Projects

El Pulpo Property Location Map Click here for a larger version.

Location
The El Pulpo property, located 115 kilometres by road north-east of Mazatlan, covers an area of over 200 square kilometres (20,321 hectares) and is easily accessible by paved road to San Ignacio then by dirt road east to Vado Hondo, which is located in the centre of the concessions.

Property Status
The El Pulpo property consists of the Gavilan, Gavilan II, Gavilan 3 and the Los Frailes (Title Number 223308) claims. The Los Frailes (Title Number 212809) and Polo claims (Title Number 223420) are optioned by Minera Rio Ross S.A. de C.V. from the underlying Mexican owners. Work is being carried out by Ross River Minerals' wholly owned Mexican subsidiary Minera Rio Ross S.A. de C.V.

2004 El Pulpo Field Program
Field work from November 2003 through July 2004 consisted largely of geological mapping and lithogeochemical sampling in the Papaya, La Trucha, La Langosta and Cerro Colorado prospects, with a lesser quantity of work on the Cetolla prospect and the newly discovered Jocquistes prospect. From February through June of 2004 a major effort of line-cutting grids, soil geochemical sampling, induced polarization and magnetometer geophysical programs were undertaken. Before the end of the season, trenching of several geochemical and geophysical anomalies was completed, as well as lithogeochemical sampling and geological mapping. Aerial photography was completed over the Property and surrounding areas by Eagle Mapping Ltd., and topographic maps and orthophotos were produced from them. Heavy silt geochemical sampling was carried out in streams south of Cerro Colorado to identify other possible prospects. Limited diamond drilling was undertaken at the northern ends of both the Papaya and La Trucha areas prior to the onset of the rainy season.

2005 El Pulpo Field Program
The 2005 program included heavy silt sampling of the streams draining the general area of the Cetolla and Jocquistes prospects and east to southeast of Cerro Colorado. Additional mapping and sampling in the Cerro Colorado, Cetolla and Jocquistes prospects was also undertaken. The existing grid was extended eastward to tie together La Langosta and La Cetolla and extend the Cerro Colorado mineralization. Soil geochemical sampling, magnetometer and induced polarization surveys was also completed over the expanded grid.

Geology and Exploration targets
The property is underlain by granodiorite, monzonite and quartz-monzonite of the Upper Cretaceous to Miocene age Sinaloa Batholith. Overlying the batholithic rocks in much of the region is a thick sequence of Tertiary volcanic rocks, but the San Ignacio area has been faulted and uplifted, creating an erosional window through the Tertiary volcanic sequence, exposing the batholithic rocks.

The El Pulpo property is within the belt of porphyry copper occurrences which trends northwest through western Mexico and also within the belt of gold-silver deposits of the Sierra Madre.

Work completed to date has identified four copper-gold porphyry targets, three high grade intrusive related gold-silver vein targets and a stockwork gold-silver target. The latter overlaps the Cerro Colorado copper porphyry target. The copper porphyry targets represent local accumulations of copper that are part of the larger copper porphyry system. They are located in a broad arc open to the south with higher molybdenum values from soil and rock sampling concentrated closer to the center of the arc, forming a pattern typical of copper-molybdenum porphyry systems.

The tables below incorporate the results of re-analyses of samples that exceeded the detection ranges for one or more metals of the ICP-MS system requested for all rock samples. Samples that exceeded 10,000 ppm Cu were reanalyzed for Total Copper by aqua regia digestion of a 1 gram aliquot and analysis by ICP-ES (emission spectrography) for total copper. Samples that exceeded 20,000 ppb Ag and/or 300 ppb Au were re-analyzed by fire assay of a one assay ton aliquot, aqua regia digestion of the fire assay bead and ICP-ES analysis for silver and gold in grams per (metric) tonne.

La Langosta – Geologists examining the El Bagre outcrop Click here for a larger version

La Langosta/ El Bagre Copper-Gold Porphyry Target
The Langosta porphyry copper-gold prospect is found along both banks of the Rio Los Frailes from Vado Hondo up to 1.7 kilometers east. The prospect as defined by the outline of anomalous copper in soil and rock samples, is elongate in an east-northeast direction, is about 1800 meters long and extends about 300 meters north of the river and 750 meters south of it. The host rock is grandodiorite to quartz diorite. Outcrops are generally oxidized and leached except near the Rio Los Frailes. The earlier identified El Bagre zone (See accompanying photo) lies within the Langosta porphyry prospect and is characterized by chalcopyrite disseminated in potassically altered malachite-stained rock. The potassic alteration is characterized mainly by secondary biotite and minor rare secondary potassic feldspar. Phyllic alteration is generally found farther from the river and at higher elevations. Phyllic alteration is characterized by pervasive sericitization and the introduction of quartz and pyrite. Both phyllic and potassic altered rock occur outside as well as within the outline of anomalous copper values.

A total of 227 samples were taken in the prospect area in 2003 and 2004, including 173 chip samples and 32 grab samples. Average values for rock sampling in 2003 and 2004 include:

Chip samples were weighted by the sample length. Copper values ranged from 11 ppm to 14.78%, gold from 0.1 ppb to 3.01 g/t, silver from 57 ppb to 388.4 g/t and molybdenum from 0.45 ppm to 968 ppm. Sixty one samples (26.8%) contained more than 0.30% copper, and these 61 samples averaged 0.98% copper, 0.28 g/t gold, 24.2 g/t silver and 31.97 ppm molybdenum.

Cerro Colorado ridge looking northeast to oxidized phyllic alteration in road cut Click here for a larger version

Cerro Colorado Copper-Gold Porphyry Target
The Cerro Colorado prospect was initially a gold-silver stockwork vein prospect, and field work was first oriented toward exploring the stockwork vein occurrence on Cerro Colorado ridge. This target is within part of the area staked in June 2003 and has extensive surface mineralization associated with quartz and quartz-tourmaline veins, vein stockworks and breccias, centered within a three square kilometre zone.

Eighteen samples collected during initial prospecting had copper values ranged from 0.02% copper to 3.53% copper with an average of 1.33% copper; silver values ranged from 13.70 g/t silver to 296.20 g/t silver with an average of 109.70 g/t silver; and gold values ranging from 0.15 g/t gold to 2.32 g/t gold with an average of 0.61 g/t gold.

When the 2004 soil geochemical and induced polarization (IP) geophysical results became available it was recognized that the greater potential of the area might be in porphyry-style copper-molybdenum mineralization. The Cerro Colorado geophysical data exhibited an extensive chargeability anomaly typical of rocks containing 1-2% disseminated sulphides, and a magnetic low typical of intrusive rocks in which the magnetite has been destroyed by sulfidation. The geophysical anomalies are spatially associated with significant copper, silver and gold soil geochemical anomalies.

Prospecting and geological mapping of the areas of soil geochemical and geophysical anomalies north of the Cerro Colorado ridge has discovered widespread fracture-controlled and disseminated chalcopyrite mineralization within potassically altered granodiorite. At higher elevations the anomalies are associated with a widespread reddish-brown soil with anomalous copper (200 - 8077 ppm Cu) overlying altered oxidized granodiorite with remnant chalcopyrite, pyrite and iron oxides.
The porphyry style mineralization on Cerro Colorado appears to be outlined by two chargeability anomalies >10mV/V at n=6, forming a rough ellipse. On most lines, which are spaced at 200 metres, the chargeability increases at depth with greater than 15mV/V to >30mV/V. The largest anomaly has a length of 1,750 metres in a northeast-southwest direction and a width of 950 metres. Its southeastern margin roughly corresponds to the Cerro Colorado ridge, although it does extend south of the ridge on the western end. An extension from the west end of the larger anomaly has dimensions of 500 metres by 600 metres trending in a northwest-southeast direction. The second chargeability anomaly is elongate in a northwest-southeast direction and into the Langosta area. It is about 450 metres by 1100 metres in size at n=6.

A total of 340 samples have been taken in the Cerro Colorado prospect by Minera Gavilan and Minera Rio Ross. Only the 328 samples taken by Minera Rio Ross sampling are tabulated below. In these 328 samples values range from 6.6 ppm copper to 1.41% copper, 0.7 ppm to 2000 ppm molybdenum (the upper limit of detection), 116 ppb to 309.3 g/t silver and 0.6 ppb to 9.69 g/t gold.

The averages for both grab and all chip samples are very close to 0.24% Cu, which is a reasonable estimate for the overall grade of the prospect in the oxide zone, where some of the original copper content has been removed by weathering.

Seventy-one grab and chip samples (21.6%) contained more than 0.30% copper; these 71 samples averaged 0.69% copper, 0.32 g/t gold, 35.7 g/t silver and 37.25 ppm molybdenum.

View northeast from La Langosta to La Cetolla and Jocquistes targets (slopes at base of cliffs, on ridges, in distance at left) Click here for a larger version Analysts examining hand dug trenches on La Cetolla Click here for a larger version

La Cetolla Copper-Gold Porphyry Target
One and a half kilometres north-east of La Langosta is the La Cetolla copper-gold porphyry target. In the early 1970's work by Placer Mexicana focused on a grid of 1,100 metres by 230 metres from which rock samples averaged 0.94% copper. In 2002, Almaden sampled an area immediately to the south and up to a kilometre away from the grid and obtained assays ranging from 0.29% to 0.79% copper, averaging 0.41%, and up to 10 g/t gold. To date Minera Rio Ross has explored an area of 1200 metres long by 425 metres wide adjacent to and overlapping Placer Mexicana's original 1970's grid. Mapping and petrology has confirmed the porphyry copper style mineralization in this area. This system is open for expansion to the north, east and west. The average values returned from grab samples and the weighted averages returned from chip samples (weighted by length of sample) are:

Sample Type	No. of Samples	Avg. Cu %	Avg. Mo ppm	Avg. Au g/t	Avg. Ag g/t
Grab	10	1.22	183.73	0.18	9.50
		Wtd Avg Cu %	Wtd Avg Mo ppm	Wtd Avg Au g/t	Wtd Avg Ag g/t
Chip	44	0.61	37.41	0.08	8.5
Chip >0.3% Cu	27	0.87	21.92	0.11	10.9
		Cu %	Mo ppm	Au g/t	Ag g/t
Float	21	0.00-0.56	1.53-2000	0.00-0.09	0.0-7.6

Minera Rio Ross has taken 65 samples from the prospect in 2003 and 2004. All of the samples collected were from oxidized outcrops where some of the copper may have been removed by weathering.

Thirty-two of the samples (45%) contained more than 0.30% copper; these 32 samples averaged 0.82% copper, 22.64 ppm molybdenum, 13.97 g/t silver and 0.22 g/t gold.

Jocquistes Copper-Gold Porphyry Target
The Jocquistes prospect lies within the drainage area of the Joquixtle Creek and on the ridge to the east and extends south to Rio Los Frayles. Mineralized outcrops occur along creek banks, on canyon walls and on steep slopes. Lesser slopes within and just outside the canyon are mantled with alluvium and debris flows. The prospect has minimum dimensions of 750 metres by 1,000 metres. Joquixtle Canyon is about 3.5 kilometers long by 1.3 kilometers wide, and reportedly contains a copper-molybdenum-tourmaline breccia pipe as well as the disseminated copper mineralization. Grab samples of outcrops (10 samples) averaged 0.37% copper and contained up to 40.11 ppm molybdenum, 124.7 g/t silver and 0.81 g/t gold. Average metal contents are given below. Since there was only one chip sample, it was averaged with the grab samples as an arithmetic average.

La Papaya Gold-Silver Vein Target

Papaya Gold-Silver Vein System Click here for a larger version.

The generally north-trending La Papaya vein system with six major vein clusters extends over a length of about 8000 metres and a width of about 1500 metres. Within the Papaya system three major gold-silver targets have been identified, including the Papaya, La Pitaya and El Sauz targets. Sampling has returned values of up to 144.4 g/t gold (4.21 oz/ton) and 4737.3 g/t silver (138.17 oz/ton). Forty-one samples contained more than one percent copper. A total of 779 samples have been taken in the Papaya prospect area by Minera Rio Ross in 2003-2004. The averages below include all rock samples taken in the area and are not indicative of the grade of any particular vein.

In February 2003 nine samples were collected from a vein by Minera Rio Ross, from two locations 350 metres apart, of which seven assayed >1 g/t gold. The values of these seven samples ranged from 1.00 g/t gold to 30.66 g/t gold, with an average of 8.47 g/t gold, 90.4 g/t silver and 5.11 % copper over a width of 1.5 to 2 metres.

As a result of the exploration work carried out during a reconnaissance exploration program between May and June 2003, the Papaya tourmaline-quartz vein has now been identified over a length of 2.5 kilometres. The exposed widths of the vein range from at least 6 metres to over 10 metres. Twenty random samples of up to 2 metres in width were taken along a strike length of over 2 kilometres. These samples were taken at each location from exposed portions of the vein. The average grade of these 20 samples is 12.33 g/t gold, 267.78 g/t silver and 0.46% copper. The full width of the vein has yet to be delineated.

Two additional tourmaline-quartz veins to the west and within 400 metres of the Papaya vein (Juana and Cerro Blanco veins) have been traced over the same strike length as the Papaya vein. Widths of these veins have not been fully delineated but range from at least 5 metres to over 10 metres. Assays received from the Juana vein range up to 7.08 g/t gold, 206.9 g/t silver. Assays from the Cerro Blanco vein range up to 3.3 g/t gold, 154.1 g/t silver. This system is open along strike both to the north and south and the full widths of all the veins remain to be delineated.

In 2004 fifteen drill holes were drilled focusing on the northern part of the Papaya and Pitaya veins. The results of the drilling to date indicate that the structural geology is more complex than previously thought, and that it is difficult to project the high values obtained in surface sampling into the subsurface. A total of 1254.15 meters were drilled.

El Sauz Gold-Silver Vein Target
The El Sauz zone discovered in December 2003 of tourmaline-quartz-copper oxide vein mineralization, extends 1.6 kilometres north along strike of the Papaya target. A total of 26 samples were collected and analysed. Of these 46% contained greater than 0.3 g/t gold and were re-assayed. Values range from trace to 10.37 g/t gold, 0.15 g/t to 404.9 g/t silver, 0.02% to 2.21% copper. The highest assay from outcrop returned values of 10.37 g/t gold, 348.5 g/t silver, and 2.21% copper across 0.5 metres of exposed vein. The full vein width remains to be delineated.

In addition, during geological reconnaissance, a float sample of massive sulfide was found in a creek bed in the El Sauz area near the La Trucha and La Plancha drainage divide. The float sample returned values of 42.56 g/t gold, 4,737.3 g/t silver and >10% copper. Its geochemistry is similar to other veins in the La Trucha area however the source of this float has yet to be discovered.

La Trucha Gold-Silver Vein Target

La Trucha Gold-Silver Vein System Click here for a larger version.

The La Trucha target, 3.7 kilometres north-northeast of Vado Hondo, was initially centred around two float samples collected separately by Almaden and Minera Rio Ross, from sites 50 metres apart, that assayed 18.0 g/t gold, 410.0 g/t silver and 24.42 g/t gold, 792.2 g/t silver respectively. The generally northeast-trending La Trucha vein system extends northeast from the Papaya vein system over a strike length of at least 1500 metres before it disappears under younger volcanic cover. Sampling of the veins has returned values of up to 40.09 g/t gold (1.17 oz/ton) and 1614.2 g/t silver (47.08 oz/ton.) Twenty-five samples contained more than one percent copper. P reliminary reconnaissance mapping and sampling during the May-June 2003 exploration program indicated the presence of 6 sub-parallel tourmaline-quartz veins within a zone 100 metres in width with an exposed strike length of 140 metres. The average grade of the 21 samples collected from these veins is 8.64 g/t gold, 357.6 g/t silver, and 1.12% copper.

Follow-up trenching and drilling in 2004 revealed that the veins are faulted and intimately intergrown with andesite dykes which are themselves faulted and also mineralized. One 1.02-metre mineralized intercept in drill hole EP04D013 (20.23-21.25 metres) contained 3.73 g/t gold, 157 g/t silver, 0.94% copper and 3.86 ppm molybdenum.

Minera Rio Ross has taken 159 samples in the general area of the La Trucha prospect during the 2003-2004 field seasons. The averages below include all rock samples taken in the area and are not indicative of the grade of any particular vein.

Approximately one kilometre along strike to the southwest in another area of sub-outcropping quartz-tourmaline veins exposed through overburden cover, a further five samples had an average grade of 3.42 g/t gold, 222.3 g/t silver and 1.11% copper. This strike extension remains to be drilled.

El Tiburon Gold-Silver Vein Target
This vein target one kilometre north of the La Trucha target has received only limited prospecting and has returned values up to 60.94 g/t gold (1.78 oz/ton), 423.3 g/t silver (12.35 oz/ton) and 4.8% copper.

2005/2006 Exploration Program

Pursuant to the Kennecott agreement a 3,000 metre drill program commenced on the Cerro Colorado copper target in October 2005. Copper mineralization and extensive alteration has been encountered in all drill holes to date. Please see a summary of drill results below.

View the Drill Results:


Click here for larger version (2.5Mb PDF)