Annual Report 2007 8e46
Annual Report 2007 8e46
Annual Report 2007 8e46
through discovery
Contents
Forward-looking statements Securing exploration upside 1
A spectacular outcrop
of the Kanab North
pipe resulted in one of
two uranium deposits
found in a single day
during the early history
of exploration on the
Arizona Strip. In 2008
Quaterra discovered the
second “hidden” pipe
ever found in the district.
When
preparedness
meets
opportunity
T
oday’s seemingly incongruous juxtaposition of buoyant
commodity prices and a fragile junior resource sector
presents opportunities and challenges. Although strong
metal prices and a relatively empty development pipeline assure
that new discoveries will be major wealth creators, the more
selective availability of equity funding for junior companies puts
a premium on performance and growth.
On the corporate side, we achieved a major milestone tion and development also provides significant option
in the past year with our listing on the American value in the current environment of mergers, spin-offs
Stock Exchange in March 2008. The AMEX listing will and corporate acquisitions.
provide a more convenient trading market for U.S.
shareholders, facilitate trading liquidity and raise the This is a great time to be looking for new mines and I
Company’s profile with U.S.-based institutional inves- am excited about the year ahead. We will be complet-
tors. Also during the year, Tracy Stevenson was ap- ing a resource estimate at MacArthur and initiating
pointed Chairman of the Company’s Board of Direc- one at Nieves; aggressively drilling on the Arizona
tors, adding depth at the executive level. In April 2008, Strip to try to capitalize on our initial success; ini-
we completed a non-brokered US$11 million financing tiating work at SW Tintic and Herbert Glacier; and
which will allow us to continue aggressive exploration expanding our reconnaissance program in central
of our properties, in particular the MacArthur copper Mexico. And we will continue to evaluate other oppor-
and Arizona Strip uranium projects. tunities, both on the project and corporate level.
On the exploration front, we validated our technical The real strength of any company is its people. I would
approach at the Arizona Strip with the discovery of a like to thank all the members of the Quaterra team –
blind uranium pipe; expanded the zone of acid-soluble directors, officers, staff, consultants and shareholders
copper mineralization at MacArthur, Nevada; fur- – for their hard work and loyalty during the past year.
ther delineated both high-grade and potential bulk- Exploration is a difficult and demanding business with
mineable silver mineralization at the Nieves property frequent highs and lows. The commitment, enthusiasm
in Zacatecas, Mexico; and acquired the SW Tintic and competence of our team is always appreciated and
porphyry copper prospect in Utah and the Herbert never taken for granted.
Glacier gold prospect in Alaska. The due diligence
process at Yerington, Nevada has been slow, which we It is likewise not easy being a shareholder, particularly
expected, but I remain optimistic that we will achieve in today’s volatile environment. Our shareholders are
a favorable outcome. second to none, a fact brought home once again by the
large turn-out in October for our MacArthur field trip
Our focus remains squarely on discovering large or and in New York on March 28, when our contingent
high-grade precious metal, base metal and uranium was one of the largest groups ever to attend an AMEX
deposits in North America. I want to emphasize that we bell ringing ceremony. We appreciate your support of
will continue to evaluate and in some cases acquire new the Company’s activities and will work hard to justify
prospects if they meet our geologic, environmental and your continued confidence.
infrastructure criteria; and if we can obtain a 100% in-
terest on reasonable terms. We will do this not because As the year unfolds, we have some great opportunities
of dissatisfaction with existing properties, but because and are well-positioned to capitalize on them. I look
the merging of good people with good properties and forward to sharing results with you as they become
cutting edge technology gives us the best chance to available.
make discoveries. Our recent exploration success on
the Arizona Strip is a good example of this approach.
Cu Au Ag U Mo
Quaterra commences
trading on the AMEX
A total of 25 shareholders
from across the continent
accompanied the Company’s
officers, directors and
employees at the bell ringing
ceremony on the exchange
floor in New York on March
28, 2008. President and CEO,
Thomas Patton made a short
address to the trading floor
and then rang the opening
bell with Chairman of the
Board, Tracy Stevenson. The
strong contingent of company
attendees set a record for the
highest number of guests
ever to attend a bell ringing
ceremony at the exchange
and is a testament to the
Company’s loyal shareholder
base.
Left to right: Robert Wotczak (AMEX), Wayne Booth (shareholder), Tracy Stevenson (Chairman),
Gerald Prosalendis (advisor), Larry Page (director), Thomas Patton (CEO & President), Rick Riley
(shareholder), Wade Black (joint venture partner) at the bell ringing platform.
an (specialist)
President), Brendan Cry or.
Thomas Patton (CEO & tra din g flo “Mineral exploration is part
airman) at the
and Tracy Stevenson (Ch
science, part hard work,
and part luck. But as they
say: you make your own
luck. The Chinese word for
luck is a combination of
two symbols and represents
where opportunity and
preparedness meet. At
Read Northen (shareholder), Ron Stack Quaterra we understand
(shareholder) and David Backer (trader) at the
trading booth. this concept. Yes, there is
opportunity. Yes, we are
prepared. And yes, we will
work hard to realize the kind
of returns for shareholders
that discovering a new mine
in North America can bring.”
Excerpt from Thomas Patton’s
address to the AMEX trading floor.
n), Tom
(advisor), Trac y Stevenson (Chairma
Left to right: Gerald Prosalendis (em ploy ee), Sco tt Hea n (CFO),
Rizg alla
Belaustegui (shareholder), Nicole Stack
mas Patton (CEO & President), Ron
Read Nor then (shareholder), Tho part ner) , Rob ert Tho mas (sha reholder),
venture
(shareholder), Wade Black (joint X trad ing floo r.
y Page (director) at AME
Rick Scruggs (shareholder), Larr
2008 Milestones
Quaterra believes that significant goals, or milestones, provide the
market with a tool with which to track its progress towards its longer-
term objectives. Milestones are formulated to show the progress the
Company is making in systematically acquiring and exploring its
properties, reducing overall risk and strengthening the Company.
»» Test the most prospective breccia-pipe targets on the Arizona Strip for uranium
»» Advance its other central Mexican gold-silver properties and continue aggressive
reconnaissance
»» Complete initial evaluation of the SW Tintic copper project in Utah and the
Herbert Glacier gold property in Alaska
Achievements
In the past 12 months, Quaterra:
Copper oxide
mineralization »» Obtained a listing on the American Stock »» Completed an environmental assessment
at MacArthur Exchange under the symbol QMM at the Yerington project in Nevada as
is hosted in part of due diligence towards acquiring
medium-grained, »» Discovered the A-1 “blind” breccia pipe ownership
biotite quartz on the Arizona Strip uranium property
monzonite. validating the company’s technical approach »» Acquired the SW Tintic porphyry copper
prospect in Utah and the Herbert Glacier
»» Enlarged the zone of acid-soluble copper gold prospect in Alaska
mineralization at the MacArthur project in
Nevada »» Drilled two Mexican properties and
through reconnaissance staked five
»» Delineated both high-grade and potential additional claim blocks in central Mexico
bulk-mineable silver mineralization at the
Nieves property in Zacatecas, Mexico
Islands
Big Bar Beaufort Sea Ellesmere Reykjavik
Island
A l a s k a
Parry Island
Banks
Island
Baffin Bay
Fairbanks
Kodiak Yukon
Island Territory
Gulf
of N u n a v u t
N o r t h w e s t
Alaska T e r r i t o r i e s
Herbert Glacier
Labrador Sea
Duke Island
Newfoundland
Queen Hudson Bay &
Charlotte Labrador
Islands Alberta
Newfoundland
British
Columbia
Edmonton Saskatchewan
Q u e b e c
Vancouver Manitoba
Seattle New
P.E.I.
Washington Brunswick
Portland
North Dakota Montreal Maine Nova
Oregon Montana
Scotia
Minnesota Ottawa New
VT
York NH
Idaho South Dakota
Michigan Toronto Boston
Massachusetts
Wisconsin Buffalo
CT
Wyoming RI
Milwaukee London
Iowa Pennsylvania
Sacramento MacArthur/ Yerington Nebraska
Atlantic
Pittsburgh NJ
San Francisco Nevada
Utah SW Tintic
Denver Illinois
Indiana
Columbus MD
DE
Ocean
Ohio West
Kansas City Missouri Indianapolis Virginia
Washington
Colorado
Kansas
Cincinnati Virginia
California Arizona Strip Wichita Saint Louis Virginia Beach
Kentucky
Nashville
Tennessee North Carolina
Albuquerque Charlotte
San Diego Phoenix Arizona Oklahoma City Memphis
South
New Mexico
Atlanta Carolina
Tucson
Oklahoma Birmingham
Ensenada Arkansas
Fort Worth Dallas Alabama Georgia
El Paso
Louisiana
Texas
Mississippi Jacksonville
Pacific
Guadalupe
Austin
Hermosillo San Antonio
Ocean
New Orleans
Chihuahua Florida
Mirasol Nassau
Nieves Gulf of Mexico
Miami
Culiacan Saltillo Turks & Caicos
Islands
Havana
Santo
Domingo
Puerto
Rico
Cartagena
San Jose 2007 Annual Report 7
Panama
City
Cu Au Ag U Mo
Consolidating a
copper district
Quaterra’s 2007 drilling program substantially enlarged the
acid-soluble copper deposit at MacArthur. And continued
exploration may define a resource that is comparable in size
and more favorable in economics than many of its neighbors
in the Yerington district. Meanwhile, due diligence continues in
order to complete the acquisition of the nearby Yerington mine.
Q
uaterra continues to expand its land copper and include the MacArthur copper
position in the Yerington Copper oxide deposit, the Yerington, Ann Mason
district of northwestern Nevada. and Bear-Lagomarsino porphyry copper
With world class potential only 50 miles deposits and the Pumpkin Hollow copper
southeast of Reno, the district has the ideal skarn deposit. The resource potential of the
combination of resources and infrastructure district dwarfs past production and presents
to make Quaterra a major copper producer. an attractive target for the Company’s grow-
The global geologic resources of the Yering- ing land acquisition and copper exploration
ton district exceed 2.1 billion tons of 0.4% programs.
The historic MacArthur mine resource of 29 million tons grading 0.28% copper, including 13
million tons of +0.40% copper was substantially enlarged by the Company’s 2007 drilling program.
Drill hole cross section A-A’ showing acid soluble copper mineralization at MacArthur
5500
30
PEN
eralized zones with a combined A’
O 33 16
average thickness of over 100 6 11 2
13 40 65 174
10
8
tion is now approximately five
25
28
20 22
8 2
10
75 58
2 12
ton historic resource and re- 10 7
53 73 46
20 27
29
30
Grade Thickness
tion parallels current topog- 93
67 (ft. % TCu)
Existing Pit Outline 47
40
23 13 33
raphy and contains predomi- Gallagher
Prospect
<10
nately green and black copper Area 10 - 20
A
40
oxides grading downward into 22 20 - 30
T
he Company’s review of the ronmental clearances for past mining-
Arimetco assets in the Yer- related activities.
I
n July 2007, Quaterra acquired system four miles to the south of the
the Southwest Tintic porphyry Tintic silver mines. The deposit is
hidden 1,100 feet below surface under
copper deposit located in the three square miles of barren quartz-
prolific Tintic mining district in sericite-pyrite alteration. The system
west-central Utah, about 60 miles was cut by six widely spaced core holes
which form the basis for Krahulec
south of Salt Lake City. The ac- and Briggs’ (2006) rough estimate of a
quisition provides an opportunity global geologic resource – which is not G
NI43-101 compliant – of more than s
to investigate the porphyry cop-
400 million tons of 0.33% copper, 0.01% o
per mineralization in an under- molybdenum and 0.002 oz/ton gold at H
explored area that represents the a 0.3% copper cutoff. The system could t
c
second most important mining contain several large zones of high
a
grade, structurally controlled copper m
district in Utah. mineralization that may not have been
identified in the earlier drilling.
Geologist Jim Vroman studies altered
The project includes approximately
andesites on Quaterra’s Treasure Hill
five square miles of mineral rights that prospect for clues to the location of a Wide-spaced drill holes in Diamond
were acquired by optioning and staking possible copper porphyry system at Gulch, less than a mile to the north,
85 unpatented U.S. lode claims and depth in the SW Tintic mining district. have shown the presence of a low grade
purchasing 1,511 acres of patented chalcocite blanket presumably derived
mining claims. The district ranks third mentary rocks. Much of the miner- from enargite-rich veins peripheral to
in a list of the top ten historic silver alization may be related to a major the SW Tintic or another deep por-
producing districts in the U.S. Approx- porphyry copper system at depth that phyry copper center in the Treasure
imately 285 million ounces of silver, has not yet been found. Hill area located two miles farther
2.8 million ounces of gold and lesser north. Exxon explored Treasure Hill
amounts of base metals were mined In the early 1970s, Bear Creek Min- for high-grade bonanza copper, gold,
from carbonate replacement deposits ing Company discovered the deep and silver veins in the early 1980s. The
and mantos hosted by Paleozoic sedi- Southwest Tintic porphyry copper area represents yet another possible
porphyry system at depth with three
northeast trending zones of copper-
gold mineralization in propylitized
andesitic volcanics. The primary vein
a detailed magnetic map of almost the ping granodiorite with quartz mon- minerals are quartz-alunite, pyrite and
entire district. zonite porphyry dikes displays both enargite with lesser amounts of galena
alteration and copper oxide mineral- and sphalerite.
The survey defined an interesting ization with a close similarity to the
magnetic anomaly five miles east of MacArthur deposit. The alteration The large amount of metal and wide-
Yerington that became the subject of and mineralization is characteristic spread alteration in the southwest
Quaterra’s newly acquired Wassuk of what might be expected peripheral Tintic-Treasure Hill prospect areas are
Prospect. The property consists of 77 to a porphyry system that may lie at compelling reasons to systematically
leased claims and 205 newly staked depth below the valley to the east. explore a number of attractive explora-
claims over a broad valley covered by The Wassuk anomaly presents an at- tion targets. Quaterra is planning an
alluvium. Along the western margin tractive target for copper exploration extensive program of mapping, data
of the Wassuk anomaly, an outcrop- in 2008. compilation, geophysics and approxi-
mately 5,000 feet of drilling in 2008.
Proof of principle
The discovery of a “blind” pipe using a VTEM geophysical system validated
Quaterra’s innovative approach to exploring for uranium on the Arizona
Strip. And the success of Quaterra’s geophysical approach has opened up
new possibilities for discovering a mineable resource.
T
he Arizona Strip should certainly be at the Cross section of hidden breccia pipe
top of a list of U.S. uranium districts with
the greatest possibility of creating signifi-
0 Moenkopi Fm.
Depth
cant wealth through new discoveries. The breccia (feet)
early 1990s, they were some of the country’s last Toroweap Fm.
hard rock uranium producers. These attributes
made the Arizona Strip a prime location for explo- Coconino Ss.
(Acts as conduit and
ration to achieve the Company’s goal to create val- 1000 Pyrite
host rock for the
cap
ue through discovery. In Q1 2008, Quaterra made uranium mineralization
in the breccia pipe)
a discovery that could not only make Quaterra the
Uranium
major player in the Arizona Strip, but also redefine orebody
the future potential of this prolific district. 1500 Hermit Shale
From 1980 to 1990, the Arizona Strip produced in (Forms the trap for
the mineralization)
excess of 19 million pounds of uranium from seven
mines, averaging 0.65% U3O8. The total amount of
mineable uranium discovered to date in breccia pipes
in northern Arizona is estimated to be in the range of 2000 Esplanade Ss.
35 million pounds. One fifth of this total (seven mil-
lion pounds of U3O8) was mined from a single blind or
“hidden” breccia pipe discovered by tracing alteration
exposed in Hack Canyon by Western Nuclear in 1979. (Roof collapse in caverns of the Redwall Ls. and subsequent
Until Quaterra’s discovery of the A-1 pipe, Hack 2 rep- collapse of overlying sediments forms a vertical column of breccia
resented the only hidden pipe ever found in the district. that can extend vertically over 3,000 feet)
SW CARBONIFEROUS PERMIAN
32.3 pipes /100 sq mi 5.1 pipes /100 sq mi
Uranium Mineralization
TRIASSIC JURASSIC NE
0.3 pipes /100 sq mi No Outcropping pipes
Alaska exploration
Q
uaterra’s 100%-owned Duke Island Cu-Ni- Nine occurrences of Cu-Ni-PGE sulfide mineralization have
PGE prospect is located in southeast Alaska been identified in outcrops within an area of four square
miles at Duke Island. Drilling has encountered large zones of
about 30 miles south of Ketchikan. The project sulfide mineralization including up to 387 feet of 0.2% copper,
consists of 129 unpatented Federal lode mining claims but with low nickel tenors. Grab rock samples returned values
and 11 state of Alaska mining claims that cover an area of up to 1.95% copper, 0.25% nickel and 1 g/t combined plati-
num and palladium. The rock outcrops and subcrops char-
of six square miles of multiple-use lands open to mineral acteristically occur in low boggy areas with heavy red-brown
development within the Tongass National Forest. clay suggestive of acid weathering of sulfides.
The Duke Island complex appears to have all the principal In early 2008, Quaterra contracted Fugro Airborne Surveys
ingredients necessary to host a large Cu-Ni-PGE deposit. Inc. to fly a deep-looking airborne time domain EM survey
Consisting of two separate areas of well-exposed zoned (TDEM) to identify new drilling targets within these a reas
ultramafics, the complex shows compositional layering due and at depth below previously investigated targets. The
to changes in magma chemistry and subsequent fractionation geophysical survey covered 20 square miles with 240 miles
and precipitation of mineral crystals settling through the of flight lines. A review of the TDEM data is currently in
lighter melt. Flow textures, graded bedding and dislodged progress to determine if any of the identified anomalies have
xenolith fragments observable in outcrop and drill core potential for massive copper-nickel mineralization.
indicate the presence of sill-like intrusions that form magma
conduits for large volumes of mafic magmas. Net textured Quaterra has discovered a dynamic ultramafic intrusive com-
sulfides visible in the rock are thought to have accumulated plex at Duke Island. Extensive areas of outcropping sulfide
by gravity separation from the ultramafic magma. A detailed mineralization have been identified and sampled. Shallow
review of the Duke Island data in 2007 suggested that sulfide diamond drilling has intersected thick zones of low-grade
mineralization may be related to an elongate sill complex, copper mineralization. If the geophysical data suggest that
not a typical Ural Alaska ultramafic intrusive. Similar layered higher sulfide concentrations may exist below the depth of
intrusive complexes host some of the world’s largest copper- previous exploration, the Company is planning a 10,000-foot
nickel systems. drilling program during the summer field season of 2008.
I
n October 2007, Quaterra acquired the Herbert Gla- in 2007 shows that all four structures locally have high-grade
cier gold property in the historic Juneau Gold Belt of gold-quartz mineralization and should be drill tested.
southeast Alaska. Located 20 miles north of Juneau, The Herbert Glacier vein systems are strongly enriched in
the prospect presents an attractive opportunity for the gold. Of 199 rock chip samples collected during a recon-
discovery of a high-grade gold deposit in a district that naissance mapping and sampling program in the summer
of 2007, almost half (94 samples) contained more than one
has produced nearly seven million ounces of gold since g/t gold; 33 samples contained more than 10 g/t; and 12
discovery in 1880. contained more than one ounce of gold per ton. One 1.5 ft
(about 46 cm) banded quartz vein with visible gold assayed
The Herbert Glacier property consists of 91 unpatented 81.9 g/t (about 2.39 oz/ton) gold. Veins typically pinch and
Federal lode mining claims that host four main composite swell, but individual veins are as much as 14 feet thick and
vein-fault structures with ribbon structure quartz-sulfide composite veins are up to more than 20 feet across. The veins
veins. Although the southernmost of the four vein systems are competent, but occur within halos of altered quartz di-
was known in the early days of the Juneau district, the orite, and are generally marked on surface by deep trenches
receding Herbert Glacier exposed a succession of parallel eroded from the incompetent altered host rocks. Gold is
gold mineralized structures that strike east-west and dip accompanied, in approximate decreasing order by arse-
steeply to the north. One of the four known vein systems nopyrite, pyrite and galena with lesser amounts of scheelite,
was drilled in 1986 and 1988 by Tenneco Minerals and its chalcopyrite and sphalerite. Trace elements are typical of the
successor Echo Bay Mining Co. The Main Herbert structure Juneau Gold Belt and the mesothermal aspect of the rib-
was explored on 200 foot intervals along a 2,000 foot strike boned quartz veins suggest that the mineralized structures
length with 5,272 feet of drilling in 19 core holes. Shallow of the Herbert Glacier property could be persistent in strike
angle holes established continuity of gold mineralization in and depth over a range of thousands of feet. A metallurgical
the vein system and over a distance of 1,500 feet found inter- study on a 240 pound composite sample by the U.S. Bureau
cepts of up to 14 feet averaging 0.98 oz/ton gold. Sampling of Mines indicated that 88% of the gold was free milling
and could be recovered by gravity
methods (Herbert Glacier – No.
JU097, ARDF file, Juneau Quad-
rangle, U.S. Geological Survey).
Staking rush
Quaterra stepped up the pace of exploration in Mexico this past year.
Seven geologists are now working in the country under the supervision of
Tom Turner, Quaterra’s Manager of Mexican Exploration.
Q
uaterra drilled a total of 16,602 meters on Peñasquito, La Pitarilla and Camino Rojo. Quaterra
three projects in Mexico in 2007. A 16-hole has staked five new prospects in San Luis Potosi
core drilling program at Nieves brought covering 69,034 hectares (266.54 square miles) and
new life into the project. While drilling at Crestones has added claims at Mirasol and Las Americas in
and Mirasol did not intersect significant mineraliza- Durango. Reconnaissance work continues. Quaterra
tion, it did provide valuable geologic information now has a 100% interest in claims covering 631.03
that will be useful in identifying new targets that the square miles in Durango and San Luis Potosi and a
Company still considers prospective. 50% interest in an additional 23.36 square miles at
Competition for land in central Mexico has Nieves in Zacatecas. Details of these programs are
intensified as a result of major new discoveries at discussed below.
UNITED STATES
Chihuahua
Baja Coahuila
California
Crestones Jaboncillo
Sinaloa Nuevo
Leon
Mirasol Gulf of Mexico
Inde Durango
Americas Carolina
Tamaulipas
Nieves
Zacatecas Azifran
Lupita
Pacific Ocean Nayarit
San Luis
Aguascalientes
Tian Yucatan
o
ar
et
Guanajuato
er
Hidalgo
Qu
Jalisco Quintana
Estado
de Tlaxcala Roo
Col Michoacan Mexico
im a Campeche
Puebla Veracruz
Morelos Tabasco
BELIZE
Guerrero
Oaxaca
0 400 Chiapa
Kilometres
GUATEMALA
Nieves
T
he Company owns a 50% inter-
est in the Nieves silver property
located in northern Zacatecas
State, Mexico, about 90 kilometers
north of Penoles’ world-class Fresnillo
silver mine. The project occurs within a
northwest trending mineral belt known
Parque Central in Nieves viewed from corner entrance to Abarotes Diana on the
as the Faja de Plata, which hosts many right towards the iglesia (church) in the background.
of the world’s premier silver deposits
including San Martin, Fresnillo, Za-
catecas and Real de Angeles. The land A 16-hole, 5,388.8-meter drilling of the Concordia vein. Highlights are
block consists of 16 mineral concessions program, consisting primarily of infill as follows, with key holes referenced
covering an area of approximately 60 holes on the Concordia vein, was on the geologic map:
completed between September and
square kilometers (23.3 square miles). December 2007. The program was Concordia vein: Twelve holes tested the
Mineralization is related to a low tem- successful in extending the Concordia Concordia vein system, one of three
perature silver-gold-lead-zinc epither- high-grade silver vein mineraliza- east-west striking veins systems on the
mal vein system similar to the world- tion and intersected significant new Nieves property. The best mineralized
mineralization in the adjacent Arroyo interval is in hole QTA-48 with 47.48
class Fresnillo and Zacatecas Districts fault, which may be a new mineralized meters averaging 142 g/t silver, 0.13 g/t
in central Zacatecas. structure or host the faulted extension gold, 0.37% lead and 0.37% zinc, includ-
RV
SV
650,000 N
Target
696,000 E
698,000 E
700,000 E
702,000 E
T
0.14% zinc. Within this zone is a 3.3 he Mirasol and Americas projects Most of the operators were small min-
meter interval that averages 331 g/t are located in the Municipality of ers who hand sorted the ores and sold
silver (9.6 oz/ton), 0.29 g/t gold, 0.17% Simon Bolivar, Durango, Mexico, them to concentrate buyers in Monter-
lead and 0.28% zinc. Mineralization about midway between the cities of rey, Mexico. Most mining was termi-
consists of sheeted veinlets, and be- Durango and Torreon in the central nated by the early 1970s. More recently,
cause of its shallow depth and relatively part of the Mexico Silver Belt or Faja de Hecla produced gold and silver from
uniform grade has open pit potential. Plata. The property is adjacent to the its adjacent San Sebastián property.
The Arroyo vein-fault system appears east boundary of Hecla Mining’s San The Francine and Don Sergio veins
to strike northwest with a moderate Sebastián Project. The project initially produced 11.2 million ounces of silver
southwest dip. Additional drilling will consisted of two separate land blocks and 155,937 ounces of gold from 2001
be necessary to determine the extent until mapping suggested that the open to 2005. Hecla continues to actively
and significance of this mineralization. area between Americas and Mirasol was explore its property and maintains a
also prospective. The intervening area working mill at Valardeña, Durango.
2008 exploration plans: Additional core was staked to form one large land block
drilling will start during the second consisting of 13 concessions totaling A 1:5,000-scale geologic map of the
quarter of 2008, concentrating on the 82,926 hectares (320.18 square miles), original Mirasol and Cerro Conces-
Concordia-Arroyo-San Gregorio vein which are 100%-owned by Quaterra sions completed in 2007 identified a
systems and their junctions. Any new through its Mexico subsidiary Agua seven by five kilometer area of si-
prospects identified by mapping will Tierra SA de CV. licified and brecciated limestone with
also be tested. All work plans are made quartz-calcite veinlets and accessory
in consultation with the U.S.-based Both Mirasol and Americas were past fluorite-alunite-stibnite-cinnabar. A
Blackberry Ventures 1, LLC, invest- producers of mercury and antimony 5,050-meter, 38-hole RC “scout” drill
ment partnership, which will continue during the 1940s and 1950s as evi- program was completed late in 2007 to
to contribute its share of ongoing denced by hundreds of small mines and test the large alteration area at depth
exploration costs. prospects spread across the property. and probe for potential feeder zones.
Old open-pit mercury mine, Americas Project, Durango, Mexico. The rock is advanced oxide argillic altered rhyodacite tuff with
some late acid leaching. The tunnels in the pit walls follow hematite-limonite veins with native mercury.
Holes drilled to an average depth of 150 There are numerous old mercury mines
meters demonstrated that the silicified with ruins, dumps and open pits up to
and brecciated limestone is restricted to 40 meters wide, 75 meters long and 25
a 20 to 40 meter thick horizontal band to 35 meters deep. The mercury occurs
that formed along the unconformable in both the oxidized altered rhyolite as
contact between the limestone and the native mercury and in the white silica as
overlying conglomerate. The conglom- finely disseminated cinnabar.
erate has since been largely eroded
away, exposing the silicified limestone. An 800-meter diameter rhyodacite brec-
cia that appears to be an eruptive vent
Drilling shows that in some areas the outcrops in the center of the property.
silicified limestone is cut by a complex Hydrothermal breccia dikes are common
series of faults, altered quartz porphyry peripheral to the large breccia. Mapping
dikes and silicified breccia dikes that and sampling has identified a two by
served as hydrothermal feeders for the six kilometer area of stockwork veining
alteration system. These feeders are along the north margin of the hydro-
strongly anomalous in indicator ele- thermal alteration shell that is open to
ments arsenic, antimony and mercury the northeast. Grab samples of the vein
but do not contain detectable amounts material are anomalous in gold and
of gold or silver. Mirasol appears to be silver, with values ranging from 0.025 to
the top of an epithermal hydrothermal 0.91 g/t gold and 1.4 to 86 g/t silver.
system. The gold-silver mineral zone,
if present, could be up to 300 meters Large parts of the Americas project are
below the present erosion surface. covered by alluvium and thin, post-min-
eral basalt flows. The size of the Ameri-
The Americas prospect is in the far west cas hydrothermal system is presently not
portion of the Mirasol concessions and is defined, but may be as large as 15 by four
part of Hecla’s San Sebastian hydrother- kilometers. As with Mirasol, Americas
mal system. It is underlain by Cretaceous appears to be the top of an epithermal
limestone and flysch unconformably system with a possible gold-silver zone
overlain by Tertiary rhyododacite tuff and interpreted to be closest to surface below
post-mineral Late-Tertiary basalt flows. the north stockwork veining.
The property encompasses an elongate, The work plan for Americas is to extend
northeasterly-trending zone of hydro- the geologic mapping survey east towards
thermally altered rhyodacite and several Mirasol and cover the identified targets
large white silica “crestones” or veins with a grid IP-magnetic geophysical sur-
that are up to 30 meters in width and vey. With positive results, the best targets
outcrop up to a kilometer along strike. will be tested with a core drill program.
Crestones-Inde
C
restones is composed of three
concessions totaling 5,485.63
hectares (21.2 square miles)
that abut the Inde concessions at their
west end. Title is still pending on two
Inde concessions that total 3,151.37
hectares (12.2 square miles).
J
aboncillo consists of a single 1,689
hectare (6.5 square miles) concession
located on the north edge of a series
of concessions controlled by Excellon Min-
erals about 12 kilometers north-northwest
of its Platosa Mine at the northern termi-
nus of the Sierra Bermajillo.
Biographies
Biographies
Auditors
Smythe Ratcliffe
7th Floor, Marine Building
355 Burrard Street
Vancouver, B.C., V6C 2G8
Canada
Corporate Office
Suite 1100, 1199 West Hastings Street
Vancouver, B.C., V6E 3T5
Canada
Tel: 604-681-9059
Fax: 604-688-4670
Toll Free: 1-888-456-1112
Website: www.quaterra.com
Cusip No.
747952 109
Design: Pacific
Redwood Marketing