Commences Surface Ore Grading Accesses Underground Ore for Resource Estimate
Vangold Mining Corp. (TSX-V: VAN)(OTC-VGLDF) is pleased to announce that the Company has started a grading and sampling campaign on the surface stockpile, estimated by Vangold to be approx. 200,000 tonnes of lower grade Ag & Au mineralized material. The “Scope of Work” has commenced with the digging of trenches within a defined and predetermined grid pattern of 25m x 25m. The objectives of the sampling program are (i) to confirm the overall average grade and economics of the surface stockpile, (ii) provide data for a blending regime to transport a consistent mill feed, for the Company’s near-term toll treatment milling strategy, and (iii) to define and optimize metallurgical recoveries for this type of exposed weathered stockpiled material.
The existing underground stockpile comprises high-grade Ag & Au mineralized material mined at 15 grams per tonne AuEq or better, that was abandoned by the previous operator “Pinguico Mines Company” as a result of the Mexican Revolution and has remained in the mined stopes since 1913. Under the current operating plan, the focus of the sampling is to confirm the average grade across the potential 500,000 tonnes of underground stockpile. Sampling will be undertaken by grab samples at the 8th level (255 m from surface) of the old Pinguico Mine’s production drive and by drilling across the underground stockpile in the mined open stopes. The “Drilling Scope of Work” includes 10 NQ drill holes (35m spacing average) to depths of 70m to 120m for a total of 1,000m.
Accessing the lower levels will be by electrical winch and personnel cage installed in the 4th level (145 m below surface) on the Pinguico shaft. Scaling and cleaning the shaft and establishing safety precautions is of paramount importance before personnel can access the old workings. Once deemed safe to enter, the work program will commence with the geologists and survey teams conducting a broad sampling campaign of the stockpiled material in all accessible crosscuts. Bulk samples will be retrieved from several locations to fully understand ore and grade disbursement across the underground stockpile and conduct metallurgical tests for optimizing recoveries during milling and flotation. All the information retrieved throughout this campaign will be used in the determination and calculation of a potential resource estimate from which an economical model will be completed to enable the commencement of mining operations.
Vangold Mining CEO, Cameron King states, “The work program undertaken is by far the most intensive to date and has the potential to significantly improve the fundamentals for the Company. A defined inferred resource calculation, which is expected as a result of this campaign, should validate a definitive and significant value for the stockpiles bringing the Company closer to its production and cash flow goals.”