El Gateado and Lobuno form a contiguous land block on the eastern edge of the La Josefina property. Their combined mineral rights total 15,700 hectares (157 square kilometers or 38,800 acres) and are 100% wholly owned by CCSA, the Argentine subsidiary of Hunt Mining. Early in 2006 the company discovered a gold bearing epithermal system covering 4 square kilometers within El Gateado. This discovery quickly sparked an exploration program which included detailed geological mapping, surface channel and trench sampling and a phase I drill program. Results from the sampling and drilling returned very encouraging results. Drill-intersected mineralization remains open in all directions. Lobuno, which lies directly south and down trend of the main El Gateado showings, remains virtually unexplored.
Geology and Mineralization
The El Gateado/Lobuno land block shares the same general geology as all of the other Santa Cruz properties controlled by the company. The gold-silver mineralization found at El Gateado is hosted by rhyolitic volcanics of the Chon Aike Formation, which is the host for most other mineral occurrences found throughout the Deseado Massif. The type of mineralization and alteration observed can be characterized as low sulfidation, epithermal in style. Gold and silver occur in fissure vein systems localized by structures, often more than a meter wide and variable in length. They are comprised of veins, stockworks and breccias, rich in silica with some calcite. The majority of the exposed veins seen on the property are steeply-dipping (>60°) to sub-vertical. The textures and other characteristics reported for these veins are indicative of high-level systems. This suggests gold-silver mineralization in the veins should extend well below the depths tested by the drilling done to date.
Prior to the work done by Hunt Mining's CCSA staff there is no record or indication that any precious metal exploration was ever carried-out on the El Gateado / Lobuno property blocks. Immediately following the claim and file of El Gateado, the Company began reconnaissance exploration field work. This work included, systematic outcrop channel sampling, a topographic survey and the staking of a control grid for detailed geologic mapping. When the initial sampling results were received, the presence of a strong, gold bearing, epithermal system was confirmed. The program totaled 1,561.7 meters drilled in 13 widely spaced HQ diamond core holes. Presently exploration at El Gateado has taken a backseat to the La Josefina project but will resume in the future.