-long, northwest-trending mineralized zone. Channels range up to 94 metres in length. Individual samples within each channel range from 0.5 metre to 3.0 metres in length. The channels were designed to cut across rather than sample along mineralized structures where identified, and define larger zones of mineralization. A total of 617 samples were collected during the second field campaign: 572 samples were collected from 47 separate channels and 45 exploration chip samples were collected.

Channel Sample Highlights Include:

The geophysical survey carried out by VDG del Peru SAC was successful in outlining several anomalies in the study area. Approximate outlines of the IP chargeability high anomalies are shown in the company’s presentation and below. Hatched areas with dashed outline and numbered IP1 to IP4, resistivity high anomalies are shown as shaded areas and numbered RES1 and RES2. IP chargeability anomalies are generally interpreted as zones of disseminated sulphide minerals, while resistivity anomalies are often interpreted to represent areas of different rock types and alteration in host rocks.

IP anomalies IP1 to IP3 coincide roughly with resistivity anomaly RES1. The RES1 anomaly, which roughly underlies the intrusive rocks, appears to host the majority of the copper-silver mineralized zones of Sayhuani, Sayhuani West, Sayhuani East, Jatun West, Jatun East and Jatun South. This resistivity anomaly is approximately 0.5 to 1.0 kilometre by 2.0 kilometres in size, oriented with a north-northwest trend. Sayhuani West zone, which contains the highest silver results to date, appears to occur where IP1 overlaps RES1, and remains open to the north and northwest.
The largest IP chargeability and resistivity anomalies, IP4 and RES2, occur in the southwestern side of the property, in an area with almost no outcrop. The east-west to west-northwest orientation is similar to the orientation of the nearby Canahuire deposit which was noted to be a blind discovery. At Ichuña, the anomaly is approximately 0.6 to 1.0 kilometre by 1.8 kilometres in size. The strong IP response (IP4) in this area is coincident with high resistivity values (RES2) which may indicate strong silicification and sulphide mineralization localized along this important west-northwest trend.

The company is very encouraged with the initial results from the 2010 exploration campaign at Ichuña. The combination of widespread, significant copper and silver values with strong geophysical anomalies indicates strong exploration potential at Ichuña. Continued development work at nearby Canahuire, one of Latin America's most recently discovered and significant gold-silver deposits, helps to highlight the quality of exploration targets in this area.

Location of the Ichuña Project