July 15, 2024 - Florida Canyon Gold Inc. is a newly listed company formed pursuant to the spin-out of the United States and Mexican operations of Argonaut Gold Inc., including the Florida Canyon mine in Nevada, U.S.A. and the San Agustin mine, La Colorada mine, San Agustin mine, El Castillo mine, and Cerro del Gallo project in Mexico.
Florida Canyon Gold Inc. owned the El Castillo complex through Minera Real del Oro, S.A. de C.V., which owns and operates the complex.
On November 8, 2024, Heliostar Metals Ltd. announced completion of the acquisition of a 100% interest in all of Florida Canyon Gold Inc.’s mining assets in Mexico for cash consideration of US$5,000. The assets include the San Agustin mine (formerly the El Castillo Complex), La Colorada mine, Cerro del Gallo project, and San Antonio project.
Pursuant to the Transaction, Heliostar acquired those Florida Canyon Gold subsidiaries which collectively own 100% of the following properties.
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Summary:
The San Agustin mine and the El Castillo mine together form the El Castillo Mining Complex.
El Castillo
Deposit Type
El Castillo is interpreted to be a porphyry-style gold system related to Eocene granodiorite– diorite porphyries that intrude Cretaceous clastic and carbonate sediments in an extensional tectonic setting. Gold mineralization occurs throughout the magmatic-hydrothermal system in space and time and is related to sulphide mineralization spatially associated with early potassic development and genetically related to an overprint of phyllic alteration. Supergene alteration, formed as a product of acid leaching, has resulted in argillic-quartz alteration assemblages within the oxide zone of the deposit. The main gold event is believed to be associated with magmatic hydrothermal fluids corresponding to phyllic alteration.
The El Castillo gold system is similar to that found at Andacollo, Chile (Reyes, 1991 and Oyarzun, et al., 1996). Andacollo is a Cretaceous diorite to granodiorite porphyry copper-gold system with central porphyry copper-gold mineralization related to a classic porphyry alteration assemblage and a distal sediment-hosted (manto) low sulphidation and epithermal-level gold satellite system. Fluid inclusion work by Oyarzun et al. (1996) indicates that the manto epithermal gold deposits may in fact be related to another intrusive that has not been recognized at the surface due to high temperature fluid inclusions (about 365ºC) that are found about 5 km from the porphyry centre.
Mineralization
The moderately dipping granodiorite–diorite sills, siltites and argillites are the most favourable host lithologies. Argillic–quartz alteration is often closely associated with the intrusive contacts and can be indicative of higher-grade zones of mineralization.
The dominant controls on the gold mineralization include structural channeling along contacts between intrusive sills and metasedimentary units and a broad zone of northeast-striking, steeply-dipping faults and fractures that acted as conduits to help spread mineralization. Gold precipitation may be somewhat dependent on a chemically-favourable environment within the sediments but does not appear to be strongly influenced by rock composition. The hydrothermal fluids and their contained metals are believed to have been derived from a magmatic source and are a primary volatile component of the porphyry intrusion that is host to much of the mineralization.
There is typically a transition zone of partially oxidized mineralization that lies between the fully oxidized material and lower non-oxidized, sulphide material. The transition zone varies from 5 m to 50 m thick and is generally influenced by degree of fracturing and level of erosion.
The sulphide zone is generally identified by the presence of pyrite mineralization. The occurrence of sulphides, either fracture-related or disseminated, is usually a good indicator of gold mineralization. The sulphide veinlets are most commonly 0.5 cm to 4.0 cm wide.
There are two preferred trends to mineralization. The most obvious of these reflects the generally stronger mineralization within the sedimentary units. The favourable permeability related to increased fracturing within the sediments enhanced the distribution and broader geometry of mineralization. The second trend of mineralization is to the northeast and reflects the dominant structural controls to mineralization. These structures are considered to be important conduits that helped channel the mineralizing system. The combination of these geologic controls resulted in a northeast-elongated gold zone that measures approximately 1,800 m by 1,500 m.
San Agustin
Deposit Type
The San Agustin Project does not fit entirely into an epithermal classification. The San Agustin deposit appears genetically and spatially related to onzonite stock with intense phyllic alteration and local tourmaline breccias. These factors may point towards a telescoped system associated with a deeper porphyry centre. This is supported by broad zones of potassic alteration that are overlapped by pervasive phyllic alteration; however, locally on the surface and in some drill holes, boiling textures, suggestive of an epithermal system do occur. Mineralization is mainly associated with pyrite that fills fractures, is disseminated, and occurs in the matrix of hydrothermal breccias. These form an extensive system of sulphide stockworks and disseminated mineralization dominated by pyrite.
Petrographic studies report intense phyllic alteration and the presence of two-phase inclusions that evidence boiling (Pérez-Segura, 2014).
The San Agustin deposit is interpreted to be a porphyry-style gold system related to Eocene aged intrusions emplaced into Cretaceous clastic and carbonate sedimentary rocks in an extensional tectonic setting. Gold mineralization occurs throughout the magmatic-hydrothermal system in space and time and is spatially related to early potassic development and an overprint of phyllic alteration. Supergene alteration, formed as a product of acid leaching, resulted in argillic-quartz alteration assemblages within the oxide zone of the deposit. The main gold event is associated with magmatic hydrothermal fluids corresponding to phyllic alteration.
Mineralization
The host rocks for mineralization at San Agustin are quartz monzonite-dacite bodies and the sedimentary sequence they intrude. Mineralization is emplaced through a strong and widespread system of sulphide rich veins, veinlets, and fissure fillings that make the system similar to a disseminated deposit. Fracture systems follow two main project-scale trends that run northeast and northwest. Locally, mineralization can be observed following lithological controls in the sedimentary rocks, especially where they run parallel to sediment-intrusive rock contacts. Mineralization is also observed in the flow facies of the intrusion and is usually characterized by disseminated pyrite and in parallel veinlets. A component of the pyrite is thought to be pre-mineralization and associated with early phyllic alteration. The mineral system has very little silica and is more related to sulphide fracture filling. Epithermal boiling textures were observed locally such as bladed textures, coliform silica, or drusy quartz. These epithermal textures are not common. Some structures with cryptocrystalline jasperoid have also been found in deeper drill intercepts within sulphide zones. Two late phases of mineralization were identified with one carrying sphalerite and pyrite, and the other, galena and sphalerite. This mineralization is related to an epithermal low sulphidation system superimposed over the intrusion-related gold system.
The Main Fault, an important northwest striking and westerly dipping post-mineral fault, bisects the mineralized area showing differences in mineralization on either side. On the hanging-wall (west side) it is common to find structures rich in manganese and barite that are not observed in the footwall. The hanging-wall block also has higher silver and lead grades than the footwall block.
The sulphide boundary is located within a range of 30 m to 170 m below the surface with an average depth of about 65 m. The boundary is reached when the rock colour turns grey and disseminated pyrite becomes visible. The transition zone is commonly less than 1 m wide. The boundary’s surface is undulating and erratic across the deposit, due to the many faults and fractures controlling ground water in the area.