Buxton Resources (ASX: BUX) has been granted 14.2 sq. km of tenure at the Arivaca project in southern Arizona’s Laramide porphyry belt.

The tenure is located approximately 30 km southwest of Freeport-McMoRan’s Sierrita copper-molybdenum mining complex and consists of eight mineral exploration permits acquired for application and two-year rent fees totalling US$11,000, with initial expenditure commitments of US$35,000 per annum.

Buxton has completed initial reconnaissance rock-chip sampling at Arivaca, returning assay results of up to 6.21% copper and 1,355 grams per tonne (g/t) silver, along with elevated gold levels of up to 0.55 g/t, plus lead, zinc and antimony. The results add early geochemical support to a district that already has a history of mining activity, with the highest-grade samples collected from dumps adjacent to historic mine workings.

“Arivaca is exactly the kind of opportunity Buxton is pursuing in Arizona — 100%-owned, acquired at low cost, with high-grade surface mineralisation in an under-explored setting within the proven Laramide porphyry belt,” CEO Marty Moloney said.

“The geochemistry, veining, alteration and magnetics all point to potential for a porphyry-style mineral system at depth at Arivaca. We’re looking forward to commencing detailed mapping and geophysics ahead of our first drill program.”

A prominent airborne magnetic low is semi-coincident with the area of anomalous geochemistry. The magnetic anomaly may indicate a deeper felsic intrusion, which typically underlies porphyry mineral systems.

“Buxton’s generative and reconnaissance dataset provides strong encouragement for further exploration for porphyry-style Cu-Mo mineralisation at Arivaca. Geological Field Operations Plans (GFOPs) have been submitted to the Arizona State Lands Department to allow Buxton to undertake detailed mapping and surface sampling, detailed airborne magnetics, and drill testing,” Moloney said.

The work program is the next step in turning early surface results into a fuller geological picture, with the planned mapping, geophysics and drill testing intended to test whether the surface anomalies extend at depth.

BUX rose 8.57% to 3.8 cents. The company’s market capitalisation was $14.99 million.

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