Aztec Minerals samples 30.2 metres of 5.82 g/t AuEq at Tombstone Gold-Silver Project, Arizona
Aztec Minerals Corp. [TSXV-AZT; OTCQB-AZZTF] announces initial results from its 2024 surface exploration program that confirm the significant, broad, gold-silver mineralization found from 2020-2023 drilling in and around the Contention Pit at the Tombstone project which covers most of the historic Tombstone silver mining district in southeastern Arizona.
Highlights: Initial Contention zone channel sampling results further demonstrate the presence of near-surface, broad, high-grade gold and silver mineralization confirming Aztec’s drilling from 2020 to 2023.
Select channel line interval highlights include Line B4 that returned 30.2 metres averaging 3.72 g/t gold and 167.93 g/t silver (5.82 gpt AuEq using an 80:1 silver-gold ratio, including 6 metres of 13.15 g/t Au and 602.67 g/t Ag (20.68 gpt AuEq).
Line G1 returned 50.0 metres at 0.827 g/t Au and e54.08 g/t Ag (1.50 gpt AuEq). Line C1 returned 42.3 metres at 0.46 g/t Au and 47.27 g/t Ag (1.05 gpt AuEq).
Preliminary results provide a roadmap for additional potential mineralization footprint expansion drilling on the western portion of the Contention Pit, aiming to discover new mineralized gold and silver zones. Additional continuous chip channel and reconnaissance sample assay results are pending.
This high-priority target area was historically reported as a target for open pit mining expansion by previous operators.
The mesothermal mineralization geological setting indicates a high potential for further discovery of wide oxide Gold & Silver along strike and down dip of prospective hosting rocks outcropping in the Contention Pit areas.
Attractive, wide, gold and silver oxidized mineralization supports ongoing geological modelling targeting a potential bulk style of mineralization at the Contention Pit Area in the Tombstone Project
The high-grade gold-silver sample results are located immediately adjacent to the Westside target area and indicate the strong potential to expand into multiple zones of broad Au-Ag oxide mineralization to the west.
The initial results of the Channel Sampling Program, Lot 1 supports the presence of broad, mesothermal, gold and silver oxidized mineralization and suggests the potential for further expansion of the mineralization footprint in the host formations down dip and along strike, also demonstrating the potential extensions towards the west of the historical Contention Pit.
2024 Exploration Program: Aztec collected and analyzed (482) rock chip channel and reconnaissance samples for multi-elements including 422 mine-cut chip channel samples of 2 metres length each from the Contention pit with accessible, visible coloration and/or alteration and 60 outcrop and waste rock storage site reconnaissance composite and select samples over the rest of the project, including the Westside area, to expand and enhance geochemical and geological knowledge throughout the Tombstone project exploration targeting. The first sample results of Lot 1 totaled 280 samples excluding the QAQC samples. Lines B1, B2, and E did not report >0.1 gpt Au mineralized over their lengths in the Contention Pit area.
Aztec’s recent geological mapping at detailed scale (1:200) within the Contention pit and at reconnaissance scale (1:2,000) over the surrounding property has identified attractive mesothermal broad oxidized new mineralized zones. In the Contention pit mapping, recent detailed lithological, structural and alteration mapping is proving crucial for definition of the extensions towards the Westside area.
Project data evaluation also continues to advance including the 3D modeling of the historic mine workings, drilling and geologic data. Modeling the geochemistry including trends of Au-Ag mineralization will then resume using the understandings gained on the multi-element relationships with Au-Ag, reviewing the subsequent results to the geophysical data and the SWIR-Terraspec data, and other investigations.