Pinnacle Silver and Gold flies LiDAR survey at El Potrero Project, Mexico

Pinnacle Silver and Gold Corp. [TSXV: PINN; OTC: PSGCF; FSE: P9J] reported that an airborne LiDAR survey has been flown over the high-grade El Potrero gold-silver project in Durango, Mexico. The survey covered the entire 11 km² property and was flown by Eagle Mapping Ltd. of Langley, British Columbia. Reprocessing and interpretation of the data will be conducted by GeoCloud Analytics of Melbourne, Australia and will take approximately two weeks, with final results available by early to mid-December.

LiDAR, or Light Detection and Ranging, is a remote sensing technology that uses laser light to ‘see through’ vegetation and soil cover to measure distances, with 15-30 cm scale accuracy, to underlying rock surfaces. In this way, it can map out features such as structures and lithological contacts that can be related to mineralization but may not be exposed at surface. The survey also included colour aerial photography with 10-15 cm resolution that will assist in surface exploration and planning of infrastructure upgrades.

“Although we have been able to follow and map out the Dos de Mayo vein system along strike for approximately 1,600 metres so far, our geologists are restricted by the amount of outcrop exposure,” stated Robert Archer, Pinnacle’s President & CEO. “The LiDAR survey should allow us to ‘connect the dots’ along this structural trend and allow us to better define not only the main vein but parallel and splay veins nearby. This knowledge, along with additional features such as flexures and fault offsets in the vein structures, will be crucial for interpreting the geological environment and planning the surface drill program. In addition, LiDAR is known for its ability to detect subtle and sometimes buried features such as old mine workings, overgrown pits and trenches that could lead to the discovery of previously unknown mineralization.”

The El Potrero property is located in the prolific Sierra Madre Occidental of western Mexico and lies within 35 km of four operating mines, including the 4,000 tonnes/day (tpd) Ciénega Mine (Fresnillo), the 1,000 tpd Tahuehueto Mine (Luca Mining) and the 250 tpd Topia Mine (Guanajuato Silver).

High-grade gold-silver mineralization occurs in a low sulphidation epithermal breccia vein system hosted within andesites of the Lower Volcanic Series and has three historic mines along a 500-metre strike length. The property has been in private hands for almost 40 years and has never been systematically explored by modern methods, leaving significant exploration potential.

A previously operational 100 tpd plant on site can be refurbished/rebuilt and historic underground mine workings rehabilitated at relatively low cost in order to achieve near-term production once permits are in place. The property is road accessible with a power line within 3 km.

Pinnacle will earn an initial 50% interest immediately upon commencing production. The goal would then be to generate sufficient cash flow with which to further develop the project and increase the company’s ownership to 100% subject to a 2% NSR. If successful, this approach would be less dilutive for shareholders than relying on the equity markets to finance the growth of the company.

Pinnacle is focused on the development of precious metals projects in the Americas. The high-grade Potrero gold-silver project in Mexico’s Sierra Madre Belt hosts an underexplored low-sulphidation epithermal vein system and provides the potential for near-term production. In the Red Lake District of northwestern Ontario, the company owns a 100% interest in the past-producing, high-grade Argosy Gold Mine and the adjacent North Birch Project with an 8-km-long target horizon.