Direct evidence at CAUR
- 5 RC drill holes / 1,594 m drilled
- 44 m at 0.51 g/t Au
- 84 m at 0.18 g/t Au
- Rock chips up to 4.1 g/t Au
FLAGSHIP ACQUISITION · GOLD · CHILE
CAUR Gold Project
A drill-tested gold exploration project in Chile’s Maricunga Gold Belt, with priority targets for follow-up exploration.
2,100 ha7 exploration concessions
5 RC drill holes1,594 metres drilled historically
~30 kmSoutheast of Salares Norte
PROJECT POSITION
Position in the Maricunga Gold Belt
MariGoldX has acquired CAUR as its flagship gold exploration project in Chile’s Atacama Region, approximately 30 km southeast of Salares Norte.
The Maricunga setting provides the regional context. CAUR’s historical drilling, surface geochemistry and alteration mapping form the project’s own exploration evidence.
Review the historical gold results ↗HISTORICAL EXPLORATION EVIDENCE
Historical gold results and exploration potential
Historical gold intersections within an under-tested high-sulphidation system.
Geological opportunity
- Extensive silica–alunite–kaolinite alteration
- Native sulphur at surface
- Structural and geochemical targets require further testing
Proven district scale
Multi-million-ounce regional gold systems:
- Salares Norte / Gold Fields
- Fenix Gold / Rio2
- Lobo-Marte / Kinross
- Norte Abierto / Barrick–Newmont
EXPLORATION THESIS
Test the scale and continuity of the gold-bearing system.
Review the historical exploration ↗REGIONAL CONTEXT
District setting and neighbours
The Maricunga Gold Belt hosts epithermal gold–silver and porphyry copper–gold systems. These supporting maps show CAUR’s wider setting and surrounding mining interests.
Location in an established gold district
CAUR lies in the Atacama Region of northern Chile. The belt hosts epithermal gold–silver and porphyry copper–gold deposits.
Salares Norte, La Coipa, Fenix Gold, Lobo-Marte and Norte Abierto provide regional geological context for exploration.
Nearby deposits, their resources and their economics are not attributable to CAUR. Their presence does not establish a resource or endorse MariGoldX.
Neighbouring concessions and mining groups
The supplied concession map places CAUR within a wider district of gold exploration and other mining interests.
Gold Fields, Kinross and Fenix Gold appear around CAUR in the original map. ENAMI, Codelco, ERAMET and SQM also appear; their commodity interests vary.
All holdings and boundaries are indicative and subject to current title verification. Company labels do not imply a partnership or endorsement.
HISTORICAL WORK
Historical exploration at CAUR
Drilling and surface sampling provide the starting evidence. Verifying those records and their relationship to the current CAUR concessions is part of the next phase.
5 RC drill holes / 1,594 m
The March–April 2021 programme tested four of 12 historical priority targets. The release described two hydrothermal alteration zones and untested targets across the wider historical study area.
1,187 soil samples
The reported historical programme included surface sampling and reconnaissance drilling that outlined extensive silica–alunite alteration. Historical anomalies extend up to 2.5 km, with several covering more than 1 km².
New mineralogical context
Mapped acidic alteration and possible hotter centres reinforce the historical hydrothermal interpretation and help focus follow-up work.
HISTORICAL SURFACE EXPLORATION
Soil and colluvium geochemistry
The original panels place historical sampling alongside a gold-geochemistry surface. They help explain the basis for follow-up mapping and sampling across the wider historical study area.
GEOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION
Geological model and structural controls
Advanced argillic alteration supports a high-sulphidation epithermal exploration model. Further work will test interpreted mineralised structures and the distribution of gold at depth.
HYDROTHERMAL FOOTPRINT
Surface clues to guide exploration
- Opaline silica–alunite–kaolinite alteration
- Native sulphur at surface
- Possible shallow alteration beneath volcanic and colluvial cover
The assemblage supports continued testing for mineralised structures. Preservation and gold distribution at depth require drilling.
The model is conceptual and does not establish an economic deposit.
Maricunga Belt: porphyry–epithermal model
STRUCTURES & TARGETING
Structural intersections guide target selection
Regional framework
NW-trending faults and cross-cutting NE structures are interpreted in the project area.
Targeting approach
Test where structures coincide with mapped alteration and repeatable geochemical anomalies.
Field validation
Confirm fault geometry, outcrop relationships and practical drill access before final target selection.
GEOSTEIN · ALTERATION AND HSI
Alteration mapping and hyperspectral evidence
Regional alteration mapping sets the framework. The HSI layers then show acidic alteration, individual pyrophyllite responses and possible hotter centres for field follow-up.
HSI identifies surface minerals. Interpretations require field confirmation and do not establish gold grade, continuity or an economic deposit. Study windows and map outlines are not verified concession boundaries.
REGIONAL ALTERATION CONTEXT
Regional alteration framework
The original Geostein overview brings silica, advanced argillic, phyllic and other mapped alteration classes into one regional view.
Use it alongside the mineral-specific HSI maps to frame field mapping and sampling. The next step is to verify where interpreted alteration, structures and gold geochemistry coincide within confirmed CAUR boundaries.
Compare the mineral-specific maps ↗Mineral evidence in sequence
Acidic alteration: alunite, kaolinite and dickite
HYPERSPECTRAL IMAGING · GEOSTEIN
Acidic alteration at surface
Alunite, kaolinite and dickite map the surface expression of acidic advanced argillic alteration.
Read the combined mineral map alongside the pyrophyllite layer, structural interpretation and historical geochemistry to guide field validation and drill targeting.
Inspect the pyrophyllite layer ↗Pyrophyllite distribution
Pyrophyllite as an exploration clue
Spectral responses consistent with pyrophyllite occur in localized east-central and western areas. This mineral supports interpretation of relatively hot, acidic alteration.
Use this layer alongside structures, gold geochemistry and field-confirmed mineralogy to define follow-up targets.
See the combined hot-zone interpretation ↗Combined hot-zone alteration
HYPERSPECTRAL IMAGING · GEOSTEIN
Possible hotter alteration centres
Hot-zone mineral mapping helps prioritize field follow-up.
This map combines the spectral responses of pyrophyllite, muscovite and dickite. Where pyrophyllite and dickite coincide, the association may indicate relatively hotter acidic alteration centres.
The next step is to confirm these minerals in the field, then integrate alteration with structures, historical drilling and gold geochemistry to rank targets.
Inspect the pyrophyllite evidence ↗CAUR · INTEGRATED TARGETING
HSI and drilling sharpen the search for gold
Bring the historical drilling, surface geochemistry and field-confirmed alteration together to rank the next drill targets.
HSI supports the alteration model
Mapped acidic alteration and possible hotter centres are consistent with the hydrothermal interpretation from historical exploration. Field validation remains essential.
A nearby hole can miss a stronger zone
Gold may concentrate in structures or breccia bodies within a broader alteration footprint. Hole position, direction and depth determine what each hole tests.
Historical gold intersections
Five RC drill holes tested only part of the historical target inventory. The reported gold intersections support follow-up, while grade continuity, geometry and scale remain to be established.
Salares Norte: a discovery example
Its initial four-hole RC programme included discovery hole SNRC002: 96 m at 1.54 g/t Au. Follow-up drilling defined the deposit. This analogy does not establish a deposit at CAUR.
Read the Salares Norte discovery record ↗From exploration clues to discovery · original comparison
The role of targeted follow-up
Salares Norte is included as a historical exploration-process example. It illustrates the progression from early clues through drilling and delineation.
The next objective is to test gold concentrations where field-confirmed HSI alteration coincides with structures and gold geochemistry within verified CAUR boundaries.
HSI does not establish gold grade or an economic orebody. Historical assays require verification. Reported drill lengths are not true widths. CAUR has no mineral resource or reserve.
NEXT PHASE
Proposed exploration work programme
Apply an integrated exploration sequence to validate the geological model and select the next drill targets.
- 01
Understand the system
Refine the Andean high-sulphidation Au–Ag model. Verify historical collars, logs, assays and the geological interpretation.
- 02
Satellite imagery and targeting
Process ASTER imagery and integrate hyperspectral mineral maps and terrain data for targeting.
- 03
Map geology and alteration
Map lithology, structures and concession boundaries. Confirm key alteration facies with field SWIR/XRD.
- 04
Sample geochemistry
Plan approximately 200 rock and trench samples with QA/QC. Test gold and pathfinder-element anomalies.
- 05
Test with geophysics
Select ground magnetics and CSAMT/IP surveys to test the geological model and target geometry.
- 06
Validate and rank targets
Integrate the results in a 3D geological model, test the interpretation early and cost the priority drill targets.
Persistent, systematic exploration
Refine the interpretation as data accumulate, follow up results methodically and remain alert to unexpected discoveries.
Supportive management, budgets and local autonomy
Maintain consistent funding, technical continuity and clear decisions led by the field team.
FUNDING LINKED TO TECHNICAL MILESTONES
Each phase informs the next decision
Validate and rank
Data compilation, field mapping, sampling and survey design.
Decision: select priority drill targets.Test the targets
A proposed 3,000–6,000 m programme, refined after Phase 1 and subject to funding and permits.
Decision: assess grade and continuity.Assess discovery potential
Follow-up drilling and resource assessment only if results support further investment.
Decision: advance, redesign or stop.Scope and timing depend on funding, permits, access and results. Deeper feeder and porphyry concepts remain exploration hypotheses.
PARTNER WITH MARIGOLDX
Discuss the next phase of CAUR exploration
We welcome discussions with investors and mining partners on staged exploration funding or a project partnership.