Porphyry Exploration in the High Andes
This past fall, iMAGE-CREATE trainee and MSc student Jack Halloran (uOttawa, supervised by Prof. Keiko Hattori) conducted fieldwork at the Valeriano porphyry deposit in the High Andes of Chile. Here is Jack’s report on the fieldwork:
In October–November 2024, I spent five weeks in the Atacama Desert, Chile, conducting fieldwork for my M.Sc. project at the Valeriano Cu-Au porphyry, currently being drilled by ATEX Resources. It was my first experience working on an advanced porphyry exploration project, and my first time at high elevations. The Valeriano project, sits at (a breathtaking) 4500 m elevation, in the High Andes.
Most of my fieldwork, took place in the small valley town of Vallenar, logging core at ATEX’s main coreshack. I logged over 5km of core, including rocks from the deep intrusive body, the shallower breccia unit and the overlying advanced alteration (lithocap).
I spent ~1 week at the Valeriano project. The trip from Vallenar, is a winding, 6-hour drive, passing over ridges above 5000 m elevation. The tallest peak in the area, Cerro el Toro (The Bull Mountain), is over 6000 m elevation. During the trip to Valeriano, all employees can stop at another employee’s family farm for a home-cooked meal, at 2000 m elevation.
At the Valeriano project, I observed the lithocap, overlying the intrusion. Seeing a lithocap for the first time, gave me invaluable context to the hydrothermal system below. While on site, I visited the drill rigs, on top of the Valeriano lithocap, to see the core as it was being drilled.
I ended the trip in La Serena (The Serene), with one of ATEX’s geologists. In La Serena, I enjoyed the culture, food and the beaches before returning to Canada. I look forward to returning to Chile in May to sample more core and see ATEX’s exciting drill intercepts.
Thank you to the ATEX team for their hospitality and help while I was working in Chile.
