Dundee Precious Metals drills 46.09 g/t gold over 17.3 metres at Tierras Coloradas, Ecuador, shares up
Dundee Precious Metals Inc. [DPM-TSX] reported the 2022 diamond drilling results on the 100%-owned Tierras Coloradas concessions, located in the Loja province of Ecuador. The drilling program was designed to test a series of low sulphidation epithermal veins, previously identified by field work and scout drilling in 2020.
Highlights: Drilling confirms presence of well-mineralized vein system. Representative drill intercepts from 2022 drilling program include:
Aparecida vein system: Drill hole TCDD013 returned 6 metres at 2.92 g/t gold from 156 metres depth. TCDD014 -returned 17.3 metres at 46.09 g/t gold from 101 metres depth, which includes a higher-grade interval of 79.54 g/t gold over 7.72 metres. TCDD015 -returned 3.6 metres at 39.4 g/t gold from 154 metres depth.
La Tuna vein system: TCDD016 returned 4 metres at 2.51 g/t gold from 153 metres depth. TCDD017 returned 2.83 metres at 30.12 g/t gold from 53 metres depth. TCDD018 returned 4.1 metres at 7.7 g/t gold and 394.32 g/t silver from 80.42 metres depth.
Large footprint with additional exploration potential: Over 8 km of vein strike length has been delineated, largely accounted for by the Aparecida and La Tuna vein systems. The Aparecida vein system has been traced over a length of 1.5 km whilst the La Tuna veins have been traced for approximately 2 kkm. Both targets remain open in multiple directions.
“We are pleased to announce these encouraging exploration drill results from the Tierras Coloradas exploration prospect in Ecuador. Results from our 2022 drill program confirms the presence of a well mineralized vein system,” said David Rae, President and CEO. “Both the Aparecida and La Tuna veins systems remain open in multiple directions, and we are planning further work in 2023 to follow-up on these results.”
The Tierras Coloradas concessions consist of four exploration licenses totalling 6,955 hectares (70 km2). These concessions are in the Province of Loja in southern Ecuador, near the border of Peru. The concessions host a low sulphidation epithermal vein system, discovered in 2009, which has been traced in at least five epithermal vein zones over an extent of an approximately 3 km by 3.5 km area.
A diamond drilling program of 2,739 metres, comprising of nine holes, was undertaken in 2022 to test four low sulphidation epithermal vein zones with the objective of confirming lateral and down-dip geologic and grade continuity. Three drill holes were designed to follow-up on positive results returned from holes drilled in 2020 on the Aparecida veins system, and another four holes were dedicated to testing the new La Tuna vein systems. Additionally, one hole was completed on the Quemada and San Vicente vein systems.
The results indicate good vertical continuity within the Aparecida veins, which remain open at depth and to the east. The La Tuna vein system, while showing more complexity and lower levels of continuity, remains open in multiple directions. The drillhole TCDD020, targeting the San Vicente Vein System, failed to intersect mineralization due to drilling design limitations caused by the steep terrain, which meant that the hole drifted to an orientation parallel to the target vein zone. A single hole was drilled on the Quemada vein system which did not return significant mineralization at depth from the main Quemada vein but did intersect elevated grades from a splay vein at shallow depths.
Based on the 2022 drilling results, additional drilling is planned to further delineate the shape, size and extents of the Aparecida and La Tuna vein systems. Furthermore, DPM plans follow-up scout drilling for the un-tested portions of the veins and soil-geochemistry anomalies. Approximately 3,000 metres of drilling is planned and expected to commence during the second half of 2023.
Near-term efforts will be focused on integration and technical analysis of the results from drilling, surface geochemistry, field mapping and geophysics to identify vectors towards new exploration targets. Detailed surface mapping in conjunction with soil and rock chip-channel sampling will continue, to determine the footprint and identify additional targets.
The change in status of the Tierras Coloradas project from early to advanced stage exploration is in progress, and all regulations and authorizations required from the different Ecuadorian authorities are expected to be received by early 2024.
Dundee Precious Metals Inc. is a Canadian-based international gold mining company with operations and projects located in Bulgaria, Namibia, Ecuador, and Serbia. In early trading 27Feb23, shares of DPM gained $0.34 to $8.65.