A report prepared for Aurelian Resources Inc.

FURTHER COMMENTS ON GEOLOGY AND POTENTIAL OF

THE FRUTA DEL NORTE EPITHERMAL GOLD DEPOSIT,
ECUADOR

Richard H. Sillitoe

February 2007

CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

INTRODUCTION

GEOLOGICAL OVERVIEW

Orebody components
Gold mineralization
Overlying gold-poor units

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REVISED GENETIC MODEL

Syn-sedimentation gold mineralization

Additional considerations
EXPLORATION POTENTIAL

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Fruta del Norte

Fault-displaced extension
District-wide prospects

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FIGURE
Fig. 1 Schematic longitudinal section, Fruta del Norte

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Drilling during the last seven months has doubled the strike length of the Fruta
del Norte epithermal gold deposit, but has confirmed the previously proposed
geological model, in particular the overall orebody geometry, ore types
(manganese-rich stockwork, massive silicification and quartz vein) and overall
distribution of bonanza- grade gold.

The results from 40 additional drill holes have enabled revision of the
preliminary genetic model for Fruta del Norte. The deposit formed both before
and during the accumulation of >200 m of conglomerate in an immediately
overlying, fault-bounded basin. The gold deposit is confined to the volcanic
rocks beneath the basin because the conglomerate, with its basal parts
pervasively silicified, is considered to have acted as both a rheological and
chemical barrier to the gold-precipitating fluid. Consequently, much of the
fluid is inferred to have cooled progressively as it flowed northwards beneath
the conglomerate barrier.

The coherence of the highest- grade zone in the deposit, centred on section
3,400 N, has been further confirmed by recent infill drilling. However,
additional confirmation is recommended by drilling two infill fences 50 m to
the north and south. The holes planned to test the down-dip limits of the gold
zone where it abuts the West fault are also assigned high priority.

The current northern and southern limits of the deposit both warrant additional
drill fences in order to determine the full extent of the gold mineralization.
Additional drilling is also needed in an attempt to locate the faulted-off
western portion of the orebody, an interpretation that has gained further
support from the recent exploration results.

Two additional exploration targets for Fruta del Norte-type gold deposits
occur nearby: a 20-km- long belt south of Fruta del Norte and the preliminarily
tested Puente-Princesa prospect on the opposite corner of the fault-bounded
basin to Fruta del Norte. By analogy with Fruta del Norte, arsenic and
antimony anomalism in conglomerate and associated rock types should
provide a reliable vector to subjacent gold mineralization, although the linkage
may not be as direct as previously assumed.

INTRODUCTION
The writer spent three days at the Condor project, southern Ecuador, on behalf of
Aurelian Resources in order to conduct a follow-up visit to the Fruta del Norte
intermediate-sulphidation epithermal gold deposit. The fieldwork comprised
inspection of selected intervals of diamond drill core from the 40 holes completed
since the writers first visit in July 2006. The new information allowed confirmation
of orebody geometry and revision of the preliminary genetic model, support for which
is presented in a longitudinal section (Fig. 1) constructed during the visit.
This short report summarises the principal geological components of the Fruta del
Norte deposit as a basis for description of the revised genetic model. An assessment
of exploration potential at Fruta del Norte and nearby prospects is also provided.
The results reported here were generated jointly with Steve Leary and Peter Stewart,
and also benefited from input by Ben Nicolson, Karl Roa and Brent Alloway. All are
thanked for sharing their knowledge of Fruta del Norte and for wide-ranging
discussions.
GEOLOGICAL OVERVIEW
Orebody components
The three, spatially discrete gold mineralization types defined previously at Fruta del
Norte (July 2006 report) have been confirmed by the results of the subsequent
drilling. They comprise manganese-bearing stockwork, silicification, and quartz vein
zone (Fig. 1). The first two of these mineralization types are abruptly transitional,
whereas the quartz vein appears locally to cut and overprint the other two.
The manganese-bearing stockwork constitutes a 200-250- m thick zone that attains the
top of the Misahualli Formation andesitic volcanic sequence over a north-south
distance of at least 400 m in the southern part of the prospect (Fig. 1). Northwards, its
upper contact dips northwards and is transitional to an overlying wedge of
silicification. The manganese-bearing stockwork consists of multiple generations of
crustiform veins and veinlets made up of quartz, calcite, manganocalcite,
rhodochrosite, kutnahorite, adularia and base- metal sulphides cutting intensely illitealtered andesitic volcanic rocks. The stockwork comprises closely spaced, multidirectional veinlets at shallow levels, but at depth the number of moderately westdipping veins increases and overall stockwork intensity progressively decreases.
The silicification constitutes a roughly tabular zone, averaging about 80 m thick, that
overlies the northern portion of the manganese-bearing stockwork and gives way
northwards to the quartz vein zone (Fig. 1). The silicification is intense and pervasive
leading to difficulty in identification of the protolith. This is certainly andesitic
volcanics in part but may include fine-grained sedimentary horizons as well. Most of
the silicification contains at least 10-volume % iron sulphide minerals, with marcasite
being particularly prominent. A thin zone of sulphide- free silicification defined by
Peter Stewart at the top of the silicified zone (Fig. 1) is the product of supergene
sulphide oxidation prior to deposition of the overlying conglomerate-dominated
Surez Formation. Zinc and copper contents were notably depleted as a result of

leaching during the sulphide oxidation. Partial sulphide oxidation characterises the
abrupt transition between the sulphidic and sulphide- free silicification.
The north-striking quartz vein zone comprises massive, white, crystalline to
saccharoidal quartz containing only isolated bands of adularia and minor amounts of
iron and base- metal sulphide minerals. The multiplicity of veining events and paucity
of remanent andesitic wallrock combine to suggest that the quartz vein zone occupies
the most dilatant part of the Fruta del Norte system.
Gold mineralization
The results of drilling to date show that the Fruta del Norte gold zone is at least 250300 m thick, with its top being defined by the contact of the andesitic volcanic
sequence with the overlying conglomerate-dominated volcano-sedimentary package
(Fig. 1). The base of the gold zone is not easy to represent on a schematic longitudinal
section because of its well-defined westerly dip; however, it is considered to remain
open at depth both to the north and south, as is apparent in Figure 1.
The gold mineralization hosted by the manganese-rich stockwork, silicification and
quartz vein zone are superficially similar. Wherever gold assays exceed
approximately 10 g/t, free gold is normally visible. The visible gold occurs in a
variety of associations and is commonly observed in close association with quartz,
manganoan carbonate or base- metal sulphide minerals.
The manganese-rich stockwork and silicification contain the highest-grade
mineralization encountered to date, especially in the central parts of the system that
are characterised at shallow depths by the sulphide- free silicified horizon. This latter
material has been shown by Peter Stewart to contain the highest average gold content,
which is interpreted to show that gold was concentrated near the top of the silicified
zone at the hypogene stage, but before supergene sulphide removal. This sulphidefree silicification will likely be characterised by high gold recoveries.
Overlying gold-poor units
Three readily mapped geological units are depicted above the main gold zone in
Figure 1: sinter, silicified conglomerate and unaltered or weakly altered conglomerate.
Although these units generally contain only low-order gold values (<1 g/t), higher
grades consequent upon the presence of visible gold occur locally (e.g. silicified
conglomerate and sinter in drill holes 50 and 51).
Recent drilling has intersected several shallowly dipping horizons of variously
textured chalcedony at the base of the conglomerate sequence. Some of the
chalcedony is white and finely laminated, but partly stained brown by presumed
hydrocarbon. At a single locality, Ben Nicolson recognised the presence of
centimetre-scale bacterial structures and, somewhat more commonly, spheroidal
aggregates of banded chalcedony are also apparent. On this basis, the shallowly
dipping chalcedony horizons are redefined as sinter, in keeping with Steve Learys
initial proposal.

The sinter horizons appear to be discontinuous, largely confined to topographic

depressions in the pre-conglomerate surface and located preferentially at or within 1-2
m of the top of the andesitic volcanic sequence (Fig. 1). In drill hole 78, however, two
sinter horizons are present, the upper one clearly intercalated in the silicified
conglomerate (Fig. 1). The best-developed sinter, about 28 m in true thickness, was
identified during this visit in drill hole 75 at the northern extremity of the prospect
(Fig. 1). Locally, the sinter is overlain by a few metres of black, fined-grained
sediment rich in arsenic and antimony, plausibly interpreted by Ben Nicolson to
represent former sites of hydrothermal mud pools. Probable hydrothermal eruption
breccia, 8 m thick, occurs in the immediate footwall of the thick sinter cut by drill
hole 75.
The sinter is characterised by a distinctive geochemical signature: deficiency of
arsenic, antimony and base and precious metals but enrichment in barium. Indeed, the
sinter, as well as immediately over- and underlying rocks, contains late-stage barite in
places. The thick sinter accumulation in drill hole 75 was also recognised to contain
impregnations of cinnabar and its dimorph, metacinnabar, although the highly
anomalous mercury content is not properly reflected by the assay results because the
cold-extraction analytical technique was not employed.
The lowest parts of the conglomerate sequence are pervasively silicified and contain
varied amounts of marcasite and pyrite, up to 30-volume % locally. The silicified
zone attains 50 m in thickness in the southern parts of the deposit, but tends to be
thinner northwards (Fig. 1). The silicified conglomerate and sinter in the northern
parts of the deposit are commonly stained bright green by what is tentatively
identified as mixed-layer clay.
The silicification becomes progressively weaker upwards in the conglomerate
sequence, although patchy alteration is widespread as shown by the change in
conglomerate colour from the original red to pale green. The outcropping silicification
(Fig. 1) is the surface manifestation of a steep, tabular zone of silicified conglomerate
that is mainly located farther west and, hence, off section. This is the outcropping
silicification that led Steve Leary to drill the Fruta del Norte discovery hole.
Siliceous clasts, commonly attaining 30 cm in size, occur in both silicified and nonsilicified conglomerate, particularly within a few tens of metres of the contact with the
underlying andesitic volcanic unit. The clasts comprise dense silicification of one or
more uncertain protoliths, silicified conglomerate and sinter. The clasts range from
sub-angular to semi- rounded, with some displaying oxidised rims as a result of
subaerial exposure prior to incorporation in the conglomerate.

REVISED GENETIC MODEL

Syn-sedimentation gold mineralization
The geological evidence summarised above mandates that the Fruta del Norte deposit
was generated both before and during accumulation of the overlying Surez
Formation conglomerate sequence rather than after much of the sedimentation was
completed. The occurrence of hot-spring sinter horizons at the top of the andesitic

volcanic pile as well as intercalated in the lowermost parts of the overlying

conglomerate sequence shows conclusively that hydrothermal activity was active
immediately before conglomerate deposition and during its early stages. Furthermore,
the presence of outcropping silicification containing highly anomalous arsenic and
antimony and low-order gold values shows that the mineralization event spanned the
time interval required for accumulation of at least 200 m of conglomerate and related
rocks, including several horizons of distally derived dacitic ignimbrite. More
speculatively, the dumping of the volcano-sedimentary sequence over the epithermal
system may have been instrumental in its demise.
The upward and northward zoning from manganese-rich stockwork to silicification
(Fig. 1) suggests that the auriferous ore- forming fluid travelled obliquely rather than
vertically upwards from a primary upflow zone to the south. This proposal gains
support from the higher elevation of the manganese-rich zone, greater thickness of
silicified conglomerate and higher zinc, lead and Ag/Au contents in the southern part
of the deposit as well as from the apparent restriction of low-temperature mixed-layer
clay to the shallow, northern parts of the deposit. By the same token, base- metal
contents are particularly low in the quartz vein zone that dominates the northern
quarter of the deposit, although this gold ore type was apparently added late in deposit
development.
The northward component of hydrothermal fluid flow is ascribed to the blanketing
effect of the conglomerate, which would have been rendered largely impermeable by
the pervasive silicification of its lower parts. The lower elevation of the basal
conglomerate above the southern parts of the deposit (Fig. 1) may imply that it
accumulated and was silicified earlier than that farther north. As a consequence, it
may have provided the initial barrier that diverted upward fluid flow northwards.
The lack of veining and high- grade gold mineralization in most of the conglomerate
sequence resulted from the fact that it was both unlithified and water saturated
throughout the mineralization event, as proposed previously. It would therefore have
acted as both a rheological and chemical barrier above the subjacent gold system
because of its inability to sustain brittle fracture and its quenching and dilution effect
on the ascendant hydrothermal fluid. This latter effect would have inhibited boiling
and consequent gold precipitation, although allowing some arsenic, antimony and
base metals to be transported upwards and precipitated. Notwithstanding the
rheological weakness of the conglomerate sequence, hydrothermal fluid did ascend
along a fairly restricted, north-striking, structurally controlled conduit to levels
shallower than the present surface, probably at least intermittently throughout
conglomerate sedimentation.
Additional considerations
The proportion of the gold introduced at Fruta del Norte before and during
conglomerate deposition is of interest but difficult to determine. Nevertheless, a
substantial amount may well have been present before conglomerate sedimentation
began because the uppermost parts of the silicified zone, including the iron sulphide
content, appear to pre-date sedimentation. This conclusion stems from the fact that
oxidative weathering destroyed the iron sulphides before the first conglomerate was
deposited, presumably because of a short- lived fall of the paleo-water table following

sinter formation. In contrast, the iron sulphides in the overlying silicified

conglomerate show no signs of oxidation. Furthermore, minor post-oxidation basemetal sulphides were introduced to the sulphide-free silicified zone. Unquantified
amounts of gold, locally as visible grains, were also introduced after sinter and
lowermost conglomerate accumulation, although appreciable gold failed to attain
higher levels within the conglomerate package for the reasons proposed above.
The sulphate required for barium fixation as barite in the vicinity of the sinter
horizons is thought to have had a near-surface origin rather than being a component of
the ascendant hydrothermal fluid. Possible sources would be a steam- heated zone
formed as a facies equivalent to the sinter, but now eroded, and the syn- mineralization
sulphide oxidation event described above.
The environment of gold precipitation after sinter formation was clearly dominated by
sedimentation. Nevertheless, the presence of scattered clasts of silicified rock and
sinter in the lower parts of the conglomerate unit, either silicified or non-silicified,
shows that local erosion is also likely to have occurred. This may have been triggered
by syn- mineralization fault motion on the north-striking structural zone and
intersecting faults and fractures that localised the Fruta del Norte deposit. However,
both the widespread preservation of sinter along the entire 1,200-m length of the
deposit combined with the apparent absence of clasts from the generally deeper
manganese-rich stockwork suggest that any erosion was relatively localised and
surficial.

EXPLORATION POTENTIAL
Fruta del Norte
Since the writers last visit, the length of the Fruta del Norte gold deposit has been
doubled to 1,200 m, but the overall interpreted form remains the same as that
proposed previously. The manganese-rich stockwork and overlying silicification
along with the northern quartz vein zone have been reliably shown to vary from 85125 m in width. Recent drilling results show that the tight stockwork characteristic of
the central parts of the deposit splays southwards to give more widely spaced veins
and veinlets over widths of ~300 m. The widest of these southern veins may be of
interest as discrete high- grade targets given intercepts of up to 75 g/t Au over 5.7 m.
The geological interpretation and previously released results for the highest-grade part
of the deposit, centred on section 3,400 N, have been amply confirmed by recently
completed infill drilling. Notwithstanding this positive outcome, it is strongly
recommended that infill drill fences 50 m north and south of section 3,400 N be
completed as soon as possible to fully confirm the integrity and coherence of the highgrade core because of its critical contribution to the overall gold resource. Proposed
undercut holes along the western side of several existing drill fences, particularly
between sections 3,200 and 3,400 N, are also assigned high priority in order to
determine the depth extent of the westernmost parts of the manganese-rich stockwork,
alongside the West fault.

Notwithstanding the tendency to splay southwards, the deposit remains open in that
direction and requires additional drill fences until the mineralization is fully delimited.
Northwards, the quartz vein zone appears to become weaker and lower in grade,
possibly denoting approach to the northern limit of the system. However, the deposit
appears to be truncated by a northeast-striking fault, considered to be postmineralization in timing, and may have been displaced as a consequence. Hence,
another drill fence 100 m farther north is recommended.
Fault-displaced extension
The results of the continued drilling at Fruta del Norte have confirmed the previous
interpretation that the deposit is delimited to the west by the West fault. The West
fault, along >1,000 m of north-south strike, is cle arly a post- mineralization structure
that may reflect continued motion on the fault zone that localised the Fruta del Norte
deposit. The gold mineralization is clearly truncated by the West fault, most clearly
on sections 3,200-3,400 N where the west-dipping veins strike directly into it, but the
limited exploration to date has failed to locate the faulted-off portion.
Down-to-the-west displacement of the sinter located above the central part of the
deposit, by some 100 m, implies that the faulted-off portion will lie at greater depths
than Fruta del Norte. Sinistral displacement is also suspected, but alternative
interpretations should not be ignored. Encouragement was provided by the results of
drill hole 61, which intersected weak stockwork veining, but only low-order gold
values, in the immediate footwall of the displaced part of the sinter west of the West
fault. This observation raises the possibility that the periphery of the offset portion
was intersected. The planned follow-up vertical hole is clearly important.
District-wide prospects
A summary of district-wide epithermal gold potential by Steve Leary clearly
highlighted two high-priority target zones in relative proximity to the Fruta del Norte
deposit. Both are defined by gold, arsenic and antimony drainage geochemical
anomalies, with the last element being particularly useful for anomaly definition. The
first is the continuation of the controlling Las Peas fault (shear) zone for 20 km south
of Fruta del Norte. The northern half of this belt, in common with Fruta del Norte
itself, lies along the eastern side of the conglomerate- and ignimbrite- filled pull-apart
basin whereas the southern half appears to be confined to the fault zone. The second
target is the Puente-Princesa prospect situated at the southwestern corner of the pullapart basin, an especially promising site given that Fruta del Norte occupies the
northeastern corner. Previous drilling, south of the restricted Forestry Reserve,
reportedly returned encouraging intersections of 18.3 m at 1.36 g/t Au and 9.15 m at
4.6 g/t Au.
Both targets have potential for Fruta del Norte-type gold mineralization and clearly
merit further work. However, interpretation of soil geochemical arsenic and antimony
anomalies over conglomerate and other Surez Formation lithologies that lack
coincident gold anomalism is not straightforward, as the drill testing of the prominent
arsenic and antimony anomaly some 4 km due south of Fruta del Norte recently
showed. The Fruta del Norte model summarised above predicts that dispersion of
these pathfinder elements above blind gold mineralization is not necessarily vertical

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because of the changing hydrological regime that may be anticipated during synhydrothermal conglomerate sedimentation and broadly contemporaneous
silicification. Nevertheless, it seems reasonable to conclude that any conglomeratehosted arsenic-antimony anomaly, with or without accompanying gold, must have
been derived from gold mineralization taking place at deeper levels, be it located
vertically or laterally with respect to the surface anomaly.

Santiago, Chile
21st February 2007

Richard H. Sillitoe

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