Cyprus, permits and exploration
Why Cyprus?
Geologically, Cyprus is a VMS camp that was mined mostly from the 1920s to the 1970s, until the partial Turkish invasion of 1974, when most mining activity was abruptly halted. Around 1.3m tonnes of copper was mined over this period. Mined deposits were almost entirely via open pits, which were discovered by surface expression. It is highly likely that further VMS deposits remain buried underground, which provides the exploration opportunity. We can now explore for these using modern geophysics technology that was not available previously.
Our understanding of Cyprus geology has improved considerably since the 1970s. Rather than just searching for conventional sulphide mounds, Chesterfield is also focused on identifying permeable fault pathways and traps that could also host sulphide mineralisation.
A further opportunity lies in gold exploration. Up until the early 1970s, gold was pegged at a very low price of $35, while gold assay technology was only able to accurately identify grades over around 3 g/t. Chesterfield has recently encountered encouraging gold concentrations in several locations and gold is an important part of the company’s exploration objective.
Cyprus as a mining location
Since the early 2000s, Cyprus became a full member of the European Union, the European Monetary Union and is considered a low-risk jurisdiction.
Cyprus gained independence from the UK in 1960 but remained a member of the British Commonwealth. Today, the Cyprus legal and regulatory system is still based on the English Common Law and is recognised as a business-friendly and effective system, with strong links to the UK
Cyprus is a tax-friendly environment. The double-taxation system offers favourable conditions for mineral exploration. The Mediterranean climate of the area makes year-round exploration possible. Cyprus is relatively low cost with many English-speaking professionals, often educated in the UK.
Cyprus is a modern first-world country with excellent infrastructure. Cyprus’s primary energy sources are imported fuel (mainly heavy fuel oil) for electricity generation with a total installed capacity of 1478 MW (EAC, 2018). However, local generation is being increasingly provided by renewables such as wind, solar and biofuel installations.
Cyprus has one of the warmest climates in the Mediterranean area and is classified as sub-tropical with very mild winters on the coast and warm to hot summers. Rainfall is unevenly distributed, with the highest mountains and the south-western coastal region having the highest rainfall. The climate does not limit the operating season, and Chesterfield can conduct exploration all year round.
Exploration Strategy
Top tier exploration approach in a junior company
Chesterfield Resources has a number of exploration advantages over historical exploration that has been conducted in Cyprus. While many orebodies have been mined throughout the island’s history, we believe there are many more yet to be discovered.
Chesterfield has five advantages over historic explorers:
1. The ability to drill efficiently near old mines looking for mine extensions
From Phoenician times until the mining industry halted in the mid-1970s, copper explorers in Cyprus had to rely on surface outcrops of copper mineralisation to locate ore bodies. They would then mine around the outcrop and follow the ore bodies down until they were exhausted. Even in the 1970s, exploration drilling was still expensive and slow.
There was, therefore, little exploration in the vicinity of large historic mines, which provides an opportunity for a modern exploration company such as Chesterfield. VMS deposits such as those in Cyprus tend to form clusters. Where you find one mine, there are normally others nearby.
2. Using advanced techniques to track and locate deep mineralised deposits under basalt flows
Secondly, large areas of the mineralised belt are covered by ancient sheets of basalt. There is, therefore, an extremely high likelihood that many ore bodies are buried under this basalt “cover”. Because there is no surface outcrop, previous explorers would not have located these orebodies. Chesterfield can use satellite analysis to analyse where faulting systems can be seen moving undercover. We then use geophysics to “look” under the layers of cover rock for anomalies that indicate mineralisation. Geophysics techniques include several IP (induced polarisation), AMT, as well as surface and downhole EM.
3. Disciplined approach to target ranking, prioritisation and development
Chesterfield has a very disciplined approach to reducing the search area on its land packages to identifying a series of targets. These targets are then ranked, prioritised and resources allocated to them accordingly. The ranking of the targets will change as evidence is gathered and analysed.
The pyramid graphic below illustrates the exploration process from identifying land packages to diamond drilling. It is a multi-stage target development process, far more exacting than many junior explorers, and a huge advance on the historical approach to exploration.
The pyramid graphic below illustrates the exacting and disciplined process that Chesterfield uses to develop its targets before taking the expensive decision to test them with diamond drilling.
4. A greatly improved understanding of where faults and traps may host deposits
Thirdly, the understanding of Cyprus geology has advanced considerably in the last 45 years. We now have a much better idea of how hot metal-bearing fluids would have flowed into faulted systems, so-called “permissive pathways”, and then become trapped. Advanced structural geological thinking has replaced many traditional theories about the formation of Cyprus style deposits.
5. A substantial exploration toolbox to provide co-incident target evidence
We have a substantial exploration toolbox at our disposal. Once a target has been identified, it is mapped, soil/rock chip sampling, various types of surveys are run, and historical archive evidence is gathered in GIS. The over-lapping co-incidence of this evidence gives strength to the final targeting decision and the specific location of the test holes to be drilled.
Chesterfield has also put a substantial amount of work into finding and analysing information in Cypriot Government mines services archives and seeking the consultancy of local senior experienced geologists.