Atacama Copper drills 27.8 g/t AuEq over 1.2 metres at Cristina Project, Mexico
Atacama Copper Corp. [TSXV-ACOP] reported results from five holes of a 10,000-metre diamond drilling program at its wholly-owned Cristina precious metals project in southwestern Chihuahua State, Mexico.
Atacama has now reported 15 holes totalling 4,467.5 metres of drilling as part of a 40-50-hole drill program. The Cristina project consists of multiple outcropping quartz veins that are frequently greater than 10 metres in width and extend for at least a 5-km strike length. Four parallel mineralized vein zones have been mapped and sampled to date, with most of the existing mineral resource estimate at Cristina contained within only one of the vein zones, the Guadalupe vein (Figures 1 and 2).
Highlights of the holes reported here, all from the eastern portion of the main Guadalupe vein system, include 27.8 g/t AuEq over 1.2 metres estimated true width (22.3 g/t Au, 184.0 g/t Ag, 0.87% Zn, 0.82% Pb and 1.42% Cu) in hole ACD24-235. This 1.2-metre wide intercept occurs within a broader zone of mineralization measuring 2.43 g/t AuEq over 20.5 m estimated true width (1.56 g/t Au, 24.5 g/t Ag, 0.31% Zn 0.27% Pb and 0.17% Cu); 6.29 g/t AuEq over 2.2 metres estimate true width (0.84 g/t Au, 69.4 g/t Ag, 6.20% Zn, 2.10% Pb and 0.26% Cu) in hole ACD24-232. This 2.2-metre wide intercept occurs within a broader mineralized zone measuring 2.79 g/t AuEq over 9.0 metres estimated true width (0.70 g/t Au, 33.1 g/t Ag, 2.12% Zn, 0.71% Pb, 0.15% Cu); 6.52 g/t AuEq over 0.7 metres estimated true width (0.65 g/t Au, 65.1 g/t Ag, 7.22% Zn, 2.41 % Pb, 0.14% Cu) in hole ACD24-233. This 0.7-metre wide intercept occurs within a broader mineralized zone measuring 1.21 g/t AuEq over 20.0 metres estimated true width (0.43 g/t Au, 19.6 g/t Ag, 0.56% Zn, 0.24% Pb, 0.06% Cu); 5.10 g/t AuEq over 2.9 metres estimated true width (2.78 g/t Au, 75.0 g/t Ag, 0.98% Zn, 0.66% Pb and 0.33% Cu) also in hole ACD24-234. This 2.9 m wide intercept occurs within a broader mineralized zone measuring 2.24 g/t AuEq over 14.0 m estimated true width (0.96 g/t Au, 39.2 g/t Ag, 0.71% Zn, 0.41% Pb and 0.13% Cu).
Tim Warman, CEO, commented: “Cristina continues to deliver high-grade drill results over significant widths from the Guadalupe vein, as we work to delineate and define a robust underground resource estimate. We’ve seen some of the highest gold grades encountered at the project in hole ACD24-235 at shallow depths, and mineralization remains open at depth across this most recently targeted western high-grade horizon.”
All five holes reported here were drilled towards the western end of the Guadalupe vein system.
Drill results will continue to be received over the next few months as the program takes a short break during the peak of the rainy season in Mexico. Drilling will resume in September and continue through the winter months.
The current, primarily open-pit mineral resource estimate comprises: Indicated resources of 17.5 Mt at 0.51 g/t gold, 33.8 g/t silver, 0.47% zinc, 0.19% lead and 0.04% copper (1.33 g/t AuEq grade), for a contained 752,000 gold-equivalent ounces. Inferred resources of 19.0 Mt at 0.51 g/t gold, 27.5 g/t silver, 0.50% zinc, 0.19% lead and 0.05% copper (1.27 g/t AuEq grade), for a contained 777,000 gold-equivalent ounces.
Atacama Copper is carrying out a drilling campaign at its Cristina precious metals project in Chihuahua Mexico, with the goal of significantly expanding the existing mineral resource estimate. Drilling is also planned for the Yecora copper project in Sonora Mexico. In Chile, the Placeton/Caballo Muerto project hosts several untested porphyry copper targets situated between the large-scale Relincho and El Morro/La Fortuna copper-gold deposits of the Nueva Union joint venture between Teck and Newmont Mining.